Five Minutes With Ryan Villopoto

Arguably the greatest supercross racer of all-time – Ryan Villopoto – has landed on Australian soil and is temporarily coming out of retirement to contest the 2016 AUS-X Open. Transmoto’s Kurt Teague caught up with RV2 at Friday’s press day to talk about event preparation, his young family, Americans racing Australians and future race prospects. 

Ryan, it’s been close to two years since you announced your retirement from professional supercross racing. Did you ever think you’d find yourself here, in Australia, getting ready to race the AUS-X Open this weekend?
No, not at all. The AUS-X Open’s promoters – Adam Bailey and Ryan Sanderson – approached me earlier in the year about coming down and checking it out, and I was really unsure about whether I wanted to do it or not. It’s a lot of work to go racing when you’ve been doing nothing for a while, so to literally come off the couch and get back into training and riding sounded like a daunting commitment. When I made the call to go ahead with it, I realised that I wouldn’t have long to get my shit together, so I got to work and here I am.

And how are you feeling about everything now that you’re here?
I’m really excited, and I feel pretty decent riding-wise. I want to be able to race with Chad, Cooper and everyone else for as long as I can out there, but I also want to make sure that I finish the weekend safely. If I can run with the boys for a good ten laps or so, I’ll be really happy. And yeah, I have to admit that I’m a little bit nervous about lining up behind a gate again, but you know, I’ve been doing this my whole life, so I’m sure that once I’m out there, a lot of it will come back to me naturally. I just have to make sure I stay within myself and don’t get caught up in the excitement of it all.

Do you think that having two young sons will play on your mind a bit out there?
One hundred percent, man. I have to play it safe. I wouldn’t say that I’m here for an exhibition race, but I can say that I’m here for the overall experience more than anything else. And I’m here for the fans, you know? I know that a lot of Australians come to the US specifically to watch A1 and the Monster Cup, but for the greater majority, all they get is TV and online coverage, so it’s going to be so good for everyone to see some American talent race some Aussies with their own two eyes. For fans to be able to come here, see me and meet me, that’s what this whole thing is all about, and the racing is a bit of a bi-product. As I said, I’m just hyped to be here.

Thoughts on the Australia versus USA feature race?
Yeah, that one should be cool for the fans, too. I just hope that the intensity doesn’t get too high, because I don’t want anyone to go into any of these races thinking they have something to prove by racing hard against me; that goes for Chad and Cooper, too. I just hope that everyone races cleanly and respects the fact that we’re here to please the fans and put on a good show.

I recently read that if you were going to do any more races, it would have to come pretty soon after this one, because going from not training to racing again is a big deal that requires a lot of effort. Do you have anything lined up?
Nah, I don’t see it happening. A lot went into getting me here – like the guys from Kawasaki in the USA prepping and shipping my bike over here and that kind of thing, so yeah, I don’t see myself going through this process again anytime soon. It’s been enjoyable, but it’s been a lot of work. I just want to get out there this weekend and have some fun, go home safely, and hopefully come back down here in 2017.

Sounds good, Ryan. Thanks for your time.
Cheers.