Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

- I A MA,Togota Motocross Champlon - FME t I G I I I I I VI LLOPOT I OKIE GETS HlS FIRST SronY gv JasoN WETGANDT Pxoros sY SrEvE BRUHN ,. lno KARr OcKERT ,il I I I a, E t I - ln iust his fifth win, going 2-l Pto ro in the .e. Ryon Lite5.lo \ Villopoto wolked off with hir fi.51 a fr l s exoected, the AMA Motocross n Lrles seaes rn tne AmAy'-royota [l *o,o..o.s champronsnrp nas Fl qr,.*,y turneo rnto a wroe-open f laflair. So wide open that a rookie, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto, has quickly climbed to the top against a field of more experienced pilots. \Mth 2- I moto scores, Villopoto handily captured the win at the Kawasaki/l'4onster Energy National at High Point Raceway. The l8-year-old Villopoto has only raced five AMA Pro Nationals in his career, but he's obviously a fast learner. RidinS with the calm of a veteran, Villopoto was able to ride around seveml other riders that were in con- tention fo. the win. "l got a bad start and had to work my way up in both motos," Villopoto said. "lt didn't seem roo tou8h, I was able to reel them in and pass them.'' Villopoto's cause was aided my mistakes from the deep field of Lites-class contenders. When the overall scores were added up, SoBe/Samsung l4obile/Honda's Josh Grant ended up second overallvia 3-3 moto scores, and winner and series points leader l''like Alessi was third with l-8 finishes. Both Grant and Alessi were poised to win the race at dif- ferent points ofthe day, but mistakes opened the door for Villopoto to break through. ln the first moto, Alessi grabbed the Racer X Holeshot Award on his Red Bull KTM, but he picked a bad line in turn two and lost a few positions. Villopoto's teammate Chris Gosselaar took the lead momentarily, until he twisted his sore ankle in a rut and had to pull off the track in pain- Grant maneuvered into the number-one spot and held it for over 20 minutes of the 30-minute-plus- two-lap moto. Grant looked like a sure win- ner until he, too, hooked his ankle in a deep High Point berm and found himself on the ground - and also with a sore ankle. "l was strong the whole moto," Grant said. ''l missed a rut with the front wheel and the back wheel, stayed in it, and I went down. lt was a stupid mistake. l've got to cut back on those." Grant got up in third but found his ankle too sore for him to fight back and try to 8et into the lead a8ain. This opened the door for a rejuvenated Grant langston, also on a Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Langston, the 2001 Narional Champion in the class, was unable to compete at Hangtown due to a wrist iniury but he was guning it out at High Point and led late into the moto. But then a simple washout in a corner knocked him out of the lead, "When you're out front, man, your adrenaline takes over," Langston said. "Because I was leading it and I felt good, when Grant fell, I got this adrenaline rush, I could feel it, and I got - I wouldn't say my second wind - but at that point, my founh High Poinr Ro

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