Ryan Villopoto: “You may be seeing me here in the future”

By Youthstream | 22 Jun 2012

Ryan Villopoto, four-times Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations winner and FIM Supercross World Champion, took the opportunity of coming to Belgium to enjoy watching the Belgium Grand Prix, which took place in Bastogne last weekend. The American champion repeated in numerous occasions that he is ready to fulfil his European dream and move over to Europe to take part in the FIM Motocross World Championship at least for one year.

During his stay in Belgium, Ryan Villopoto mentioned that there are many MXGP riders whose dream is going to the USA to race, like Tyla Ratray, Christophe Pourcel, Tommy Searle, Marvin Musquin or Ken Roczen, but there has not been any top American rider who has decided to race the FIM Motocross World Championship. In fact, Villopoto admitted that he would like to be the first one to do so, and he may come over to Europe to live his European dream in the near future.

Q: Do you have a long tearm contract in the USA or would be it easy for you to fit your European dream in?
RV: My plan is three more years in the States and then come over here. Some guys in Europe want to go to the States to race, it is always their dream, so I could flip it around and come here and race.

Q: What would be the main differences from racing the FIM Motocross World Championship and the AMA series?
RV: Motorcycling is more or less the same here (Europe) and in the States; it is more getting the experience of travelling the World. In the US everybody speaks the same language and it is very easy to go from one State to the other, so coming over here it would be a big change. You need to know the right people and you need to have the right people by your side to make it work, especially those who have done it before. In the World Championship you’ve got far races and races which are really close; I wouldn’t say that our races are really close, sometimes you need to take a four hour and a half flight, but living in a foreign country would be tough, as well as getting around, order food… so this is why I think it is important to have the correct people behind to help you, so you can be concentrated on racing.

Ryan Villopoto got really involved with all the activities carried out during the MXGP of Belgium; he did not only watch the races, but he also attended the media, his numerous fans, he planted a symbolic tree together with Antonio Cairoli in order show that the Motocross Community is also environmentally committed, he made a lap of honour before the GP started, he did the LIVE commentary of the MX1 race 1 with Paul Malin, he took part in the MX-life.tv Show, and much more!

The American rider was really surprised with the fans, calling them “unreal” for how much they cheer and support their riders, as well as with all the facilities of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

Q: How has it been your first ever experience in an MXGP?
RV: This weekend has been a lot of fun. It’s really cool being here and you may be seeing me here in the future, it’s just a thought, so my wife and I may come all the way over here and make one year in Europe. Normally we have the pressure of racing and there is not much in your mind than going racing and trying to win, so now that we are here enjoying our time, it is a lot of fun!

Q: You made the lap of honour, how did you find the track?
RV: The track is really good, I was surprised when we walked down in the pits because it was really muddy, so I didn’t know what to expect from the track. When we came we saw that it was really good, I did the lap and the track looked like a technical track, it had some good passing points, but also challenging parts because it had a lot of ruts, the base was kind of hard and slippery and there were also some rocky sections, so it is a challenging track.

Q: In your previous experiences in Europe, have you had the opportunity to get to know other riders?
RV: The MXoN is a very unique race, a very serious race where everybody is trying to win, so we try to stick to ourselves. But obviously Pourcel was in the States for some time and I got to know him fairly well. I also know Stefan Everts from the MXoN and he also comes to the States fairly often.

Q: What’s the situation with your injury at the moment?
RV: I’m back training and cycling, but no riding yet, possibly maybe start riding in the first of August and then we’ll go from there. Since I haven’t started riding, I’m very unsure of how quickly I’m going to be able to get back in shape, back towards I need to be. So I’ll be ready to answer the question of coming to race the MXoN once I start riding again.

Click here to see more pictures of Ryan Villopoto’s visit to the MXGP of Belgium and log in on MX-Life.tv to watch the exclusive Rider Profile feature on the American rider, as well as his participation on the MX-life.tv studio show last Sunday, his LIVE commentary of MX1 race one with Paul Malin and his lap of honour at Bastogne right before the races started.