Monday Conversation II: Ryan Villopoto

It’s obvious that Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto’s preseason wrist injury was a bigger deal than many expected. At round one in Atlanta, Villopoto definitely didn’t look like himself. However, at every race since, it seems like he’s gotten better and better. In Dallas, Villopoto finally looked like the old RV again, as he took his second win in a row. However, it may be too late for him to catch Trey Canard in the championship chase with only two races left to run.

Racer X: Take me through the night. It seems like you’re finally back to your old self again.
Ryan Villopoto: Yeah, it’s a lot better. I’m able to ride through the week without having to stop or do anything else like that. I’m pretty good now. My wrist feels pretty good.

There was some talk about your wrist, and people were a little bit worried because wrists can be funny.
Yeah, it was pretty bad for a while, but finally, we got it figured out.

You made up a good chunk of points tonight, but you’ve still got a long way to go. What’s the game plan?
Just to wait for mistakes, I guess. That’s all I can do.

Do you expect more races like this, where you seem to be clearly faster than everyone else?
Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping. All I can do is go out and win the next two races and hope for the best – hope for a mistake by him.

Confidence-wise, now that you can ride through the week and not worry about over-jumping something at the track or anything like that, does it also help you with your bike setup and things like that?
It definitely shows.... At first, I had changed some bars, trying to get the sweep back a little bit, but now I’m back to my old setup. Everything’s the same.

What’s it been like the first few weeks of the series, knowing that you weren’t racing at 100 percent, and watching someone you probably didn’t expect to be so consistent out there winning everything?
The beginning of the season wasn’t good at all. I just worked on it and worked on it, and finally, I’m close to where I was last year.

Regardless of how the supercross series turns out, what are your plans for the outdoors? Have you started testing yet?
No. I’ve been riding some outdoors – I’ve been riding a 450, and doing all that. I’ll be doing my testing after the Shootout [in Las Vegas].

You’re not planning on racing a 450 outdoors though, right?
No.

Is there part of you that wishes you could race the 450 outdoors?
I want to try and get this last championship out of the way. Next year....

What did you think about the track tonight?
It was a pile at first. The night show came around, though, and it was a lot better.

The track seemed to get pretty one-lined there late in the night, especially by the triple near the start straight.
Yeah, that section was a bit one-lined, and it made the triple one-lined, but you just had to be careful working your way through the lappers there.

You’ve won two races in a row now, so what kind of gun did you get with your last win, and what kind are you going to get with this one?
I haven’t bought anything yet. I can’t buy anything in California, anyways – I’ve got to go home to do it.

Are you keeping track, though? Knowing how many guns you owe to yourself?
I’ve got all the stuff I needed after last year, but now I just need two more for this year, so far.

With your arsenal, have you thought about raising a militia to fight off the government or anything like that?
I don’t think so! I don’t have enough firepower for that.