Villopoto wins title: Crowned 2011 Outdoor National 450 Motocross Champion at Pala Raceway

Heading into round 12, the final race of the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA outdoor national motocross series, Team Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto was leading Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey by just 14 points! Though that’s a sweet lead to have, it was still too small a lead and too early for Villopoto to celebrate the 2011 championship…even after his awesome last lap pass for victory at round 11 in Steel City. In outdoor motocross, anything can happen to shake up the title points chase, so it was critical for Villopoto to keep his points gap intact at the final round. I am sure he was coached to ride fast and consistent, yet safe and smart, to avoid any major problems that could dethrone his points lead. Ryan Dungey meanwhile had nothing to lose by giving it his all at Pala and by pushing as hard as possible. This sport has seen many titles won or lost at the final race of the series, so all eyes were on these two rider’s battle. Fortunately for Villopoto, he had no mechanical issues and no crashes. Other than temporarily losing grip of his handlebar with his right hand during a hard landing off of a jump in Moto 1 (resulting in a scary headshake bobble), Villopoto did exactly what he needed to do in order to be crowned the overall 2011 series champion. After having bad starts, both riders raced their way to the front in Moto 1 , with Villopoto taking the Moto 1 win. Dungey gave it his absolute best, and won Moto 2 and the Pala race overall, but the champ came up short for the points needed to win the championship title. I bet Dungey was hoping for lady luck to bring him a much needed break at Pala, but it just didnt happen. Sadly, Dungey’s mechanical failure during Moto 1 at Southwick, earlier in the season, probably cost him the 2011 outdoor championship title. Chronic MX would like to congratulate both riders for providing MotoX fans around the world with yet another incredible racing season. 2011 marks Villopotos first 450 outdoor title championship, and a well deserved one. We’d like to also congratulate Dean Wilson and Ashley Fiolek for being crowned champions in their respective classes. Next stop will be the Motocross De Nations on September 18 in France, and then the million dollar Las Vegas Monster Energy Cup on October 15. See you there, Cheers Rocket 88.

AMA Motocross Pala 450 Overall Results:
1. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 2-1
2. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) 1-3
3. Justin Barcia (Honda) 3-2
4. Brett Metcalfe (Suzuki) 5-5
5. Milke Alessi (KTM) 4-7
6. Kyle Regal (Suzuki) 6-8
7. Chad Reed (Honda) 12-4
8. Justin Brayton (Yamaha) 9-6
9. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) 10-12
10. Les Smith (Yamaha) 14-9

AMA Motocross 450 Championship Points:
1. Ryan Villopoto, 526
2. Ryan Dungey, 514
3. Chad Reed, 382
4. Brett Metcalfe, 374
5. Mike Alessi, 304
6. Jake Weimer, 271
7. Justin Brayton, 218
8. Andrew Short, 196
9. Kevin Windham, 193
10. Davi Millsaps, 173