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ryan Villopoto fulfils his promise for Kawasaki as the best of the best in AMA Supercross

Images sImon Cudby

PointProvenProvenPoint

T he 2011 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season will be

remembered for two things: Ryan Villopoto’s first ever premier class title, plus Australia’s Chad Reed launching his very own team.

In fact, the pair took the championship down to the wire at Las Vegas’ season finale at Sam Boyd Stadium, where Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Villopoto finally reached his dream of winning a Supercross Class title.

It was Reed who stole much of the limelight during the 17-round series though, winning two races for TwoTwo Motorsports and attracting factory support from American Honda by the season’s end.

Dual former champion Reed, 29, won at San Diego in a breakthrough as a privateer and then repeated when it counted under the brightest of lights in Vegas, however the early-season form of RV meant he held on to the series lead by just four points with six victories in

total.Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan

Dungey’s title defence was hampered by a DNF at Anaheim II, falling short by 10 points in third overall, but edged out San Manuel/Red Bull Yamaha’s James Stewart, who took five wins. Rookie Trey Canard was fifth for American Honda on three wins to his credit.

As for the other Aussies, Supercross Class rookie Brett Metcalfe missed much of the season and took 14th, Queenslander Michael Byrne finished up 16th for BTOSports/BBMX Suzuki, and Tye Simmonds was 23rd for JDR/J-Star/KTM.

The Lites class saw two champions crowned in the Vegas decider, the West Coast title belonging to Broc Tickle (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) and the East going to Justin Barcia (GEICO Powersports Honda).

Let’s reflect on the season in a series of captivating images, telling the story through the lens of ace American photographer Simon Cudby from go to woe. This is 2011.

450 ClassVICtory lIstRyan Villopoto 6James Stewart 5

Trey Canard 3Chad Reed 2

Ryan Dungey 1

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superCross Class1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) 3382. Chad Reed (Honda) 3343. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 3284. James Stewart (Yamaha) 3015. Trey Canard (Honda) 2556. Andrew Short (KTM) 2307. Kevin Windham (Honda) 2078. Davi Millsaps (Yamaha) 1809. Justin Brayton (Yamaha) 15510. Nick Wey (Yamaha) 15214. Brett Metcalfe (Suzuki) 10716. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 74 23. Tye Simmonds (KTM) 44

Western regIonal superCross lItes Class1. Broc Tickle (Kawasaki) 1872. Eli Tomac (Honda) 1813. Josh Hansen (Kawasaki) 1624. Cole Seely (Honda) 1475. Ryan Morais (Suzuki) 1386. Ken Roczen (KTM) 1307. Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki) 1268. Kyle Cunningham (Yamaha) 1259. Martin Davalos (Suzuki) 10710. Ben Evans (Kawasaki) 75

eastern regIonal superCross lItes Class1. Justin Barcia (Honda) 2052. Dean Wilson (Kawasaki) 1833. Ryan Sipes (Yamaha) 1634. Blake Baggett (Kawasaki) 159 5. Blake Wharton (Honda) 1256. Matt Lemoine (Kawasaki) 1207. Malcolm Stewart (Suzuki) 89 8. Lance Vincent (Honda) 83 9. PJ Larsen (KTM) 80 10. Hunter Hewitt (Suzuki) 80

championship standings

raCe of the year las Vegasn With the championship on the line, Las Vegas provided all the action that fans could handle. In the end it was Aussie Chad Reed who took a convincing win, but Ryan Villopoto sealed the series with a safe third behind 2010 champion Ryan Dungey. As for James Stewart, he crashed out… again.

1. Tickle wrapped up the EastCoast Lites title2. Barcia ruled the West Coast Lites3. Aussie rookie Simmondswas 23rd 4. Dungey lacked luck,but wound up third5. Stewart won five races despite many crashes

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team of the year tWotWo motorsportsn Chad Reed ran out of factory options before this year, so what did he do? Started his own team, of course. Racing under the catchy guise of TwoTwo Motorsports, Reed proved the ultimate team owner/rider and even attracted factory Honda support by the Vegas finals.

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Crash of the yearsteWart/reed In atlantan An aggressive last lap manoeuvre by Chad Reed in Atlanta took both he and James Stewart down, effectively allowing Ryan Villopoto to sneak through for the W. It was a massive move by Reedy, as was the final pass that saw him beat Stewart once and for all in the final turn.

rIsIng star aWardKen roCzenn Splitting his time between winning the MX2 Motocross World Championship and doing select AMA races in both the West Coast Lites and Supercross Classes, German Ken Roczen is the next big thing. His final round win in the Lites at Vegas sent a huge signal that he’ll be title favourite for 2012.

rooKIe of the yeartrey CanardWith three wins to his name and thousands of new fans, Trey Canard may just be the man to save face at American Honda in the years to come. He’s fast, confident and usually consistent, so if he can avoid injury then he’s in a prime position to challenge for the title in 2012. 1

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21. Villopoto deserved the #1plate for 20112. Metcalfe missed much of hisrookie season3. Byrner battled to 16th in the series

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AMA MotocroSS

Great

outdoors

Villopoto and Dungey make it an all-ryan show in American Motocross,

as Wilson wins the 250s

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The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship was better than ever in 2011, with Ryan Villopoto eventually capturing the premier

450 Class crown over arch-rival Ryan Dungey as the season went down to the wire at Pala Raceway.

It wasn’t always the two Ryans who were out front though, with Australia’s Chad Reed starting his season in a blaze of glory for TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing aboard a factory-supported Honda CRF450R.

Former 2009 champion Reed won the opening four rounds and led the series

into the midway point of the season, however a monumental crash at Millville while leading literally took the wind out of his sails and made mainstream news headlines worldwide.

That enabled RV and the Dunge to take control at the front, with the nail in Reed’s championship coffin coming via a mechanical at Southwick in moto one.

Once all was said and done, Villopoto won via consistency with podiums at every round, adding the title to the Monster Energy AMA Supercross crown that he won in May. His turning point came at ?, when he debuted Kawasaki’s 2012 KX450F with a double win.

Meanwhile, Dungey had to relinquish his title, but some observers suggest it could have been more save a mechanical while leading at Freestone. RV’s final points buffer was 14.

As for the other Aussies, Brett Metcalfe scored his first career win at Southwick on his way to fourth overall, while Michael Byrne was 12th, rookie Tye Simmonds 17th and privateer Dean Porter 48th.

The 250 Class was painted green by Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki, the title won by Scottish teen Dean Wilson over teammates Tyla Rattray and Blake Baggett.

Now, lets reflect upon the series with some of the great moments and standout stars through the lens of Simon Cudby.outdoor

sImages sImon Cudby

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rooKIe of the year JustIn barCIan No, he wasn’t actually an official rookie but Justin Barcia did make a spectacular impact in the final three rounds when filling in for Trey Canard at American Honda. Moto wins, consistent podiums and outright speed will have Barcia a favourite for teams when he decides to step up full time.

1. Focus…2. Simmonds gained momentum all year3. Alessi was top KTM in fifth4. Byrne fought for 12th overall5. RV did the double in the outdoors

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championship standings

Crash of the yearChad reed at mIllVIllen They’ve labelled it the ‘Chad-a-pult’ in America, speaking of Chad Reed’s unbelievable crash on the opening lap of moto two at Millville. A lesser man would still be laying deep in the ditch he landed in after being flung off the bike mid-air, however Reedy got back up to finish the race! Amazing.

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450 Class 1. Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki) 5262. Ryan Dungey (Suzuki) 5143. Chad Reed (Honda) 4294. Brett Metcalfe (Suzuki) 3745. Mike Alessi (KTM) 3046. Jake Weimer (Kawasaki) 2717. Justin Brayton (Yamaha) 2188. Andrew Short (KTM) 1969. Kevin Windham (Honda) 19310. Davi Millsaps (Yamaha) 17312. Michael Byrne (Suzuki) 15417. Tye Simmonds (KTM) 11548. Dean Porter (Suzuki) 5

250 Class 1. Dean Wilson (Kawasaki) 5382. Tyla Rattray (Kawasaki) 4723. Blake Baggett (Kawasaki) 4694. Eli Tomac (Honda) 3145. Kyle Cunningham (Yamaha) 3116. Gareth Swanepoel (Yamaha) 3007. Broc Tickle (Kawasaki) 2538. Alex Martin (Honda) 2139. Martin Davalos (Suzuki) 21310. Darryn Durham (Honda) 195

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250 Class moto VICtory lIst

Dean Wilson 11Blake Baggett 8Tyla Rattray 4

Gareth Swanepoel 1

450 ClassmotoVICtory lIst

Ryan Villopoto 10Chad Reed 7

Ryan Dungey 6Justin Barcia 1

team of the yearmonster energy pro CIrCuIt KaWasaKIn The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki team absolutely rocked the 250 Class during the 2011 outdoor season. Sweeping all 12 rounds and winning 23 from 24 motos, Mitch Payton had a lot to smile about at year’s end. What’s more, Wilson, Rattray and Baggett took 1-2-3 in the series.

rIsIng star of the yeardean WIlsonn There’s a lot to like about young Scotsman Dean Wilson, winner of the 250 Class in this year’s outdoors. At just 19 in his second year of racing AMA, Wilson finished on the podium at all bar one round and absolutely dominated the final rounds. He’ll be a premier class champion in years to come.

raCe of the yearsouthWICKn It may not have been an all out battle for victory, but the fact that South Australian Brett Metcalfe took his first national win in the U.S. at Southwick after eight years of trying was a huge one in our books. Metty went 3-2 for the W, a great achievement for one of the nice guys of the sport. 1

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1. Wilson won his first titlein the 250 Class2. PC dominated all season long3. Reed was unstoppableto start with

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