It's been just over five months since Ryan Villopoto was shining bright in the racing spotlight. The road to recovery has been a long and somewhat boring one for the Poulsbo, Washington native, but he's back riding and ready to return to that spotlight. We chatted with Ryan for the first edition of Idle Chat to see how his summer has been without racing.

You've had to come back from injuries the past two years. How different have the two injuries been in terms of healing and rehabilitation?
The ACL was a lot easier to return from because there weren't any complications. It was a pretty straight forward surgery. The leg injury this year was harder because not only did I break my tibia and fibula, but I broke my ankle too. The doctors had to make sure everything healed perfect before I could start doing anything with my leg. This time I got plates and screws to make sure it healed correctly, which does make for a longer healing process. My doctor was very concerned about it healing properly so I could be 100 percent when I came back. After my last check up, he said it looked great.

Since you had more time to kill than before, what did you do to keep busy? It's been a while since you've raced.
It was hard at first because I couldn't put any weight on it until the beginning of July. I was on crutches for a long time. We didn't do a whole lot during that time, but make the trip back and forth from Florida, where I'm living part time. Once I started walking, I was really happy. Crutches aren't fun at all.

You recently went to Alaska. Can you tell us a little bit about your trip?
Casey (practice bike mechanic) and I went up there to visit my cousin. We went to do some hunting and fishing, but we basically had a black cloud following us the entire seven days we were up there. Our luck wasn't good with hunting and we didn't catch the amount of fish we were supposed to.

But you did have a little fun? I saw a video of you guys mud boggin'.
Yeah. That was probably the highlight of the trip. It was pretty fun. I ended up tearing the axle out of the truck I was driving. My cousin Spencer did pretty good, but broke on the last lap of his race. It was a last man standing. I didn't really do too well. We started with six and they started dropping like flies, but it was fun to watch even after I was done racing.

What do the next few months look like for you?
I'm just riding and training for now. If everything goes as planned, we'll be going to Australia at the end of November.

Are you excited for Australia? Have you ever been there before?
I've never been. I'm really looking forward to it. It's always fun to go to a new place. I'm scheduled to race the supercross events in Sydney and then Brisbane. I haven't raced since April so it's a good opportunity to get back into the swing of it. You can only ride so much until you need to get behind a gate and go race.

Lastly, you recently got engaged. Congrats! How does it feel to take that next step?
I'm really excited. Kristen and I are really happy. We don't really have any set plans yet for the date or anything. It's exciting though.

Nearly 1,500 of the nation's best motocross racers have blown into Hurricane Mills, Tennessee this week for the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships. Held at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch, the talent for the field has never been deeper, setting the stage for the next generation of superstars to emerge from a battle royale. In addition to the crop of up-and-coming kids, there are also some experienced veteran motocross racers taking to the track as 35 classes will be contested in a total of 99 motos during this epic event.

One rider returning to Loretta Lynn's 25+ and 30+ age classes is Navy SEAL Stacey Virgin - a man not unfamiliar with overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds and accomplishing things that most of us only read about in adventure novels or watch on the silver screen. A 12-year SEAL Team veteran, Virgin currently serves as an Operations Chief for SEAL Team 5 based in Coronado, California. Never knowing where the next call to action may take him and his men, you can count on the fact that SEAL Team 5 is well prepped and always ready to go.

The good news for Virgin this week is that his sole mission is to test himself against other top racers rather than storming a beach or landing in a hot LZ somewhere. "I thought SEAL training was tough, but getting ready to race back here in Tennessee has been a real challenge," he jokes. Of course in customary over-achieving fashion Virgin scored 3rd overall in both the 25+ Area and Regional Loretta Lynn's Qualifiers against much younger riders and was 2nd overall in the 30+ class in both preliminary rounds.

Logistics for Virgin's assault on Loretta Lynn's were another hurdle to overcome. First his SEAL Team command had to allow him to schedule leave time to coincide with this week's racing after which some of the biggest names in motocross stepped up as a salute to this SEAL. In place of Virgin's own thoroughly worn out 450 motocrosser, Kawasaki's Tom McGovern came up with a new 2010 Kawasaki KX450 which immediately was placed into the capable hands of those patriots at Pro Circuit Racing. The new machine received engine and suspension work and an assortment of factory level mods. With a nod from Mitch Payton, the Pro Circuit troops were led by Mitch's brother Jim, himself a Navy Reservist helicopter pilot, who made sure Virgin's new KX450 was in top form.

Putting that Pro Circuit power to the ground are fresh Dunlop knobbies, thanks to Dunlop's own Broc Glover. Troy Lee Designs then stepped in to supply Virgin's racing "uniforms". "Naturally when we heard about Stacey Virgin, we wanted to become part of the effort," says TLD GM Bob Weber. "We are honored to be able to participate in his campaign and wish him luck at Loretta's."

Others who rallied to Stacey Virgin's cause on a moment's notice were former AMA Golden Wrench factory tuner Chris Haines, Virgin's motocross instructor Ricky Johnson, and Tim Miller who transported the KX450 to Loretta's. THANK YOU shout outs are also much deserved by MX Sports' Tim Cotter, Racer X's Davey Coombs and Scott Wallenberg, AMA Director of Operations Jack Penton, TLD's Tyler Keefe, and Jack McCormick.

Ever since Dave Coombs Sr. and Paul Shlegel founded the AMA National MX Championships back in 1982, the race has honored the all-American goals of fairness, safety and fun, delivering a priceless motocross experience to thousands of families each summer, according to AMA Director Of Racing Joe Bromley. "The AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships have represented the pinnacle of amateur motocross for nearly 30 years. They are the proving grounds for tomorrow's motocross superstars... the future of the sport will literally be on display in the Tennessee dirt for the next week," believes Bromley.

Perhaps nobody said it more succinctly than Pro Circuit's Mitch Payton, "Thanks to good men like Stacey Virgin and his fellow SEAL Team members making the sacrifices they do, motocross racing is still something we can enjoy as Americans."

Heading into the halfway point of the season, the 2010 Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series has become a war of the Ryans. Points leader and winner of three main events so far this season is the rookie, Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki's Ryan Dungey. In the driver's seat, Dungey's a proven champion in the sport and currently enjoys a 20 point lead over the other Ryan, Villopoto, who's also a multi-time champion on his Monster Energy Kawasakis and is coming on strong as the marches towards it's inevitable conclusion.

The success of the Ryans is somewhat bittersweet, as this season's Supercross series premier class is depleted by the early season injuries of the sport's top two stars -- James Stewart and Chad Reed. Both multi-time champs, their absence has opened up the series to a host of other riders, igniting fires under a few, and allowing future superstars like Villopoto and Dungey to shine in their own light instead of riding in the shadow of Stewart and Reed. As the season has progressed, the Ryans have consistently been a notch above the remainder of the 20-rider field, rarely finishing outside of the top 5 in the first 8 rounds of the 17 race championship chase.



Last weekend's race, held within the infield of Daytona International Speedway, was representative of several other rounds where the winner was determined by which of the two Ryans got out front first, stayed out front to the finish. At Daytona it was Villopoto's turn. The week prior in Atlanta, it was Dungey's. The pace they set out front is just enough faster than the remaining 18 riders that, if they get out front, they are able to maintain a several second advantage to the finish line.

As far as the series goes, with a 20 point lead, Ryan Dungey is certainly in the driver's seat. The points payout difference for each round between first and second place is 3 points and, with 8 rounds to go, it will be a tall order for Ryan Villopoto to make up the deficit without everything going his way. That, and more than a little bad luck for Dungey. Adding to the uncertainty is just when exactly the two missing superstars of Reed and Stewart will rejoin the fray, as they'll certainly be in the mix up at the front of the pack from the moment they set a tire on the track. Teamwork may become a factor as well, since Villopoto will have Reed in his corner on the Monster Energy Kawasaki factory-backed effort, although Reed and Dungey were teammates last year on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki squad. How Stewart plays into this is anyone's guess, although many pundits predict he'll be out front of the battle for 2nd, and there are only two points between positions behind the top two.



This weekend, the Supercross class war resumes in the tour's only international stop - the Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto, Canada. Both Villopoto and Dungey are at the top of their games; they're injury free, racing at full capacity and, with it unlikely that any of the other riders have the speed to get between them, there will be a point gap heading into the next round of either 23 or 17 points. After that, it's anyone's guess as the return of the overlords will certainly have an effect.

The Monster Energy/AMA Supercross Series isn't only about the premier class, though, as the Supercross Lites division is also loaded with solid racing every weekend. While there isn't a battle for the points like there is in the Supercross class this season, the racing on the smaller displacement machines is often more intense and much less predictable than it has been in the sport's premier group. Divided up into regional championships - East and West - the East is heading into it's 4th of 8 rounds in Toronto, and the leader of this class is clear. France's Christophe Pourcel, aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250F is the cream of the crop. As the defending champion of last season's East regional championship, Pourcel is as superior to his competitors as the Ryans are in the premier class. In fact, Pourcel has been able to run faster lap times on his 250cc machine on occasion than his counterparts on their 450cc rides. Making the fights for the remaining podium spots interesting is a slew of rookies fresh out of the amateur ranks. Pourcel's teammate, Canadian rider Dean Wilson, finished on the final step of the podium in 3rd at Daytona last weekend. He finished just ahead of rival Blake Baggett, riding a Suzuki RMZ250 sponsored by Canidae pet foods and Rockstar Energy Drinks. One spot ahead of Wilson and 2nd place at Daytona (in fact, 2nd place at each round so far) is Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Austin Stroupe, who was also Pourcel's teammate last season on the Pro Circuit squad. Even though the top finisher for the remainder of the East region seems to be a foregone conclusion (Pourcel), the battles involving the entire top 5 have always made for some close and exciting racing.

This weekend's race in Toronto will be broadcast LIVE on SPEED TV this Saturday, March 13, at 7:30PM EST. Check back here at Grindtv.com/moto for the latest photos and race reports.

Corey Floyd has been chasing the WORCS Pro2 Championship for quite awhile now and has had to deal with his share of adversity along the way. From untimely injuries to freak mechanical break downs this kid's seen it all. This year he finally achieved his goal by wrapping up the title by just 2 points over JP Davis at the final round in Mesquite, NV. Doing so, even though he missed a round mid-season due to an broken wrist. Corey is one of the nicest kids in the pits so we figured we'd catch up with him to see how he felt about his first major championship.

Well Corey, it's been a couple days since you wrapped up the WORCS Pro2 Championship, has it set in yet?
I was way too tired to be happy at first, but I think it really hit me when they called my name at the awards banquet afterwards.

Walk us through the last round, the pressure was on since you had missed a round due to a broken wrist, was the added pressure hard to deal with or did you just treat it like any other race?
I went into the race feeling really confident but when I finally geared up and went to the line, my heart was jumping out of my chest.

Well, you ended up pulling off the championship by 2 points so whatever you did must have worked!
Yeah, not quite sure how I pulled it off, but somehow it all came together.

I know this is something that you've been working towards for a long time and it hasn't been an easy road, you've had to battle quite a few injuries amongst other things, do you think this could be the breakthrough that you needed?
I would think so. Now that I got this championship under my belt and felt how good it was to win, maybe this will be the extra push I need to get to the next level.

Tell us a little bit about how you got started in racing and what led you to WORCS.
It all started up in Washington where I did a local off-road series. The top guys from that series tried some WORCS races a few years back. That's really how I heard about them. Plus WORCS is really the top off-road series in the nation in my opinion. So if you want to go big, you have to race where the big names are.

A lot of racers that are at your level work with trainers and coaches, do you have anyone that is helping you out with your program?
I haven't hired anybody but somehow I stumbled across of group of friends that are extremely helpful. They seriously will do anything for me. I do my own thing training wise, but when it comes to the race, I have a ridiculous amount of help. I think they see how much I want this, so they give any helping hand they can to make things a little easier for me.

This was an interesting year for you, I know the first round didn't go as well as you would have liked and then you had to deal with a broken wrist mid season, did you have to make any changes throughout the year to help you stay on top?
I think I made changes every race to be honest. Towards the end of the season I got a lot more serious. Like as far as suspension testing and just time on the bike. I also started training with Lance Smail in Washington, which helped huge. Just riding with him was a lesson in itself.

This was your first year riding for the Monster Energy/Kawasaki team which is the first real support ride you've had, how big of a help was that for you?
They are a life saver. I look back on last year when I did most things on my own and I wonder how I pulled it off. It almost just seems unfair how much easier things are for me this year in terms of bike preparation. Plus, just knowing that somebody believes in you enough to have you represent their company is an honor in itself.

What are the plans for next year?
Well with the way the economy is right now, I would just be happy to be able to ride again for another year. But I got another ride with Monster Energy/Kawasaki for one more year in the Pro2 class, so i'm really happy. Hopefully I can win the title again and get some better overall finishes.

You recently moved down to California from Washington so that you could concentrate on racing, what do you do for fun when you're not training or riding?
Well I recently got a new house with two of my best friends, so we have fun all day long. We all pretty much do the same stuff too. Our latest thing is going to rock climbing gyms. Our new house has a pool too so we have been swimming even when it's cold.

You keep a pretty tight knit group of friends around you who are also pretty good riders themselves; do you think this helps you out?
Yeah, like I said, any of them would do anything for anybody. I try to help them out as much as I can, but they are life savers to me.

Who would you like to thank?
Well let's see... Monster Energy Kawasaki, Moose, TBT, Shoei, Dunlop, Smith, Maxima, Fastway, GPR, Renthal and all my sponsors. Then of course my mom, my step dad Corey and my dad, Jason Smigel from Kawsaki, Dylan and all my friends that help me during race weekends, and you for wanting to interview me! Thank you!