Ryan Villopoto opens the 2012 AMA Supercross season with a dominant win in Anaheim
The season opener of the 2012 Monster Energy American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross brought back memories of the series’ last season as Ryan Villopoto begun his title defence by securing a comprehensive victory at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim,
California, on Saturday, January 7.
Riding for Honda, Chad Reed finished in runner-up place, while the recent addition to the KTM Factory team, Ryan Dungey, completed the podium after finishing in third place.
The Washington-based Villopoto had been looking to kick off the latest season with a bang and that is exactly what he accomplished on Saturday. The last season had seen the 23-year-old motocross sensation clinch top honours at Anaheim and kept the momentum
going to eventually emerge as the 2011 AMA Supercross champion. If what went down at the Angel stadium this weekend was a trailer of what is to come this season, then there is hardly any doubt that Villopoto would be sitting at the top of the throne yet again.
“It was a phenomenal night for me,” Villopoto said. “I didn't have the heat race I wanted, so I didn't have a great gate pick. Once I was out front I wanted to lay down fast laps and make no mistakes. I did make one small one, but overall, it was a great
race for me.”
With a sold-out crowd of 45, 050 bearing witness to the proceedings, Villopoto attained the “hole-shot” and rode flawlessly throughout the 20 laps, giving nothing away for his competitors to capitalise on.
At one stage in the game, the Kawasaki rider enjoyed a 20-second lead over second-place Reed. The lead reduced to 12 seconds by the time Villopoto completed the final lap to sign his first victory of the season.
“Once I got that hole-shot, I just tried to lay down fast laps and get a gap, and that's what I was able to do,” conceded the defending champion.
The two-time AMA champion Reed admitted that he, along with the rest of the pack, had been utterly dominated by the 2011 AMA champion, stating, “Villopoto made us look silly out here tonight.”
Dungey, who rode for Rockstar/Makita Suzuki last season before joining KTM Factory team in October, 2011, finished behind Reed. Making a podium finish at the first stop of the 2012 AMA Supercross series was definitely going to the former champion the necessary
confidence to make a solid impact in his latest campaign for the coveted AMA Supercross championship title.
James Stewart’s debut race with his new team Joe Gibbs Racing did not go to well as he lost control of his bike during lap 16 before eventually going down and losing the third position to eventually finish in sixth place.
The Florida-based rider had suffered heavily because of crashing in majority of his races. Watching Stewart crashing in the very first race of the season was indeed an alarming sign for his supporters.
The second stop of the 2012 AMA Supercross will go down at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 14.
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