Villopoto To Miss Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship

Defending Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross Champion Ryan Villopoto will undergo knee surgery, miss the outdoor nationals.

It looks like Ryan Villopoto’s win in at the final round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series in Las Vegas last weekend may be his last of the year.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto will not defend his number-one plate in the 450 class in the upcoming Lucas Oil AMA Pro Villopoto’s Monster Energy Kawasaki team released a statement today, noting that Villopoto will be unable to defend his 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship due to a knee injury that he has been coping with throughout much of the Monster Energy Supercross season. Villopoto will undergo knee surgery to fix the lingering injury. Villopoto is not expected to return to racing before the beginning of the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season.

“This is definitely not the news I wanted to hear from the doctors,” Villopoto said in the release. “We have worked hard to be in position to win championships for Monster Energy Kawasaki and to not be able to race this summer is very disappointing. Going from a really great feeling after winning a fourth straight Supercross title, to knowing I am going to spend the summer rehabbing a knee injury is devastating.”

Monster Energy Kawasaki has recruited 2013 Monster Energy Canadian Motocross National Champion Brett Metcalfe to fill-in for Villopoto. Metcalfe will ride alongside team member Jake Weimer, who is looking for a good outdoor season after missing part of the supercross season due to injury.

Villopoto had won the previous two Lucas Oil 450cc Pro Motocross titles, and was also the champion in 2011. Ryan Dungey won the title in 2010 and 2012, and the Red Bull KTM rider and teammate Ken Roczen have to be considered legitimate contenders, along with Discount Tire/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki’s Chad Reed, who has recovered from his supercross injuries and plans to contest the entire series. Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart is also expected to be a frontunner.