Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Coming into the 2013 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals Tyler Villopoto was one of the favourites to take home the MX2 title. However, a hard crash at round one and some health issues early on have made any kind of Championship run not possible this year. As the MX2 series has moved east Villopoto has been getting stronger and stronger. On Sunday at Deschambault, it finally came together with a first moto runaway win and second overall for the day. It appears the kid with the famous last name has turned the corner and it couldn’t come at a better time. We caught up with him moments after his podium celebration on Sunday.
Tyler Villopoto is the first to admit how much he’s struggled in 2013. However, he has worked hard and that hard work paid off with a moto win at Deschambault.
Q: We know this summer hasn’t exactly gone the way you or your team wanted it to, but you finally got a moto win today and third overall. How sweet does it feel right now?
A: Oh man, it’s hard to put it into words to be honest. With all I’ve been though this year to finally win a moto and get on the podium, this is probably the biggest accomplishment of my life so far. I came into this weekend with no stress and was able to get the flow and the consistent laps that I’ve been looking for all season.
Q: You took round four off to rest and get better so you had a really long break before the start of the eastern rounds. I thought at Gopher Dunes you rode well but had some bad luck, last weekend you were even better, and now here we are with you soaked with champagne. How have you been able to regain your strength and speed?
A: I came into Nanaimo feeling pretty good and well prepared but we had a bike issue. I should’ve just chilled out and took fourth, but I pushed it and ended up on the ground. In that crash I knocked myself out and had to sit out moto two; that’s where it all started to go downhill. At Kamloops I crashed again and really winded myself then the week before Calgary I was really sick all week and had zero energy at that race. Everyone came down on me and I got the next weekend off to regroup and get strong for the east.
Coming into Gopher I really wanted to do well but I crashed hard again and didn’t have a great weekend. After that I thought to myself that if I’m going to turn this around then I have to start having fun. So at Sand Del Lee I tried to enjoy myself and it worked, I had a great weekend. I’m obviously out of the points race but I still have four motos to prove myself here. I’m very excited now.
In moto one Villopoto took the lead early and never looked back. The speed and style he showed on Sunday was something that he’s been searching for all summer.
Q: In moto one today you took the lead on lap one and never looked back. We know how bad you wanted to win that moto, it must have felt like it was 50 minutes long?
A: Try 60 minutes (laughs). It’s always like that when you’re leading and wanting to win, you end up just counting the laps. Then you get into lappers and that gets stressful, but when I saw that I could ride my pace and Austin wasn’t catching me, I was able to relax and ride my own race.
Q: As you mentioned before, you’re a kid that in order to ride your best you have to feel like you’re having fun. Are you sometimes your own worst enemy as far as being too hard on yourself and maybe taking the fun out of it?
A: (pause) Yes I think you might be right. I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself and I also feel the expectations from other people. You know, people see me and they expect me to win or at least do really well whenever I line up. I got back into racing for myself and to be able to accomplish something, down the road I want to be able to tell my kids that I did this and I gave it 100%. At the end of the day that’s all that matters. You can’t always win at this sport, but you can give it your all and still be satisfied with that.
We all do this for fun and for me things got a little serious at the beginning of the year with crashes and trying way too hard. It’s really amazing that I’m in one piece. Things happen for a reason and I’ve learned from that and here we are.
Q: You’re part of a team that currently has the points lead in both classes so there must be pressure to also do well; with your struggles though they seem like they’ve been really supportive.
A: Obviously they’ve been great or I wouldn’t still be here. They were concerned early on with how I was doing. No one wants to see their rider doing as poorly as I was, but they’ve been great in letting me find myself and get my confidence back. We’re a tight bunch under that tent and we all want each other to succeed.
As with most riders, a podium smile is worth a thousand words.
Q: I thought it was really evident after your moto win today just how much support you have in the pits, everybody from not only your team but other riders were high fiving you and were really happy for you. That must make you feel really good.
A: Oh definitely, we all battle and all the teams want to win but at the end of the day we all support each other. This series in Canada is like one big family and that is one of the things I love about it. We do it because we love it and that’s it.
Q: Well Tyler, great job today and we hope to see you on the podium again soon.
A: Thanks man, I appreciate it.
