A
look at the scoreboard indicates that Monster Energy/Pro Cir-
cuit/Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto has taken over AMA/Toyota
Motocross Lites racing. The 17-year-old rookie put in another
great ride at the famous Red Bud National to notch his third win
in the first five races of the season. But it's the way he's getting
those wins that truly tells the tale, as Villopoto followed up two come-from-
behind wins at Budds Creek with a dominant wire-to-wire victory in the
first moto at Red Bud - a dominant ride that no one else has matched this
year. Villopoto then used a solid second in moto two to win the overall,
drawing him ever closer to the series' lead. A strong second-moto win by
his rival Mike Alessi helped stem the tide for now, but the bottom line is that
Villopoto is on the move.
"We've been working hard on starts, and it really helps to be able to get
out front and race your own lines," Villopoto said. "I didn't need to pull a
tear-off out there. In the second moto, I got off to a decent start, but I didn't
have anything for Mike."
Indeed, Villopoto's dominant first moto couldn't be replicated in moto
two, as he couldn't close the early gap that Alessi had built on him. But his
overall win helped narrow Alessi's points lead down to just five points.
And the pressure builds on Alessi because of that.
"It's really hard to hold the points lead," Alessi said. "It seemed like in the
first moto, I didn't ride inspired. I felt like I didn't even ride, I wasn't even
tired. I had no motivation. It was depressing to see that I got beat by Ryan by
that far. I know where my pace is, and I'm capable of running with Ryan. It
Red Bud Track 'n' Trail
Buchanan, MI
Round 5
July 2, 2006
JULY 12, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S
22
2006 Toyota AMA Motocross Championship Series Presented by FMF
RYAN VILLOPOTO INCHES CLOSER
TO THE FRONT WITH THIRD WIN
BY JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
Ryan Villopoto (51) put this holeshot to good use,
leading from wire-to-wire in the first Lites moto. He
ended up going 1-2 for his third win of the series.
Second-moto winner Mike Alessi (800) looks back
and sees Josh Grant. Alessi went 3-1 for second
and Grant went 4-5 for fourth.
