What I see Villopoto doing differently than everyone else on the track.

Weege
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Weege 4/4/2012 7:37am
4/4/2012 7:37am
This is good stuff--we need more discussion of technique in this sport. The other sports do it!

Here's one of our Racer X breakdown pieces from a few weeks back with Gary Semics, who says RV's transition in corners, from on the brakes to back on the gas, is the fastest in the sport today:

http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/03/22/the-breakdown-indianapolis
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GILLETT 4/4/2012 7:38am
4/4/2012 7:38am
While Villopoto is the guy riding the bike and making it look flawless, credit needs to be given to his mechanic Mike Williamson for obviously knowing how to set up a bike. The guy is highly underrated.
Cook441
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Cook441 4/4/2012 7:41am
4/4/2012 7:41am
I also can't help but wonder if the 4 stroke played a factor..(sorry 2 stroke nazi) but he hauled on 80s as I posted earlier but MA had him covered...then turnes pro on a 250f for mitch and sets the world on fire...just saying
Twostroke Taliban 4/4/2012 7:52am
4/4/2012 7:52am
GILLETT wrote:
While Villopoto is the guy riding the bike and making it look flawless, credit needs to be given to his mechanic Mike Williamson for obviously knowing...
While Villopoto is the guy riding the bike and making it look flawless, credit needs to be given to his mechanic Mike Williamson for obviously knowing how to set up a bike. The guy is highly underrated.
Mike Williamson is the guy with the dark hair who always looks like Nick Wey standing up there on the podium, right? He might be the 3rd piece in the Nick Wey/Vince Freise clone/alter-ego mystery.

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BR_HERO
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BR_HERO 4/4/2012 8:05am
4/4/2012 8:05am
GILLETT wrote:
While Villopoto is the guy riding the bike and making it look flawless, credit needs to be given to his mechanic Mike Williamson for obviously knowing...
While Villopoto is the guy riding the bike and making it look flawless, credit needs to be given to his mechanic Mike Williamson for obviously knowing how to set up a bike. The guy is highly underrated.
He's a funny guy to, loved listening to him give Matthes shit on the Pulp Mx Show.
moto282
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moto282 4/4/2012 8:05am
4/4/2012 8:05am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2012 8:06am
WhKnuckle wrote:
We were sitting at the end of the first whoop section, at a flat left hand turn that led into a rhythm section. The dirt was...
We were sitting at the end of the first whoop section, at a flat left hand turn that led into a rhythm section. The dirt was pretty soft, so it got ruts in it, and one of them was great in the turn but extended across a little whoop-hump thing and was really deep right there. Early in the race, Villo used the rut to turn and then got out of the rut before the deep section leading into the straight. Then, ONE LAP, he kind of got stuck in the rut and it grabbed his rear wheel going down the straight. The very next lap, he went outside the whole rut, slid the thing around and blasted out - he got caught in the rut one time and he wasn't going there again.

You'd be amazed how many really good riders kept fighting that rut all night long. Villo used it until it screwed him over, and that was the last time he ever hit it.

IMO, Villo is exceptional at racing the track ahead of him, concentrating on the exact line he wants to use and the exact technique that he thinks is best for that particular line. He never rushes things but he never slows down either. And that's exactly what Gary Bailey taught in a motocross school that I attended in 1971. Some things never change.
+1 In addition to everything else mentioned by the OP, I think he races the track different than most riders... more like the line choice of street bike guys... the way he sets up for corners and carries momentum. If you look further back in the pack they kind of go straight to the corner, follow the corner through the turn, and then go straight down the next section. RV sets up the corner before he gets there and goes outside to inside or whatever it takes to carry his speed... not always going to apex of the turn... and cutting in early.
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Bry745 4/4/2012 8:23am
4/4/2012 8:23am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2012 8:24am
A basic technique often taught is trying to look ahead as much as possible, yet looking at photos and videos of Ryan, he doesn't seem to look ahead as far as many other riders (Stewart for example), but it obviously works for him. He's even said himself he doesn't look ahead quite as far as some other riders.

As someone else said, his leg and core strength and always keeping the bike tight between his legs helps tremendously for control. Seems like he rides on the balls of his feet a lot as well.
Twostroke Taliban 4/4/2012 8:35am
4/4/2012 8:35am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2012 8:36am
Weege wrote:
This is good stuff--we need more discussion of technique in this sport. The other sports do it! Here's one of our Racer X breakdown pieces from...
This is good stuff--we need more discussion of technique in this sport. The other sports do it!

Here's one of our Racer X breakdown pieces from a few weeks back with Gary Semics, who says RV's transition in corners, from on the brakes to back on the gas, is the fastest in the sport today:

http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/03/22/the-breakdown-indianapolis
See #3. I think the reason you don't see people discussing technique is:

1. people care more about how their "scrub" looks, or how their Bogle leg dangle looks than what makes them faster. Not everyone, but quite a few in that young impressionable age category from say 14-25.
2. No one actually rides anyway.
burnside
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burnside 4/4/2012 9:13am
4/4/2012 9:13am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2012 9:16am
jonesaustin wrote:
those are well written observations. except for saying his style is "ugly" which is baffling. the guy has one of the coolest styles i've ever seen...
those are well written observations. except for saying his style is "ugly" which is baffling. the guy has one of the coolest styles i've ever seen. it's an aggressive style and one of the few where you can read the determination and speed right from the body english. reminds me a little of Jeff Ward, who was also very aggressive in stance but likewise smooth as ice.
Yeah, I don't think his style is ugly. His style look good to me, tenacious.

Another asset that he has in the can is how well he handles pressure. He is fucking rock solid.

And, he always rises to the occasion, he always hammers the nail in the coffin when it counts.. like last year, it was on the table for RV or Dungey, anyone could have taken it... he crushes Dungey on with that last lap pass and then wins out. And same in SX... was on the table for all of them and just grabbed it by the horns.

He must be absolutely horrible to compete against. haha.
MadeForMoto 4/4/2012 9:35am
4/4/2012 9:35am
Twostroke Taliban wrote:
Back in about 96, when MC was demolishing everyone, there was an article in MXA that really outlined why he was destroying everyone. It mentioned whoop...
Back in about 96, when MC was demolishing everyone, there was an article in MXA that really outlined why he was destroying everyone. It mentioned whoop speed, corner speed, and just being smoother than anyone else.


Now, I have noticed some stuff, week in, week out about RV, that I never see people seeming to acknowledge.

1. The most obvious is corner speed. RV comes into and gets out of a corner so fast, that on TV, you cant even tell what the hell happened. often, he doesnt even take a foot off the peg. he is in and out so fast its like he was never in the corner at all. and there is roost flying, the whole time. into and out of the corner. roost. steering with the back tire, but telling people how his falken tires "hook up just fine"

2. his bike is straight as an arrow. since about 03 or so, probably due to JS, its become uber-cool to toss your bike every which way. some riders make it work, like James and CR22. But RV has shown (or maybe not shown, yet) that you dont have to drag a footpeg up every jump to stay low and go fast. You CAN absorb the take-off with your arms if you are in the right position on your bike, and your elbows are up. Elbows up seems to be a forgotten thing. I see so many guys, albeit fast, with their elbows in their laps.

3. He has a blatant disregard for downsides. this ties in with #2. so a jump is 60 feet, with 10 feet of run-in to a turn. 19 riders will scrub or slowdown to do the 60 feet and catch backside, then roll into the turn. What does RV do? He jumps the whole 70, lands flat, changes direction (see #1) and keeps truckin.

4. He seems to be the only rider out there who doesnt care what he "looks like" going around the track. Style is so important these days. You see kids commenting on things around here to the tune of "that looks cool". perfect example, the Bogle leg-dangle which is the moto version of the Rossi (valentino) leg wag. Is it faster? god no. but you see people saying 'it looks so sick, dawg!" Well, RV doesnt give a shit what he looks like and it shows. he has this crouched-like-a-tiger riding position. its ugly. but it allows him to soak up shit without swinging his bike sideways and dropping his elbows (see #2)



I just hope everyone competing against him took a note this year Especially Dungey. He is so incredibly smooth, that it almost seems he could turn it up a notch.
What he does defferently is, he wins. Haha.
OldPro277
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OldPro277 4/4/2012 10:47am
4/4/2012 10:47am
TX24 wrote:
One could tell from our angle he was hitting the bowel corner before the finish a lot harder than anyone else last weekend.
SteveS wrote:
There was a toilet in that corner?
steve, your humor hasn't gone completely unnoticed my friend. funny stuff ..... elementary humor ,but still funny to me at 52
Hando
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Hando 4/4/2012 10:56am
4/4/2012 10:56am Edited Date/Time 4/4/2012 10:58am
lol @ people bagging on his style, hes winning..thats all that matters

if any of you remember the first TGO film from 2002, they asked Ricky about his style and he said "its fast, its efficient, aggressive and works for me" ..something to that effect

i think RV is fun to watch because hes so damn fast...he was DESTROYING every corner @ the monster cup

I watched him slingshot around the outside rut @ unadilla 11' before the skyshot....that 450 was cranking like a 250f Wink

Barring injury, this outdoor season might as well be called the Villopoto show..

Hoping Townley makes him work for those wins
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BR_HERO 4/4/2012 11:10am
4/4/2012 11:10am
Hando wrote:
lol @ people bagging on his style, hes winning..thats all that matters if any of you remember the first TGO film from 2002, they asked Ricky...
lol @ people bagging on his style, hes winning..thats all that matters

if any of you remember the first TGO film from 2002, they asked Ricky about his style and he said "its fast, its efficient, aggressive and works for me" ..something to that effect

i think RV is fun to watch because hes so damn fast...he was DESTROYING every corner @ the monster cup

I watched him slingshot around the outside rut @ unadilla 11' before the skyshot....that 450 was cranking like a 250f Wink

Barring injury, this outdoor season might as well be called the Villopoto show..

Hoping Townley makes him work for those wins
"I watched him slingshot around the outside rut @ unadilla 11' before the skyshot....that 450 was cranking like a 250f"

Might be going this year, hopefully i can enjoy the same experience.
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Matt Wozney 4/4/2012 11:17am
4/4/2012 11:17am
RV's corner speed is ridiculous. I never watched a rider on TV and be so amazed from his corner speed. More than any other past rider that's for sure. I think that's the big difference compared to the other riders. Sure, the others have amazing corner speed. No doubt about that. But when you already have that dial turned all the way up, RV's corner speed is right when you break that dial.
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tblazier 4/4/2012 11:20am
4/4/2012 11:20am
Twostroke Taliban wrote:
Back in about 96, when MC was demolishing everyone, there was an article in MXA that really outlined why he was destroying everyone. It mentioned whoop...
Back in about 96, when MC was demolishing everyone, there was an article in MXA that really outlined why he was destroying everyone. It mentioned whoop speed, corner speed, and just being smoother than anyone else.


Now, I have noticed some stuff, week in, week out about RV, that I never see people seeming to acknowledge.

1. The most obvious is corner speed. RV comes into and gets out of a corner so fast, that on TV, you cant even tell what the hell happened. often, he doesnt even take a foot off the peg. he is in and out so fast its like he was never in the corner at all. and there is roost flying, the whole time. into and out of the corner. roost. steering with the back tire, but telling people how his falken tires "hook up just fine"

2. his bike is straight as an arrow. since about 03 or so, probably due to JS, its become uber-cool to toss your bike every which way. some riders make it work, like James and CR22. But RV has shown (or maybe not shown, yet) that you dont have to drag a footpeg up every jump to stay low and go fast. You CAN absorb the take-off with your arms if you are in the right position on your bike, and your elbows are up. Elbows up seems to be a forgotten thing. I see so many guys, albeit fast, with their elbows in their laps.

3. He has a blatant disregard for downsides. this ties in with #2. so a jump is 60 feet, with 10 feet of run-in to a turn. 19 riders will scrub or slowdown to do the 60 feet and catch backside, then roll into the turn. What does RV do? He jumps the whole 70, lands flat, changes direction (see #1) and keeps truckin.

4. He seems to be the only rider out there who doesnt care what he "looks like" going around the track. Style is so important these days. You see kids commenting on things around here to the tune of "that looks cool". perfect example, the Bogle leg-dangle which is the moto version of the Rossi (valentino) leg wag. Is it faster? god no. but you see people saying 'it looks so sick, dawg!" Well, RV doesnt give a shit what he looks like and it shows. he has this crouched-like-a-tiger riding position. its ugly. but it allows him to soak up shit without swinging his bike sideways and dropping his elbows (see #2)



I just hope everyone competing against him took a note this year Especially Dungey. He is so incredibly smooth, that it almost seems he could turn it up a notch.
That is great insight. i had not noticed the lack of scrubbing until you mentioned it but you are 100% correct. RV is kind of old school, much more like RC4 than JS7. Great points and very interesting. Maybe it is the red hair....
captmoto
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captmoto 4/4/2012 4:25pm
4/4/2012 4:25pm
Not so sure on #2. He has looked raggedy on some whoops but he is going so much faster it hasn't hurt him. He seems to push right on through and not let it get to him. Definately has it going on in his head.
Whorehay
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Whorehay 4/4/2012 4:44pm
4/4/2012 4:44pm
Whorehay wrote:
Since he has the title all tied up.. and he has won everything under the sun.... If he was a real man... he'd pull out that...
Since he has the title all tied up.. and he has won everything under the sun....

If he was a real man... he'd pull out that KX250 mitch gave him as a gift a while back and run one of the last four races on that mo fo!!!!
He could then fill in for Windham as fan favorite while he's on the couch. Thus killing two birds with one stone.

The handicap might help the other riders not be embarrassed so bad and we would all be able to cheer like school girls for someone!

whorehay for president.
Derpin' DJ wrote:
They can't race bikes that aren't homologated and are older than 3 years.
ahh bummer....

I was under the impression that if a bike was homologated the year it was new it was okay to run? I thought the YZ's that those other guys ran were a couple years old?

So much for my dreams... Ill go back to my cave now.
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Derpin' DJ 4/4/2012 4:52pm
4/4/2012 4:52pm
I think Yamaha stopped homologating the YZ in 2009. The YZ has stayed the same for years. I doubt the AMA guys would bother checking what year model it was. They probably would have if it were a higher profile name trying to ride one

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Twostroke Taliban 4/4/2012 5:20pm
4/4/2012 5:20pm
Derpin' DJ wrote:
I think Yamaha stopped homologating the YZ in 2009. The YZ has stayed the same for years. I doubt the AMA guys would bother checking what...
I think Yamaha stopped homologating the YZ in 2009. The YZ has stayed the same for years. I doubt the AMA guys would bother checking what year model it was. They probably would have if it were a higher profile name trying to ride one
Wait til a certain one ends up in the main in New Orleans.

going to blow the top off that dome quicker than Katrina.
Hando
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Hando 4/4/2012 7:12pm
4/4/2012 7:12pm
Derpin' DJ wrote:
I think Yamaha stopped homologating the YZ in 2009. The YZ has stayed the same for years. I doubt the AMA guys would bother checking what...
I think Yamaha stopped homologating the YZ in 2009. The YZ has stayed the same for years. I doubt the AMA guys would bother checking what year model it was. They probably would have if it were a higher profile name trying to ride one
Twostroke Taliban wrote:
Wait til a certain one ends up in the main in New Orleans.

going to blow the top off that dome quicker than Katrina.
this is the funniest username/icon ever
Motocross
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Motocross 4/4/2012 8:01pm
4/4/2012 8:01pm
In Oakland this year where he was jumping into the bowl of a 180 degree turn trailing Stewart and reed. It allowed him to square up the turn. Last weekend in Houston, most riders were slowing down over the single before the finish line jump. Villopoto was jumping into the face of the finish line jump. His controlled aggression is something that has me in awe week in and week out.

He's been my favorite rider since the 85cc days. I saw him in a mini warriors DvD and I became a fan... His number was cool, he was cool. I was even more of a fan after his dominance with Pro Circuit, then was followed with disappointment his first few years in the premiere class. I felt like he should have been dominant, but his fitness wasn't there. I'm glad he got it together and I'm more excited than ever to see if he can keep things rolling.

(Bring back Glen Helen because he dominates that track !)
NV825
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NV825 4/4/2012 10:53pm
4/4/2012 10:53pm
He rides as if he's coming from dead last to the front when he already has a 10+ second gap built up by halfway. Really hope someone can step it up and run with him outdoors or we are in for a long 24 motos.

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