Ryan Villopoto won his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship Saturday night. He finished third in front of a capacity crowd of 39,506 fans inside Sam Boyd Stadium
Villopoto, the Kawasaki star from Poulsbo, Wash., won a series-high six races this season. He beat the race winner Chad Reed by four points in the 17-race championship.
“I just have to thank everyone at Kawasaki,” Villopoto said after the race. “The team believed in me through thick and thin. We’ll enjoy this. It was a hard-fought battle. I saw James and Kevin go down – the whoops were tough tonight. We all had to run the same line and you couldn’t avoid it. Luckily I got around (the crash). I wasn’t pulling away form Chad, so I just let him by and Ryan (Dungey) was right behind him so then I let him by. I just cruised from there.”
Per amasupercross.com:
Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., kicked off the final race of the 2011 season in the Supercross class by capturing the Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot, with GEICO Honda’s Kevin Windham, of Centreville, Miss., and San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., in tow. Windham quickly moved out front before the conclusion of the first lap, but was passed by Stewart on Lap 3.
Three laps later on Lap 6, Stewart lost control in the whoops and went down in front of Windham, who subsequently fell after trying to avoid his rival. Villopoto then moved into the lead, with Reed on his rear fender. Villopoto fended off Reed’s advances for another five laps before Reed made the winning pass on Lap 11. Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine, Minn., moved by Villopoto shortly after and over the final five laps of the main event, Reed and Dungey brought the crowd to its feet with a close battle to the finish.
In the end, Reed secured his second win of the season while Dungey brought home his series-leading 13th podium finish of the season with a runner-up effort. Villopoto rounded out the podium in third.
Supercross Class Results: Las Vegas
1. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
3. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
4. Chris Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Kawasaki
5. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM
6. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
7. Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Yamaha
8. Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha
9. Kyle Regal, Murrieta, Calif, Yamaha
10. Tye Simmonds, Menifee, Calif., KTM
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