(Photo: Ryan Villopoto | Garth Milan Photography)
In this edition of First Seasons, where The Podium Finish takes a look back on a motorsport driver past or present, we catch up with former Supercross rider and champion, Ryan Villopoto.
During this interview, Villopoto discusses how he got into Supercross, what it was like making his debut at the young age of 18, how he set expectations for himself despite being a rookie, other memories of making his first start at Anaheim back in 2006, and securing his first win at Irving that same year. He also discusses how he won the championship the year after in 2007, as well as many different moments throughout his career.
Briar Starr: You would make your debut at the age of 18 riding for the Pro Circuit Kawasaki Factory Team in the Supercross Lites West Class. Briefly discuss what it was like making your debut at that age and how you got connected with the Kawasaki folks to give you the opportunity. Was it a dream come true for you to race in Supercross at the time?
Ryan Villopoto: I was a Team Green rider from 2003 through 2004 is when that started the amateur program and I turned professional in 2006 after starting the last three nationals in 2005.
I had always been with Mitch (Payton), always had a good relationship with him when I was doing amateur. However, as an amateur, I wasn’t the most winning rider. I got a lot of seconds. I was fast and good, but never the most winning guy. When I did sign my contract with Pro Circuit, it was right before Loretta Lynn’s in 2005.
Obviously, times have changed now where guys are getting signed early, but during my era, you didn’t get signed until either during or after Loretta Lynn. For my dad, it was a big weight off his shoulders because now we were secured and had a two-year contract with a factory team. That was good for myself and my dad. During those times, it was probably the most fun I ever had as a rider with no responsibilities. As I got older and moved to the 450 class, the responsibilities picked up.
Starr: Following up on that question and this maybe could be a repeat. Were there ever any talks with them leading up to the opportunity and do you recall where you were at when getting a phone call, or being in person once you learned you were going Supercross racing?
Villopoto: When I was just starting out at a young age, I didn’t deal with any of my contracts or talks with teams, so my dad handled most of that. I did have an agent named Bobby Nichols at the time and Kawasaki reached out to him and got the ball rolling with the paperwork process, but ultimately, the team has to see something in you regardless of how good you are.
Starr: At age 18, did you feel like you were ready to compete in Supercross on a full-time basis, especially having a full-time schedule right away? Were there ever any second thoughts about competing at such a young age? With that being said, did you like having a full-time schedule versus a part-time schedule knowing you would be on the bike every week getting the experience necessary?
Villopoto: During that time, I was racing in the Supercross Lites class, which is what the 250 class is today. The schedule is much more abbreviated with only eight rounds. There is no option. If you get hired on, you’re going into the deep end of the pool and when you jump in, you have to learn to swim quickly.
I was ready for it. I had grown up in the northwest, so I rode a fair amount of arenacross at horse arenas as an amateur kid. Supercross wasn’t really out of the ordinary, riding in tight spaces and things like that. I knew I was on a good team and I was riding with Mitch’s guys before Supercross. At that point, it’s just putting the rest of it together by being consistent with your starts, but the speed was there.
Starr: Coming into Supercross, can you discuss what your original expectations were as a rider? Obviously, race wins and championships were on your mind, but realistically, what were those expectations at first, and did those ever change over time? Did you find it challenging to set expectations as a rookie rider?
Villopoto: Back when I turned pro, there were a lot of public tracks back in California where you could ride with a lot of the guys like Andrew Short and other riders; teams to square yourself up with them to see where you were.
I knew I was a contender, maybe not for a championship in my first year in Supercross, but we knew we had podium speed. I had the ability to run with those guys. It was all about putting myself in a good position.
Starr: Eventually, your first Supercross race would take place at Anaheim back in January 2006, where you would get your first podium in your first start. First, what were the weeks like leading up to your initial debut? Were you anxious, or nervous, or were you ready to go by the time the gate dropped after having some Motocross races and heat races at that specific race?
Villopoto: I was ready to go, for sure. But, I did break my collarbone about four weeks before the opener at Anaheim One. Four to five weeks out, I broke my collarbone when riding in the whoops section. I went and had it plated the next day. I took two to three weeks off the bike and I rode about four to five days post-surgery leading into the race.
That kind of took some of the pressure away since I had just got hurt before the race. Looking to go to Anaheim at that point knowing you had been hurt took a little of the expectations off. I think that may have helped. Maybe if I had not gotten hurt, you’re looking at the race differently with a shot at potentially winning.
Being that I was off the bike for a couple of weeks, it was essentially, let’s just finish a strong race instead of trying to go for the win out of the gate. It certainly wasn’t ideal with the broken collarbone. Got that plated and went out to race three weeks later.
Starr: After Anaheim One, you had some respectable finishes inside the top five, but you would get your first win at Irving seven races into the season. Looking back, what does that first victory still mean to you to this day and what did you do as a team to celebrate the victory? When did it sit in that you were a Supercross winner?
Villopoto: That question I can’t answer nowadays with being 35-years-old and being retired, and the reason why I say that is because I don’t have a ton of memory from that particular race.
I can say, however, I have seven-year-old kids now and can pull up all the race footage on YouTube. The older I get, the cooler it is to see all the stuff I have done. I’m very grateful for all the experiences.
Starr: You would end up third in the standings, 20 points behind the championship. In your rookie year, were you satisfied with what you were able to accomplish as a rider and continuing to reflect, do you think you could have won the championship had a few races gone your way?
Villopoto: I potentially could have won the championship the first year I raced in. Looking back, I finished third overall and won outdoors for a rookie season. That year really could not have been any better. I think if I had won Supercross at 18-years-old and being on a high could have affected my outdoor season.
There is a give and take to that. I think getting third in Supercross and winning the outdoors title is a better trajectory than if it was flip-flopped the other way around, if that makes sense. When we moved outdoors, that is where we were more comfortable since we grew up riding in those conditions. It is a little harder, you have more heat, and the races are longer. I think it worked out well with the start of my career.
Starr: Jumping ahead to the 2007 season just briefly. You would set the world on fire by winning seven out of the eight races with the exception of the Lites Shootout. What changed during the off-season that helped you win so many races that season? Was it just a different mindset of being so close the year prior and did you realize what you were doing in the moment, winning almost every race? Is there a part of you that you is like, “Man, I wish we could have won Phoenix and possibly the Lites Shootout”?
Villopoto: I was never an athlete that would dwell on the past, especially of our schedule being week-in, week-out with so many races. As an athlete, you can’t dwell on the ones you struggled on or had a bad weekend. For me, the reset happened right away. In my case, the weekend reset was on Sunday mornings.
Starr: Even though you were winning almost every race in the West Coast class. Was there ever a learning curve with learning the bike or were you just comfortable right from the start? What type of challenges did you face if any as a rider and how did you improve on them?
Villopoto: I was great surrounding myself with great people during that time period. As a Lites rider, I had Randy Lawrence as my physical trainer. The one thing I did well was delegating everyone’s jobs well. I didn’t worry about what I was doing from the training aspect or how many laps I was doing. I was only focused on the riding part and letting Randy figure out what the gym program was or how many laps I was doing. That was Randy’s job, which is why I hired him.
Then, I moved to Aldon Baker (Supercross trainer) later in my career and that’s when things changed too. He handled most of the same things that Randy did. As a rider, you are only focused on riding and getting faster, not worrying about whether I am doing too much or not eating enough, etc. That is a lot of noise that you are dealing with as an athlete or racer; just trying to delegate and surround yourself with good people, so you did not have to worry about any of that stuff.
Starr: I want to talk about when you made your first Daytona start, which came in the East Coast class in 2008. If you can remember, what do you recall about being at Daytona for the first time in your career? Was it intimidating just seeing the structure at first glance and is there any relation or comparison of your first start at Anaheim One?
Villopoto: I can always remember Daytona because it’s just a prestigious race. The scale of the venue, where they built the track, there is just so much history around Daytona. The first time showing up to race, it was like, check out Daytona. It is one of those Supercross races where you would like to try and win.
Ultimately, your goal is to win the championship, right? If you asked me what stadiums you’d like to win in? They’re all about the same, but there are a couple of exceptions to that. The first Anaheim race of the season is something you want to have on your record and Daytona is another cool one to have. The track is a cool layout because of the clay and sand they bring in, just the Florida dirt they have underneath the grass. It is a special one to try and win for sure.
Starr: After the first two seasons in ‘06 and ‘07, the history of your career speaks for yourself. You would win the 450 Supercross Championships four times, the Supercross West Championship, various wins in the SX Lites West, the SX Lites East, many wins in the 450 Supercross class, as well as wins in the outdoor class. Going rapid fire. What would you say is your favorite 250 class win, your favorite 450 class win in Supercross and Outdoors, and your favorite 450 championship?
Villopoto: Racing the 2007 outdoor season was a phenomenal and super fun year. I will have to choose Budds Creek if I single out Motocross of Nations since I won both classes with the 250s and 450s. For the 450s, I would say wrapping up the championship at Las Vegas in 2011, which was my first year winning the championship.
That was a close points race. I believe, myself, James (Stewart), and Chad (Reed) were all within 10 points. So, I would say crossing the finish first and taking the championship will always be special.
Starr: When you first entered the sport in 2006, did you ever think you would have so much success as a rider winning numerous races and championships? And since you retired a few years ago, did accomplishing so much in the sport ever sink in for you? Like, wow, I was able to accomplish a lot.
Villopoto: The older I get and watching my kids watch the racing, being involved with Title 24 (a podcast that Ryan and Ricky Carmichael do weekly recapping Supercross events) and being on the other side of things, watching the current racers go through the same thing, now it is definitely sinking in for me as far as accomplishments go.
When I was racing, I did not have time to think about what I was accomplishing, but now I do. With 41 wins and a total of 10 championships, there are only an odd few that will ever be able to do that, and I am sure it might stay like that for a long time.
Starr: Some racers have a memorabilia collection and some do not. Are you a driver that collects your merchandise and, if so, what in your collection reminds you of your rookie seasons?
Villopoto: I have quite a few helmets and jerseys. I am building a trophy room currently right now that will have all my championship trophies and bikes. Honestly, a lot of the homemade stuff is reminding me of my rookie season. I had some fan stuff that people made out of wood, like a helmet that has my name and is custom painted. Looking back on that is really cool.
Having all that memorabilia is cool to have. I wish I had more of it, I should have never given most of it away.
Starr: What is one memory or lesson you learned in your rookie season that helped you later on in your career?
Villopoto: As a rookie, I was light-hearted about the racing and I think part of that was my dad was hard on me. He was trying to develop an athlete. The older I am now, the clearer I see all of that. By him taking things more to heart, I was the one who could not have both of us down.
Like I said, I had a quick turnover time. If I had a bad weekend, I brushed it off. I never thought it was me. I knew I could be one of the guys.
Starr: Wrapping this interview up – It’s hard to believe your first start came 18 years ago. However, if time travel was available, what would a 35-year-old Ryan Villopoto tell an 18-year-old Ryan Villopoto? Is there anything you would do differently?
Villopoto: That is a tough question because if you do something drastically different, then your trajectory is likely going to change. You can’t alter what had happened. As for myself, could I have done some things differently or do I regret some decisions? For sure. Ultimately, you can’t dwell on the past. I don’t think about the past too much or dwell on it, I think that’s depressing. It’s done and over.
Special thanks to J.H. Leale of Ricky Carmichael Racing for coordinating and assisting with this interview, and many thanks to Ryan Villopoto for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do the interview. Be sure to catch Title 24, a podcast hosted by Villopoto and Ricky Carmichael recapping all things Supercross every Monday on Apple Podcasts here, and also on Spotify.
Additionally, you can follow Ryan on Instagram.
