Ryan Villopoto Won’t Defend Outdoor Title
Kit Palmer | April 24, 2012
According to a release from Kawasaki, Ryan Villopoto will not return to defend his 2012 outdoor motocross title after suffering a knee injury on Saturday night at the Seattle Supercross, April 21.
During the first lap of the main event, Villopoto washed out and injured the knee. After the race, the team seemed to think he was okay, but further examination revealed that the injury is far worse than first thought. Word has it that the knee actually “popped out” and is the same knee he had surgery on a few years ago, which also knocked him out of the outdoor series.
Here is the release from Kawasaki:
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto will not defend his AMA Motocross title in 2012 after injuring his knee at the Seattle supercross on Saturday night. The two-time AMA Supercross and defending AMA Motocross champion will undergo surgery on his knee this week.
“I’m pretty disappointed right now,” said Villopoto. “I have trained hard for this season and even though I won the supercross title, I really wanted to defend my outdoor championship. I’ve been through injury before and I know how hard I have to work to get back.”
Villopoto is coming off of a dominant 16 months where the Poulsbo, Wash. native earned two AMA Supercross titles on the strength of 15 wins, the AMA Motocross Championship with three wins and also the richest payday in supercross with a million dollar win at the Monster Energy Cup.
For our complete coverage of the Seattle Supercross, click on the following link:
http://cyclenews.coverleaf.com/cyclenews/20120424#pg53
Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor
Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.
