MOTOCROSS
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beat
goes
on for Monster Energy/Pro CircuiVKawasaki's
RTan Villopoto, and the beat down
goes
on
for his
competition,
The rookie Pro from Washington simply blitzed the field at
round
seven of the
AMAfIoyoa l'4otocross Championship at
Colorado's
Thunder Valley track.
While
some of
Villopoto's
early wins have
required
some battling, this time
he
put
in a
pair
of domi-
nant
performances
to notch two moto wins and his fifth overall victory of
the
season.
"l've just
got
a
good
roll
going
right now and
I
iust
want to keep doinS
what
I've
been doing,"
Vllopoto said.
The Villopoto run can be measured through
quantificatign
-
he now has
a four-race win streak and a l3-point lead in the series' standinSs
-
but also
through the
quality
of
his work. At Thunder Valley, there was absolutely no
stopping him, whether he
got
a bad start or not, even though he was facing
a very tough
group.
ln the end, Makita Suzuki's Broc Hepler ended up sec-
ond overall and Red Bull KTM's Hike Alessi, the early-season leader in the
standings who is now losing
ground
to
Villopoto,
was third.
But the rider who was
probably
most expected
to
give
Mllopoto a run
saw his
chance die
in heartbreaking fashion, Team Honda's Andrew Short, a
native of Colorado, had
practiced
in the rocky mountain altitudes
for
a
few
week
8efting
ready for the Lakewood National. Short, howeven couldn't
stop Villopoto in moto one, as he had to settle for second. But Vllopoto fell
early in moto two.
Just
as Shon seemed
primed
for a breakaway, though,
he
bike
grournd
to a halt, engine
problems
doing
him in
just
a lap into the race.
This left Hepler
to
try
to stop the
"RV
Express"
but
he couldn't do it.
"l
was able to run with Ryan for a linle bit," said Hepler; who is rounding
into form after missing the first three races of the
year
with a broken foot.
"He
was
lust
a hair faster than me. lt's
just
lack of riding time. Hopefully, in
a few week I can match his speed."
And Alessi gives
even
more
credit,
"You
know it
was
okay, there's noth-
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Ryon Villopoto
stretches out
points
leod with
fifth
win
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After
going
l-t. Ryun Villopoto now
leods Mike
Alescl by
23
poinr
in
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Home.crowd fovrite Andrew Stft(2ltd o rhot ot the overqll
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in the
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