Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto a top-10 finish during round nine of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in Millville, Minnesota on Saturday, but Villopoto was less than satisfied with his results on the sandy Spring Creek MX Park track.
Villopoto was forced to work hard to overcame multiple crashes, and his 6-4 moto finishes were only good enough for fifth overall while teammate Jake Weimer rode consistently to finish 9-9 for ninth overall.
The current series points leader, Villopoto crashed on the first lap and found himself rejoining the race in 28th place. A strong ride through the field allowed him to work his way up to sixth, just one spot behind his closest rival, Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey. But a slow start and another early crash left Villopoto having to make up lost ground again. Just as in moto one, he sliced his way through the field to finish fourth for fifth overall, but the result marked the first time that Villpoto has been off the AMA podium all season. Despite the bobble, Villopoto heads into round 10 of the series with a 34-point lead over Dungey in the standings.
“Today was a tough day, but I was able to salvage points as best as I could,” Villopoto said. “All along the goal is the championship, and we are all pulling together towards getting back the number one plate. Adversity like we saw today isn’t going to slow us down.”
In the 250cc class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett put in an impressive second moto, leading and eventually finishing third in the moto and fifth overall, while his teammates Justin Hill (7-11) and Adam Cianciarulo (9-12) battled to eighth and 11th place overall finishes respectively.
Baggett rode two strong motos in Minnesota, as he had to overcome a tough start in the first moto and fight his way up to sixth place. In the second moto, he jumped out of the gate strong and led early in the race doing his best to keep his competitors in tow. After battling for 35 minutes, Baggett held on for third in the moto, but caught a bit of bad luck as his 6-3 motos score was only good enough for fifth, just one point back of a three way tie for third.
“It was difficult out there today,” said Baggett. “I worked really hard this week to try and improve my results and I think the work is starting to pay off. It was good to be back out front again but I know I have to keep working to get back on the podium.”
Hill also said that his day didn’t go exactly as planned.
“I wasn’t able to get the starts I wanted or needed, but it was good to be out there racing bar-to-bar for both motos,” Hill said. It is a little more difficult when you are racing so close with your teammates because you want to beat them, but you don’t want to be too rough and have to face Mitch (Payton) back at the hauler.”
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