“Yeah, I’d like to be on the box, obviously, and to be able to race with those guys, Reed and Stewart. Tonight I just want to figure out exactly where I’m at.”

This was Ryan Villopoto talking. It was high noon on Saturday, January 3, 2009 and the 20 year-old was nervous. Sitting in his motorhome with less than an hour before he would take to the track laid out down upon Angel Stadium and begin his first practice session for his highly anticipated debut in the Monster Energy Supercross Series.

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 being hyped to the hilt very much like the rookie debut’s of two great racers who came before him: Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart.

Later that night and after all was said and done, just shy of midnight Villopoto sat in his locker area, slowly undressing. Villopoto had made a few small mistakes in his first 450F main event — hitting the ground over the finish line jump a few laps into the race being the foremost — and was forced to come from behind to finish a hard earned and very respectable fifth. Still, he was not happy.

“Should have, would have, could have, but without a bad start, I think I could have won the race you know?” he said, referring to the fact that heavy favorites Reed and Stewart had knocked each other down, thus handing the win to another rookie rider named Josh Grant. “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. Obviously everybody wants to win, but mistakes, man… Everybody makes mistakes and I made two big ones tonight.”

Villopoto regrouped during the week, but things took a turn for the worse at Phoenix where he finished an off-song seventh. Then came a strong fourth place finish at Anaheim II, just one position removed from being permitted to walk upon the podium.

Then came Saturday evening, January 24, 2009 and round five of the series in Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Just shy of 10 P.M. and with 48,277 fans looking on the gate dropped sending the roaring pack rocketing down the stat straight and into the bizarre and treacherous double-apex first turn. While Suzuki’s Mike Alessi grabbed the holeshot, it only took Ryan Villopoto a few corners to go flying into the lead. He would remain out front and leading the way until lap number four when Stewart motored by the young KX450F pilot and into the lead. Concurrently, Reed was slashing his way through the pack, up to fifth place with just Josh Grant and Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short before him. By lap 11, Reed was into third. He would then pick up second when Villopoto made a small bobble on lap 13. But miscue and all, Ryan Villopoto held on for third and had finally achieved the goal he had set for himself on opening day — he was standing atop the victory podium, flanked by the world’s two best riders.

“I know I can run with those guys, and my lap times showed it,” said Villopoto after the race was run. “And without that fall, I know I could’ve at least held Chad off for five more laps. Where that five more laps ended up to be – whether it was lap fifteen or eighteen – who knows? But maybe I could’ve ended up with second. But I’m going to keep trying.”

Eric Johnson