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Meet Tyler Villopoto
Cast under the enormous shadow of his superstar older brother, most had never heard of this stylish up-and-coming racer. Recently Tyler Villopoto has found more confidence, speed and drive to push forth in his dreams of becoming a professional motocross racer. Check out this short video from Crazy Money Productions of Tyler talking about his family life, his new team and his goals for the future.
What if?
As humans we tend to consistently ask, “What if?” And as fans of an extremely dangerous sport, we tend to ask “What if” all the time. What if David Bailey never crashed, what if Villopoto didn’t break his leg in 2010, what if Canard had better luck, what if Greg Albertyn never hit that deer (younger fans look up MXDN 1994). We can say the same thing for seemingly hundreds of unfortunate incidents in our sport, and after Saturday, February 18, we ask again “what if?”
After great jump off the gate, points leader Ryan Villopoto and Chad Reed were engaged in a fierce battle for the lead; practically running away from the competition. Reed’s form, consistency and speed were on-point throughout the night and it was clear that the former champion was faster than the current points leader. The race could not be playing out any better for the Australian, until an untimely mistake struck.
An error in one of the more technical sections of the track sent Reed over the bars and onto his head. To add to the horrifying crash, Reed’s leg was caught in the motorcycle, dragging him with the tumbling bike.
Reed is known for being one of the toughest riders on the circuit. After getting up and riding back to a top 20 finish after taking one of the most spectacular crashes in motocross, Reed earned the reputation of being one tough Ausie. After this accident he did not walk off the track, and at that point, everyone knew it was bad.
Chad Reed Tweeted this morning, “Well I spent the day in the hospital yesterday here’s the damage.. 2 broken ribs, broken spinous T6. Torn ACL and fractured tib fib…”. This news is bad. Real bad. Chad Reed will be out for the rest of the 2012 championship, and after his impressive performances we will be left asking, what if Chad Reed never crashed?
A Month of Madness
Four weeks down, four different riders, four different colors. The 2012 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series is proving to be one of the most relentless seasons to date.
As expected former champions Ryan Villopotto, Ryan Dungey, James Stewart and Chad Reed have found a way to grind through the competition and make it to the top of the podium, while other fan favorites Nick Wey, Josh Grant and Broc Tickle have found making a main event a difficult task in it self. With the Supercross class becoming more competitive than ever, one mistake could cost the race and/or championship.
History has been made within the first four weeks of the 2012 season. Ryan Villopoto has now won back-to-back A1’s and Ryan Dungey took home Austrian brand KTM their first American Supercross win. Though these accomplishments bring ultimate highs for these racers in the first few weeks, there have also been potential championship killing incidents.
They say you win your championships on your worse of days and at Dodger stadium on January 21, Villopotto had a potentially horrible day. Making a minor mistake that would send him off the track and into a dance with a tuff block, Villopoto found himself second-to-last and far from the pack. Villopoto would fight through 13 riders, ending up just feet away from a podium position.
One week later Villopoto earned poll position in Oakland, and coming up off an impressive performance in Los Angeles, most would say the Washington native was the favorite to win. The night of January 28, Supercross fans were reminded that you could never bet on this sport.
A clean start for the series favorites would set the stage for one of the closest races of the series. Within the first five laps of the race Reed, Villopoto and Stewart were set for battle. Halfway through the race, Stewart would make a move for the lead on Reed and would walk away, while Reed and Villopoto would battle hard for second.
Holding onto second is just what the two time Supercross champion, Chad Reed, needed to take the points lead as the series heads back to Anaheim. Consistent starts and rides have always been the Australians key to his success. Though never the fastest in practice, Reed seems to be on another level during the race. Does Reed have what it takes to maintain the points lead and make a run to the top of the podium at A2? Or will Stewart, Dungey or Villopoto be the first to get their second win of the season?
2012 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Points Standings
1. Ryan Dungey 85pts. KTM
Chad Reed 85pts. Hon
2. Ryan Villopoto 83pts. Kaw
3. James Stewart 73pts. Yam
4. Jake Weimer 61pts. Kaw
5. Kevin Windham 58pts. Hon
6. Andrew Short 52pts. Hon
7. Josh Hansen 47pts. Kaw
8. Brett Metcalfe 45pts. Suz
9. Davi Millsaps 42pts. Yam
10. Mike Alessi 38pts. Suz
11. Justin Brayton 37pts. Hon
12. Kyle Chisholm 34pts. Kaw
13. Broc Tickle 30pts. Kaw
14. Ivan Tedesco 21pts. Kaw
15. Nick Wey 16pts. Kaw
16. Trey Canard 14pts. Hon
17. Weston Peick 10pts. Kaw
18. Kyle Partridge 10pts. Kaw
19. Chris Blose 9pts. Kaw
