After winning three consecutive AMA Motocross Lites National Championships and stunning the world with otherworldly performances in the 2007 and 2008 Motocross of Nations, Ryan Villopoto’s arrival in the elite 450F-based Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series was as highly anticipated as the rookie debut’s of both Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart. Interested in just what the 20 year-old was thinking, feeling and experiencing, we kept an eye on Villopoto from the morning the pits of Angel Stadium opened, right on through to packing his gearbag and beginning his walk out of the dark and deserted paddock as the clock approached midnight. Viewed as the next great American motocross racer, Villopoto’s “come from behind” fifth place finish at Anaheim I was a bittersweet affair. Having been caught up in traffic on the opening lap and hitting the ground over the finish line jump a few laps later, Villopoto charged hard and rode quite well to post the result that he did.

Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 12 Noon/Ryan Villopoto’s Motorhome

Ryan, did you ever think you would get this far?
You can really only hope, I guess. And yeah, I would say the Lites class is quite a bit easier. I mean I haven’t really raced yet, but it seems like it’s only half the races and once you move up it seems you get pulled in twice as many different direction all of the time. You do in the Lites class a little bit, but everything is just more elevated and magnified here.

It’s Noon. How do you feel right now? Are you more nervous than usual? Is it a typical race day?
Right now it’s all right. After practice and closer to the night show, I’ll start getting more nervous.

Is it normally like that for you?
Yeah, I’m obviously more nervous as opening ceremonies and things finish up and you get out there and lineup. I’m more nervous. Everything is on you.

Johnny O’Mara is a friend of mine and he said to me last night, “Ryan is in a perfect spot. He doesn’t have too much pressure on him and all the focus is on the other two guys [Reed and Stewart].” How do you feel here at Anaheim I? Do you feel a lot of pressure?
Definitely there’s pressure, but I put pressure on myself, too. I definitely want to be that third guy, at least, and up there on the box. I want to be a guy that is able to race with those guys and not just be like some of the guys who are out there that are just riding around and not able to race with Chad and James. I want to be able to race with them.

Do you have sort of “read” as far as where you stand on speed in comparison to Chad and James?
No, not yet. You know we rode yesterday, but there were no times yet. So we’ll find out.

Going back to your return to the United States from the Motocross of Nations, did you guys go right to work on the 450?
Yeah, you know I had about a day, day and a half off and then I got right on the 450 and just started riding that.

Could you notice a big difference between the two bikes immediately?
Uhm, I had a ’08 at the beginning of outdoors so I was able to ride that so I definitely had a little bit of time on the 450 so it was pretty easy to just jump on it and ride it.

So you felt comfortable with the increased power and weight of the 2009 bike?
At first we didn’t have a lot of the parts so we were almost riding a stock bike, basically. The bike wasn’t super-comfortable. Obviously now that we have all of our parts and the bike is set, if we would have the parts when I first jumped on, except for the power difference, it would have felt almost like my 250F. Once we got all the parts in it, it definitely helped out a lot. It’s really easy to ride.

Did you test a lot?
We tested quite a bit, yeah. It’s kind of good because me and Timmy have a similar bike set-up. So what I test and what I find is good, he can ride it and he either likes it or doesn’t but it’s good that we can bounce back and forth. And what I think is good, I can have myself reassured once Timmy says, “Yeah, it’s good.”

So you were able to dial the bike in with Ferry’s help?
Yeah, and the same with his stuff. I was able to ride and I‘d say, “Yeah, it’s good.” We can both feed off what each other has to say.

How is the atmosphere inside a 450F-based major factory team as opposed to, say, the Pro Circuit team?
It’s calmer, actually. A lot of the satellite teams have four guys, so the truck is packed. But you know if you want to ride for Mitch, it’s a four-man team and it’s the best team to ride for. That’s one of the cool things about moving up is that we only have me and Timmy now, so it’s seems like it’s a lot more relaxed.

You’d been with Mitch for over three years and experienced a lot of success together. Did you miss leaving?
I mean, yeah I did. It would be nice, it would be cool, to have a 450 team with him. That point is not here yet. If it does come to that point, who knows, I may end up back over there.

Do you know James Stewart pretty well? Did you guys interact much before he took off for Yamaha?
Uhm, not a whole lot. Probably the most was at the des Nations. That, obviously, is a big team deal over there. When it comes to being a team deal like that, you can let down your walls and your guard and it’s pretty good.

Do you find it ironic that you’re on his team and on his bike now?
I’ll probably be in the same position here in a while and move on, you know? Everyone moves on.

As far as Chad and James, what’s the goal tonight? To keep them in sight and run with them?
Yeah, I’d like to be on the box, obviously, and to be able to race with those guys. Tonight I just want to figure out exactly where I’m at.

As far as the other riders, if you had to guess, who else do you see being in the mix?
Probably Kevin [Windham]. I think he’ll definitely be there at some of the races. He has his fast night. Obviously everyone has those nights when they’re either they’re on or they’re off. And when Kevin is on, he’s definitely fast. And I think Shorty [Andrew Short] is going to be good, too.

Do you feel you are in shape and ready to go at the same pace as Reed and Stewart for 20 laps?
Yeah, I think I’ll definitely be close. I don’t know how close I’ll be. Obviously there is a lot of hype around this race so we all ride a little bit different. We’re probably tighter than normal here at the first race, but I think I have 20 laps in me.

strong>Will things calm down quite a bit here after this first race?
They always do.

What’s the goal for tonight? What would make you happy walking out of here?
Third. But whatever happens happens.

Do you have some wins in you? Can you pull a win off in ’09?
We’ll find out. I’d like to think so.

Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 11:15 P.M./Team Kawasaki Pits
45 minutes after the completion of the 20-lap main event, Ryan Villopoto is getting undressed in the team truck.

Ryan, you charged back hard to get fifth. What do you think?
The qualifier was awesome. I won my qualifier (Note: By 6.60-seconds over teammate Timmy Ferry). You know Josh Grant won. Should have, would have, could have, but without a bad start, I think I could have race, you know? Obviously, Josh won and Chad and James went down. It was basically given to anybody. I wasn’t there to take that opportunity. It’s the first race and I got it out of the way. Lap times, I know where I’m at. I made a little mistake caused a fall and that kind of stuff, but lap times were really close and that’s positive.

Are you relieved the first race is over?
Yeah, like I said before, this first race has so much hype and this and that. Now that this is over it should be a lot more relaxed at the races.

When you wake up tomorrow, you think you’ll be okay with things and how they turned out here?
On the lap time side of it, yeah. Looking at the finish, obviously, that’s not what I wanted.

That’s the disappointing part, huh?
Yeah, definitely. Obviously everybody wants to win, but mistakes, man… Everybody makes mistakes and I made two big ones tonight.

By Eric Johnson