Although he raced a few of National motocross events last year, 17-year-old Ryan Villopoto of Washington is in his first full year of competition in the AMA Motocross Lites division. He has won five of the seven rounds held so far this year (including the last four in a row) and leads the series in points. Villopoto rides for the Monster/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team aboard a KX250F.
Although Villopoto had an outstanding amateur career, he was largely in the shadow of KTM’s Mike Alessi. So far this year, however, Villopoto has shown more speed than Alessi, and nearly the same consistency (Alessi is a very consistent rider).
Villopoto appears to be getting faster every week, and Industry experts are raising their expectations about Villopoto’s future in the sport. Not only is Villopoto currently handling Alessi, other top riders are contesting the Lites division this year, including Andrew Short (Honda) and Josh Grant (Honda). Although Mike Alessi is currently only 13 points behind Villopoto, Villopoto has all of the momentum going into tomorrow’s Washougal round (round 8 of 12).
