By Jason Weigandt, Jason Thomas, and Steve Matthes

1. How the heck did Ryan Villopoto turn it around so quickly?

Jason Weigandt: I didn’t see this level of improvement coming this quickly. I know you could say "RV got pissed off," but I don't think riding in anger makes a big difference at this level. To say that he won this weekend because he was fired up would then mean he wasn't trying hard enough last week, and I don't think these dudes ever go out there not giving it their all. Clearly, his bike was much better this time, clearly they've made a breakthrough there. But I think what we're seeing is the general inconsistency of racing in the GPs. There's so much more variation in tracks, weather, location, travel, and such that riders can have dominant runs at one race (like Nagl's 1-1) and then just be okay at the next. After I watched last week's race again, I realized that maybe RV wasn't as far off as it seemed. Until he lost his rear brake, he spent moto two close behind Kevin Strijbos, another rider who can be okay one week and then up front the next—and certainly not a slouch. The point is, we can expect larger variations week to week than we're used to over here, so maybe he wasn't as horrible in Qatar as it seemed, and maybe, also, we need to pump the brakes on celebrating this Thailand overall win, too. It's early, the results change drastically each week, and don't forget that Antonio Cairoli really came to life in the final moto, which is just another example of the up-and-down nature of the GPs. RV is clearly learning--I heard from insiders that he realized he went too hard in the Saturday qualifier, and was tired by Sunday, so chalk up another lesson for him. But I think anyone that's suddenly following this more closely is learning some things, as well

Jason Thomas: I think RV learned a lot about the series he was racing and just how different it is in every way. He figured out a few things on the bike and went back to an old setting and I think that added some confidence as well. He was definitely very angry, and while Weege doesn't think that matters too much, I disagree. Motivation comes from lots of places, and there is nothing like embarrassing one of the greatest riders ever to get motivated. I think he came into the weekend much more prepared for how things would shake out and responded accordingly. He was firing right from the get-go and wanted it be known that the Qatar RV was not the Thailand RV. One thing is for sure, though: He knows what it takes now, and after having two weekends off before Argentina, he’ll come ready for war down south. 

Steve Matthes: Well, color me shocked. Great job by RV and his team to figure some things out on the bike and come back with a win. Certainly, I, and many others, didn't think he could rebound in seven days the way he did. Yes, he had bike issues at the opener, but before his rear brakes went out in the second moto, he wasn't exactly killing it. But that was last week, and this week the team made some rear suspension changes to make it more like RV’s supercross setup last year, and it settled the rear end down. This GP stuff is tricky. There's no doubt in my mind that him crushing everyone in Saturday's qualifier was a bad idea; the regular GP riders knew that it was very hot and they had to conserve. Villopoto comes from the USA mentality of aggression where you have two fifteen-minute practices to get your A-game ready. I think you could see in the second moto the heat was taking its toll on Ryan, and just like last weekend, this was another thing he learned.