At the end of the 2014 season, Ryan Villopoto decided to leave the chance at a fifth consecutive Monster Energy Supercross title on the table to embark on one final season in the FIM World Motocross Championship. The journey was short lived, as Villopoto was injured at Round 4 in Italy and announced his retirement from racing later that year.
Since his retirement, RV has stayed busy doing promotional work for Kawasaki and his long-time sponsors. He also has a job two to three days a week using his tractor and grader to help his buddies driveway business. And he’s going to be a dad to twins.
We haven’t forgotten about Ryan Villopoto and his legacy just yet. So, we thought we would ask people who are still working/riding about their time with Villopoto and what they learned.
Adam Cianciarulo | Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki
“Ryan is mentally the strongest person I know. Ryan and his wife Kristen were nice enough to let me live with them during my rookie season in 2013 and regardless of how the race went on the weekend he was always the same guy during the week. I used to see him receive a little criticism for quote "Not enjoying it enough" and I used to laugh every time I heard that. I feel like to Ryan, him showing any emotion to the outside world he considered weakness. To me, that's not him lacking appreciation for the moment or winning, that was his strategy. Never get to high or too low—and he perfected it. You don't win four straight supercross championships by getting complacent, or on the other end of the spectrum—losing confidence. I always admired that about him the most.”
Jake Weimer | Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/RCH Suzuki
“I will say that he got nervous like everyone else but he showed up every time he needed to and performed.”
Tyla Rattray | Trainer
“His determination to win was impressive. And getting four 450SX titles in a row is unreal. His training and program was structured perfect. He had all the pieces of the puzzle put together and wanted to win and dominate. Very impressive to be around in his time and witness it.”
Chris Clark | Retired road racer; Aldon Baker trained
“The biggest thing I gained was being in that environment with Aldon, the crew and RV. RV usually set the benchmark. You gained that mental confidence when you got fit enough to keep up on the bike rides, then a little more confidence when you were able to pull your own weight out front during the ride. His effort at the practice track and his ability to put in full motos. Sometimes the last lap being the fastest if it would make the other guys look bad.”
Aldon Baker | Trainer
“He didn’t enjoy the work he needed to do in order to win but he did it all and he went full out when he was out there. He was so determined to win that he knew he had to work that hard in order to do so. He complained now and then but his effort was full out, 100 percent of the time.”
