NNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  What a crying shame!!!
I was SO looking forward to watching RV give a clinic this year.
this was the year he was going to ride the 450 like it was a 250.....and just spank them all!!

I am very sad about this indeed.
Who ever does win the Nationals this year will have a big * next to it for sure.
You aint the real champ if you didn't beat the current champ straight up.

I just hope RV can come back mid season maybe and be able to get a slot on the MX des nations this year.

Oh well. Get well soon RV

The real champ is the one who stays healthy and Wins.

Who Ever Wins will Deserve it.

RV is the best rider in the world right now. That being said, I have no respect for the guy. When he says in multiple interviews with TWMX and other publications that he doesn't enjoy riding as much anymore, that its just a job, I think (and hope) he loses fans. He certainly lost me. Yes, I understand when you do it everyday, all year, year after year, it may become tiresome at some point. But the fans screaming your name, buying your jerseys, standing in lines miles long for your autograph, and buying Kawi bikes and plastering them with your race graphics among countless other things rabid MX and SX fans do, it should remind you on a daily basis why you race. But "Mr. Champ" has the audacity to say it gets old. He should take a page from Chad Reed's book. Or Roczen's. Or Kevin Windham's. Those are guys that genuinely love the sport and make it known every chance they get that they love and appreciate their fans. Even Dungey looks passionate compared to Villopoto. In Atlanta I watched a filthy, exhausted RD making his way back into the pits after a heat race as a group of adoring fans thronged around him for autographs. He smiled and signed every one of them and thanked them before he had even had gotten a drink of water. No Villopoto in the nationals? Fine with me. I'd rather watch guys who do it for the love of the sport out there battling it out. Those are the REAL racers.

G-Bone, on 26 April 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

Well then RV gets the Asterisk for 2011 and 2012.  The only reason he has won anything in 2011 is because Dungey had 2 mechanical failures and dropped 25 points in both 2011 SX and MX.  And the only reason he won 2012 SX is because Dungey got hurt in practice.  Dungey is a much better rider than Poto, hands down.  Poto only has more aggression than Dungey, that's it.

I give Poto 4 years more, tops then he is going to quit racing.  Dungey on the other hand is going to be racing well into his 30's, the next Windham and old man of the sport.

All great points.....
But regardless of his attitude toward the sport or how he interacts with his fans,
I really enjoyed watching him hang it out during his 250 days and was hoping to watch him do the same this year.
Thats all.

MNkayaker, on 26 April 2012 - 11:13 AM, said:

The only reason RV won titles in 2011 & 2012 is because he won more races, and scored more points, than anyone else.
His titles are just as legit as RD's. 100%

As far as who is the better rider..........I'll have to consult the record books, and get back to you.

NaPaul, on 26 April 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

At some point when your "hobby" becomes your job and your way of life.  It can get old.  What you used to do for fun, becomes your lively hood, it can stop being fun.  I don't care if you are a mechanic, baseball player, painter, or whatever.  It becomes a business and most likely less "fun."  Yes, some burn out and thier passion fades. Maybe some have a better tolerance than others.  I.E. Windham and etc.   It happens in all sports.  Not just SX/MX.  I think to extent you are seeing this in JS.

Some of these guys have been racing since they were 4 and 5.  It will take a toll of you and your family.  Remember under all that gear, there are human beings.  No different from you or me.

Edited by Sipe3, 26 April 2012 - 12:28 PM.

NaPaul, on 26 April 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

NaPaul, on 26 April 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

i dont why i bother with the pro racing forum sometimes. seriously dude? no respect for him? i don't pretend i come to work for the fun of it. it is his job and he takes it seriously. this approach works for him. look where having too much fun @ work got people like bubba and Lawrence.

anyhow bummer he got hurt. such a weird crash too. i do agree that being consistent and not getting injured wins championships. fans might not like you as much because your not balls out and flashy but you gotta be in to win it. whoever wins this year won't have an * IMO.

NaPaul, on 26 April 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Get over yourself, BRO.  You think Reed or Windham never got burnt out, and since when does he say he doesn't enjoy it in multiple interviews?

I don't care who you are, you have to LOVE riding a dirtbike to get to the level RV is at.

Edited by RedRider31, 26 April 2012 - 12:31 PM.

RedRider31, on 26 April 2012 - 12:30 PM, said:

He does refer to it as a job a lot but says it is like any one of us who is going to have good days and bad days.  Personally, you would have to pay me to suit and race in July and I can only do a few laps, it is friggin out with all that gear and the sun!

MNkayaker, on 26 April 2012 - 11:13 AM, said:

Because RD was the only threat this year? I dont think RD should have an * by any of his championships. No rider should, but you cant exactly compare those two seasons. They share nothing in common. Your team failing to keep your bike in one piece for an entire moto does not meet the same criteria as your team not bringing your bike to the line because you are injured. RV failed to qualify for a main as well and still won it rem.

Edited by BDubb106, 26 April 2012 - 01:11 PM.

NaPaul, on 26 April 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

Wanna know why RV is so great, he was willing to say something to the world that not every racer will admit.

Also your referencing a very small world of motocross/supercross in the US. I watch all the other 2 wheeled racing in the world from flat-track to MotoGP and ya know what, many people over many generations have admitted the same thing. I think the vast majority of top-ranking racers in the world enjoy racing, but do it for the money because they have to support their life. Its not like he can quit and get a job doing something else. These professional racers have spent their entire life doing one thing and they would be lost in reality. So yea, they're kinda stuck doing something they wanted to do as a kid and too bad if they don't like it.

I have great respect for RV for admitting that, he is still #1 in my eyes.

Towelie, on 26 April 2012 - 01:02 PM, said:

Your 100% correct! If any rider at that level tells you that theyve never been burnt out or tired at some point during their career is flat out lying.

G-Bone, on 26 April 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

As a Villopoto fan, just let me say: ENOUGH OF THIS ASTERISK CRAP!

Whoever wins the MX championship this year wins the championship, PERIOD.  End of discussion.  You can only race against the competition that shows up, and RV won't be showing up.  I wish RV could be there, and I don't have any doubt that he'd successfully defend last year's championship if he were racing, but the simple fact is he won't be.  That's racing for ya.

Quote

Know why he says that it's "just a job"?  Because it is.  He doesn't get days off, he doesn't get to skip a race or two if he doesn't feel like going, racing is, literally, his job.  Yeah, I know, everybody else has to work as hard as he does, but they still have motivation in the fact that most of them, even the ones who've been racing a lot longer, haven't had as much success as RV has had, with the exception of JS7, and the fact that Stewart doesn't treat it like a job is the reason why he rides like he's out of control half the time, and ironically, the reason why a lot of people don't respect him.  If you've read any of Ryan's interviews, he has in fact stated that the fans are the only thing keeping him on the track.

That's why I'm glad I'll never be a pro.  I never want motocross to turn into "just a job".  If I were where RV is now, I guarantee I'd feel the same way he does, and I'd be burnt out on it.

Edited by yamahammer426, 26 April 2012 - 01:58 PM.

I think its his red hair and fake drinking on the podium that looses most of his fans. 1st time I saw him sip air from the monster can, BANG, he was off my list.

Baracudaaa, on 26 April 2012 - 02:04 PM, said:

Lol you guys sure have some interesting methods of picking the riders you "like". Nothing wrong with that because your entitled to like whoever you want, but I dont dislike someone just because they do what they have to do to earn their paycheck.

IDK why he doesnt just have the can filled with water like the rest of the riders do.

he should invest in this--

Edited by Baracudaaa, 26 April 2012 - 02:38 PM.

Baracudaaa, on 26 April 2012 - 02:04 PM, said:

LOL

Getting my pencil.....writing RV down.... scratchimg it off....Done!

You mean to say Stewie has a shot outdoors then......?

OUTERLIMITS, on 26 April 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:

His bike wont be ready...