Ryan Villopoto rides to victory in Salt Lake City: 2011 AMA Supercross Championship
The second-last round of the 17-race Monster Energy American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross, which is an International Motorcyclist Federation (FIM) Championship, went down on Saturday, April 30, at the Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, USA.
As the dust settled, it was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto who secured the highest spot on the podium. TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed finished in second place, while Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey rounded out the podium after finishing in third.
With the final race of the championship just around the corner, there was hardly anyone who doubted an intense and determined battle between the riders in Salt Lake City. They held nothing back as they competed against each other in the 20-lap race for the
coveted victory and valuable ranking points. With 39,329 fans in attendance and some of the most exciting motocross stars in action, the atmosphere at the Rice-Eccles Stadium was electrifying.
As soon as the starting gun got fired, Team San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart got a perfect start to win the Nuclear Cowboyz® Holeshot award. Right behind him was Reed and Dungey, while Villopoto trailed in fourth place.
Villopoto improved his position after overtaking Dungey in the second lap to move to third place. Stewart and Reed kept on maintaining their positions.
Things were going pretty smoothly for the leader of the pack, but it all changed in the eighth lap. While he had successfully avoided crashing in the last two races, he became the victim of his recently acquired curse once again. After quickly recovering
from the crash and mounting his bike once again, he crashed once again to move several positions back in the race. Villopoto had managed to pass Reed earlier in the same lap and Stewart’s crash gave him the lead. Reed rode in second position with Dungey on
his tail.
Villopoto’s consistent and cautious riding allowed him to hold on to his lead for the rest of the race and eventually grab the win. The successful finish allowed him to further improve his lead over Reed, with the gap now increasing to nine points.
“We have all done our work this year, and it is paying off,” said Villopoto. “It is a lot easier going into Vegas with a nine-point lead. Hopefully, I will be standing on top of the box next weekend.”
Reed and Dungey held on to the positions that they grabbed in the eighth lap till the end to finish in second and third place respectively. Stewart’s unfortunate crashes pushed him to a disappointing 10th place finish.
After the result of the 16th stop of AMA Supercross, Villopoto still enjoys the lead with 318 points, while Reed sits in second with 309. Dungey is in third place with 306 points while Stewart is fourth with 295.
The riders will be heading to the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas for the final stop of the 2011 AMA Supercross Championship on May 7.
Tags: