Villopoto led from start to finish in tonight’s final, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider claiming his second win of the series, meanwhile Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey finished fourth after suffering a poor start. The turn of events leaves Dungey and Hill, tonight’s runner-up finisher, in a two-way tie for the series points standings while Villopoto sits three points back in third.
Heading into the first turn of the main event, it was Hill who almost grabbed the holeshot, but Villopoto was even with Hill when the two arrived at the first turn and he was able to slip by the San Manuel Yamaha rider at the exit and take the lead. From that point on, Villopoto was able to slowly inch away, finishing the race with a 4.6-second margin of victory over Hill.
“I could see where Josh was and I just tried to ride consistent and I was able to pull on him a little every lap,” said Villopoto. “Once I got a decent lead on him I was able to calm down a little and I just tried to keep that gap.”
Remarkably, Josh Hill now has four-straight runner-up finishes. After three-straight weeks of adverse weather, tonight’s course was dry and in good shape for racing, although a little one-lined in places, putting an emphasis on the start. After suffering from poor starts in the last few races, Villopoto picked a good time to get a great jump off the line.
“I finally got that holeshot,” said Villopoto. “It was nice to not have to eat any roost f
or once. It was a good track – it was technical, but everyone was taking the same lines in places and it made it tough for racing.”
After five races on the West Coast, the series moves east to Indianapolis to start its eastern swing. Villopoto, who likes the eastern venues, carries a good bit of momentum from tonight’s win into next week’s Indy round.
“I think I’m in a great position heading back east,” said Villopoto. “I think it’s anyone’s race at this point and it will boil down to whoever is the most consistent.”
Hill seemed pleased that he shares the points lead, but admitted he was frustrated with all his runner-up finishes. Tonight’s finish marked his fourth straight second-place finish.
“It’s cool to be tied for the lead, that’s where...
Read more here