Photo: Courtesy of KTM
The 2012 Monster Energy AMA Supercross an FIM World Championship got kicked off tonight, and the man with the bright red #1 plate picked up right were he left off in 2011. Ryan Villopoto was on another level from his competition inside Angel Stadium on Saturday night, and after ripping the first holeshot of the season, the Monster Energy/Kawasaki pilot made his first win of the year look easy. While Ryan rode away from everyone to a giant fourteen-second lead, a battle royal was going on behind him for the final two podium positions.

From the drop of the gate, it was the Two Two Motorsports/Honda rider, Chad Reed tucked in behind RV1, but the two-time Supercross Champ could do nothing to keep the Kawasaki in sight. As the #1 disappeared off into the distance, the twenty-two would settle into his own pace and focus on keeping the second spot on the box. Despite a mid-race tip-over and pressure from Red Bull KTM of Ryan Dungey and the JGR/Yamaha of James Stewart, Reedy was still able fight his way to a solid second place finish on the night.

Ryan Dungey was behind Reedy for most of the main event, but for a few laps James Stewart literally crashed the party. James got off to a mid-pack start and worked his way up as far as third before doing what we’ve seen so many times before. The two-time Champ—while trying to catch Reed for second position—made a small mental error that sent him into the tough blocks, and to the ground he went. Stewart remounted in fourth, but would get pushed back to finish a disappointing sixth.

Ryan Dungey helped earn KTM their first ever 450 Supercross class podium. Is their first win over the horizon? Photo: Courtesy of KTM - Hoppenworld

Dungey, on the other hand, capitalized on Stewart’s mistake and set off to reel in Reedy. Before the end of the twenty lap main event, Dungey got the hook in Reed, but it was too little too late for the 2010 Supercross Champ. Dungey crossed the line a very close third and, in the process, gave the Austrian manufacturer KTM their first-ever premier class Supercross podium.

Arguably, the two best rides of the night were turned in by the riders crossing the line in fourth and fifth. The man finishing fourth—after having to qualify through the LCQ and dealing with a bad start in the main—was Muscle Milk/Honda rider Justin Brayton. Brayton is a fighter, and he brawled for twenty laps on the way to a stellar debut on the new Honda. In similar fashion, Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer worked his way from twelfth on lap one to an incredible come-from-behind top five finish. Don’t be surprised to see both of them on the podium as the season wears on.

Coming into the opener, we usually have more questions than we can even begin to tackle, and at times, we have even more afterward. This would be one of those times. One thing that has been answered is that the defending champ, Ryan Villopoto, came in prepared to defend his title. There was an aura about Ryan all weekend long that reeked of confidence, and it showed on the track Saturday night in front of the sold out crowd. If anyone is going to stand in the way of RV1 in 2012, they’re going to first have to figure out how to get in front of him.

Next stop, Phoenix in 6 days.

Anaheim I – Main Event

For full results from A1 click here>>

 1. Ryan Villopoto
 2. Chad Reed
 3. Ryan Dungey
 4. Justin Brayton
 5. Jake Weimer
 6. James Stewart
 7. Andrew Short
 8. Kevin Windham
 9. Mike Alessi
 10. Josh Hansen
Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.