Photos by Scott Hoffman.

It was the defending class champion Ryan Villopoto that made it look easy and ran away with the win at the opening round of the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross Series at Anaheim Stadium in Southern California. Are we going to see a repeat of Villopoto's domination at Phoenix and beyond? 12.2 seconds behind Villopoto was TwoTwo Motorsports rider Chad Reed who tried to minimize the gap but was not able to do so before the checkers. It was Red Bull KTM's Ryan Dungey that closed out the podium for the SX class after battling for the 3rd place position with Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX rider James Stewart, who crashed during lap 15 and finished the night in 6th place.

In the Lites class, it was Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda rider Cole Seely leading the Lites West race to the checkered flag. Seely didn't wait long, on lap 2 he made the move on Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Tyla Rattray for the lead and took them to the finish line; Rattray in tow finishing in 2nd place. GEICO Honda rider Eli Tomac rounded out the podium in 3rd place.

Supercross Class Results: Anaheim Race 1
1. Ryan Villopoto, Seattle, Wash., Kawasaki
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda
3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
4. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
5. Jake Weimer, Wildomar, ID., Kawasaki
6. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha
7. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
8. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda
9. Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Calif., Suzuki
10. Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki

Supercross Class Season Standings
1. Ryan Villopoto, Seattle, Wash., Kawasaki - 25
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Honda - 22
3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM - 20
4. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Honda - 18
5. Jake Weimer, Wildomar, ID., Kawasaki - 16
6. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha - 15
7. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda - 14
8. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda - 13
9. Mike Alessi, Hilliard, Calif., Suzuki - 12
10. Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., Kawasaki - 11

Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Results: Anaheim Race 1
1. Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
2. Tyla Rattray, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
4. Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
5. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, KY, Yamaha
6. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, NM, Suzuki
8. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
9. Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, SC, Yamaha
10. Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda

Western Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings
1. Cole Seely, Murrieta, Calif., Honda - 25
2. Tyla Rattray, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki - 22
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda - 20
4. Marvin Musquin, Murrieta, Calif., KTM - 18
5. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, KY, Yamaha - 16
6. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki - 15
7. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, NM, Suzuki - 14
8. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda - 13
9. Zach Osborne, Chesterfield, SC, Yamaha - 12
10. Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda - 11

Newly married Ryan Villopoto postponed his honeymoon so he could compete in the Monster Energy Cup over the weekend in Las Vegas.

Presumably, his wife has no complaints as the champion of the 2011 motocross and supercross circuits raced like an athlete possessed and claimed a $1-million dollar purse being offered to any rider who could win all three 10-lap main events.

It was a feat event sponsors clearly believed was highly improbable in this hybrid event at Sam Boyd Stadium. But Villopoto, 23, not only won all three motos, he won the first two from start to finish and trailed only around the first turn in the third. He then opened a commanding lead and hit his Vegas-style jackpot, raking in the richest prize in the history of motocross or supercross.

Afterward, Villopoto must have felt like riding a wheelie into the nearest bank. Instead, he shared these words from the podium: "I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon right now but I guess this is a good present for that. It's a cool one-off race and I'm a million dollars richer now. It's been hell of a year for all of us. It'll be hard to have another one of these."



There has been no other race like this. The hybrid track, designed by legendary riders Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael, featured supercross and motocross elements, with huge jumps and tight turns inside the stadium, and a more sweeping motocross portion of the same course outside the stadium.

It was said to be too physically demanding for any single rider to sweep all three motos.

But Villopoto, with an expensive honeymoon to consider, gained the holeshot, or early lead, in the first two motos, and never never looked back. He won the first by more than 12 seconds, and the second by almost as wide a margin.

Heading into the final moto he said, "I just need to get another good start like I've been doing. I'll be happy leaving here healthy, and if I win, great, if not, this was still awesome."

Villopoto, who rides for Kawasaki, was slightly slower out of the gate than Suzuki's Mike Alessi in the third moto, but Villopoto caught and passed his rival moments after the first turn and methodically pulled ahead of the field.

There was no better way to cap a season in which Villopoto claimed AMA Supercross and AMA Motocross titles.

He began to celebrate late during the third moto by pumping his fist over one jump, and turning his bike sideways over the final double jump, amid roars from the crowd.

"This is crazy," Villopoto told the Washington Post after his triumph. "I was just happy I was able to pull it off."

(Please visit the Motocross.com photo gallery and the publication's explanation of how and why the event came about.)

-- Images show Ryan Villopoto in action in the third moto (top) and receiving a check for $1 million dollars for his victory at the Monster Energy Cup. Courtesy of Motocross.com

The Battle of the Ryans
Ryan Villopoto (left) and Ryan Dungey (right), as represented by these fans, were also battling on the track all day. (Photo: CoxMX.com)
Ryan Villopoto went 1-2 on the day for second overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Ryan Dungey went 2-1 for first overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Chad Reed, here in practice, went 3-3 for third overall but still holds the points lead going into RedBud next weekend. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The first 450 moto gets going (Photo: Sheryl Crawford/CoxMX.com)Tommy Hahn (12) was down in the first turn in the first 450 moto, but came from way, way back for 11th place in the moto. (Photo: Sheryl Crawford/CoxMX.com)
Hahn returned in moto two for his best moto finish of the season with fifth place and grabbed sixth overall. Here, in practice, he throws a whip for bonus points in front of his Motoconcepts Yamaha hauler. (Photo: CoxMX.com)After a stint filling in at the JGR/Toyota/Muscle Milk Yamaha team, Les Smith signed on with the Rockstar Energy Suzuki team. Going from a 450 to a 250F at altitude must've been quite an adjustment. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Jimmy Albertson returned to action at Lakewood and went 12-12 for 12th overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Christian Craig (144) led the first 450 moto for a while before falling back to sixth. He went down on the start in moto two with Jake Weimer and still caught back up to 15th. He finished eighth overall and is currently 10th in the points standings. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Josh Grant (right), in his second race back for Honda, ended up injuring his formerly healthy knee at Lakewood. An MRI is upcoming, but it's possible he may be out injured again. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The second 450 start saw Chad Reed (22) grab the holeshot. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Craig (144) and Jake Weimer (32) were down in turn one but came back to 15th (Craig) and 16th (Weimer) in the moto. (Photo: CoxMX.com)It was a very tough day for Weimer. Here, in the first moto, he gets up from his second fall in the opening two laps, where he lost his balance in a very long, very deep rut. The crash took about 50 yards from first bobble to fall. He likes RedBud, though... (Photo: CoxMX.com)A lot of the teams are running tanks that run over stock capacity. Here, Chad Reed's bike sports a carbon-fiber tank with an increased capacity. Ryan Dungey's bike also has about a liter more fuel capacity than it did when the outdoor season started. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Erin Bates jokes with Lars in the TwoTwo Motorsports pits. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Hello. Is your phone number "30"? (Photo: CoxMX.com)Kevin Windham was supposed to be in his final race for Honda at Colorado, but if Josh Grant is hurt too bad to race RedBud, we could see Windham keep going. He went 4-4 for fourth overall. He's very competitive at 33. (Photo: CoxMX.com)A Muscle Milk-sponsored racer won the Muscle Milk Recovery Award, as Davi Millsaps was down a lap early in the first 450 moto and finished 24th, but was sixth in moto two. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The 450 podium. It's a common trio. (Photo: CoxMX.com)In the 250 class, most of the battles out front were between these two: Blake Baggett (57) and Dean Wilson (15). (Photo: CoxMX.com)Baggett went 1-1 on the day for yet another win. He has won three nationals of the five run so far. He's dangerous. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Tyla Rattray lost the points lead to Dean Wilson in Colorado after going 5-5 to Wilson's 2-2. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Eli Tomac laying it flat in the second 250 moto. Tomac went 3-3 for third overall. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Baggett celebrates his second-moto win. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Baggett's second-moto victory was helped significantly by grabbing the holeshot. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Kyle Cunningham was up front in the first 250 moto before his bike suffered a mechanical. And because he finished 40th due to the failure, he got the last gate pick for moto two. Still, he pulled off an eighth place in the second moto. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Lance Vincent, a fill-in rider for the GEICO Honda team, was having the moto of his life in the second 250 moto, running second and falling back to fourth five laps in when his bike reportedly gave up the ghost, which is very rare for that team. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The 250 podium. (Photo: CoxMX.com)The podium was slanted at Lakewood. The girls are standing upright - or at least attempting to. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Darryn Durham was impressive at Lakewood on his way to 4-6 moto finishes for fourth overall. He's a hot commodity in silly season now, with rumors putting him at Rockstar Energy Suzuki, although other rumors have him going to the GEICO Honda team as well. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Blake Baggett celebrates his 1-1 performance at altitude. (Photo: CoxMX.com)Eli Tomac and Dean Wilson do battle on the podium. (Photo: CoxMX.com)She's going to have funny tan lines. (Photo: CoxMX.com)

Reed Races to Third Win in Four Rounds at Budds Creek
Tyla Rattray Takes Second 250 Class Victory of the Season

MECHANICSVILLE, Md. (June 18, 2011) - Thousands of fans packed into Budds Creek MX Park on Saturday to watch the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship host its fifth round of the 2011 season. TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing's Chad Reed, of Australia, grabbed his third overall victory of season at the MotoTees Budds Creek National. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Tyla Rattray, of South Africa, won his second race of the year in the 250 Class.

Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., grabbed the opening 450 Class moto win, fending off Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine, Minn., in the late stages. Reed, who grabbed the holeshot, finished third.

As the gates dropped for Moto 2, Red Bull KTM's Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., moved into the early lead, only to have Reed take over the top spot on Lap 3. From there, Reed pushed to extend his advantage over the field. Dungey made his way past Alessi just a short time later and began his pursuit of the lead. Villopoto followed suit, moving into third, and tightening up the points to determine the overall results for the day.

Reed and Dungey followed one another, just bike lengths apart, throughout the moto and gradually pulled away from the field. With just one point separating the two riders in the day's standings, whoever captured the moto win would also take home the overall victory. As they encountered lapped riders, strategy played into Reed's favor, helping him open up a lead on Dungey to take the checkered flag and secure his series-leading third overall win.

"I was bummed after the first moto," said Reed. "I just didn't have the pace. The Ryan's showed me what's up. I came out in the second and gave it all I had. I'm pumped. We made some changes to the bike and it paid off. I'm excited to come out and win that second moto. These guys are on their game this season and it hasn't been easy."

Villopoto's duplicate 1-3 moto scores tied him in points with Reed on the day, but by virtue of the second-moto tiebreaker, he landed in the runner-up spot.

"I felt good today," said Villopoto. "I just needed to pick some better lines in that second moto. It was a good day overall. There's still a lot of racing left this season."

Relying on his impressive 2-2 results, Dungey rounded out the podium in third.

"It was a good day, I just couldn't make it happen," said Dungey. "I felt like I needed to make a move (on Reed), but it never happened. I had to come from behind a couple times. It's what racing is all about. It's a man's sport and it's challenging. We'll just keep moving forward."

Reed maintains his lead in the championship standings, 15 points ahead of Villopoto.

The first moto of the 250 Class featured a dominant performance from Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Dean Wilson, of Scotland. The defending race winner at Budds Creek looked to be in position to go back-to-back, but Rattray outran his teammate and the rest of the field to lead every lap of Moto 2 and finish with 2-1 scores. As a result, the current points leader became the first rider this season in the 250 Class to lead the championship standings over consecutive weeks.

"I think it's important in a championship to be up front," said Rattray. "It's important to be on podium as much as you can, and that's what I've done so far. I just want to get big points at each round and stay consistent. Having such strong competitors makes you dig deeper, and I just want it really bad."

The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team also maintained its current streak of winning every moto and overall so far this season.

Wilson (1-3) finished second overall, while GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia, of Ochlocknee, Ga., finished third (6-2).

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship continues next weekend with Round 5 of the 2011 season. Thunder Valley MX Park, in Lakewood, Colo., will host the Toyota Trucks Thunder Valley National on Saturday, June 18, beginning at 3 p.m. EST.

Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
MotoTees Budds Creek National
Budds Creek MX Park - Mechanicsville, Md.
June 18, 2011
Round 5 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)

1. Chad Reed, Australia, Honda (3-1)
2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki (1-3)
3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (2-2)
4. Kevin Windham, Baton Rouge, La., Honda (4-4)
5. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM (5-5)
6. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Suzuki (6-6)
7. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha (7-9)
8. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (10-7)
9. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (9-8)
10. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda (8-10)

450 Class Championship Standings

1. Chad Reed, Australia, Honda - 183
2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki - 168
3. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki - 155
4. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha - 130
5. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Suzuki - 118
6. Kevin Windham, Baton Rouge, La., Honda - 112
7. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki - 93
8. Ricky Dietrich, Snohomish, Wash., Yamaha - 92
9. Christian Craig, El Cajon, Calif., Honda - 76
10. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM - 75

250 Class (Moto Finish)

1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki (2-1)
2. Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki (1-3)
3. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda (6-2)
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (5-5)
5. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (3-9)
6. Gareth Swanepoel, South Africa, Yamaha (9-4)
7. Blake Baggett, Redlands, Calif., Kawasaki (7-7)
8. Kyle Cunningham, Irving, Texas, Yamaha (4-15)
9. Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Suzuki (10-10)
10. Nico Izzi, Rochester, N.Y., Honda (8-13)

250 Class Championship Standings

1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, Kawasaki - 174
2. Dean Wilson, Scotland, Kawasaki - 170
3. Blake Baggett, Redlands, Calif., Kawasaki - 144
4. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda - 136
5. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda - 116
6. Kyle Cunningham, Irving, Texas, Yamaha - 114
7. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki - 99
8. Gareth Swanepoel, South Africa, Yamaha - 91
9. Martin Davalos, Ecuador, Suzuki - 75
10. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda - 72

Ryan Villopoto was back on form at High Point. He was fastest qualifier right out of the box.
And then he grabbed the lead soon after the start of moto one, and went off and won it. He finished second in moto two for the overall win.
Chad Reed fought through pain in moto one to finish fifth, but won moto two in the mud and muck, without goggles.
They're dirty girls...
Reed's pain in the first moto came from a rock kicked up by Jake Weimer hitting him in a formerly injured clavicle, making his left arm go partially numb.
Of course, taking off his roost deflector after the parade lap probably didn't help matters...
Ryan Dungey waves for the AMA to hold the start while his mechanic Mike Gosselaar tries to rip off some duct tape I assume to hold his helmet visor in place. The visor ended up standing up on his helmet for most of the moto.
Blake Baggett celebrates the win in moto one, coming from behind, high-fiving his mechanic, Shawn Irwin.
Baggett then pulled away in moto two, but just after this shot was taken...
...he ended up on his head, making his helmet visor go funky, too.
Baggett got up in second, funny visor and all, and chased teammate and training partner Tyla Rattray down for the moto win. He ended up 1-1 on the day.
Baggett was sporting a nice fat lip on the podium from his crash while leading moto two.
Tyla Rattray scored second overall but, more importantly, took over the series points leader from teammate Dean Wilson.
Rattray is among the bigger guys in the 250cc class, but he still snatched the holeshot in moto two.
Dean Wilson was all set to do damage in the second moto, taking the early lead, only to fall and force himself to come from behind again. He lost the points lead, but he's still very much in the hunt.
Eli Tomac grabbed third overall on the day.
Here, Tomac (19) works his way by teammate Justin Barcia in the first moto. Barcia had a tough day at High Point.
Ryan Sipes was running second in the first 250cc moto until just a few laps to go, when he went down hard. He dropped out for the day.
Ryan Dungey had a consistent 2-3 day for second overall.
Most didn't expect him back already, but Mike Alessi showed up anyway. He finished third in the first moto but was docked a spot for jumping the start and was credited with fourth place. Then he led moto two for a while before crashing and handing the lead to Reed.
Davi Millsaps (18) is having a bit of a standout year in the 450 class outdoors. It continued at High Point with a credited third place in the first moto.
Millsaps struggled a bit with a bad start and tough line choices in the second moto, but is still in the thick of it.
Darryn Durham grabbed the holeshot to start the first 250 moto, but it seemed nerves got the best of him late in the race, as he faded from first to fourth in the final four laps.
PJ Larsen returned to action at High Point, but his wrist is reportedly not quite up to full racing shape just yet.
Brett Metcalfe has shown the speed and consistency most had hoped of him coming into the season so far this year.
Despite the crazy conditions in the second moto, Metcalfe was strong all day, even if his results didn't quite live up to his high standards.
Justin Barcia's cool opposite whip over the big double at the bottom of the hill. He's traveling in the direction he's looking.
Broc Tickle went 10-4 for an astonishing fifth overall. His results are picking up race by race.
Hello, Rockstar Girl...
While a 10-4 was good for fifth in the 250 class, Kevin Windham's 6-5 was only good for sixth overall. It's still up in the air whether or not he'll be at Budds Creek, but he likes that track, so speculation says he'll be there.