With only two-weeks until the second annual Monster Energy Cup, we thought we would take you on a time machine trip back to the inaugural event a year ago. Last year, the event was in its infant stage, so not many fans or riders knew what to expect. In the end, it turned out to be one hell of a show, and the big draw of a possible million dollar pay-day was quickly realized. Flash back with us to 2011 in the race report below, and check out the highlight videos at the bottom of the report. If that’s not enough, you can check out our photo galley from the race »
After a one month break from racing, some of the best Motocross and Supercross riders on the planet reconvened in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam Boyd Stadium for the inaugural running of the Monster Energy Cup. The Monster Energy Cup was designed to be a one-off race in between the end of Motocross and the beginning of Supercross, so the promoters designed a hybrid track that combined the two disciplines. They also changed up the format. The format would not only bring back the semi-final qualifiers, but would also run three ten-lap main events instead of one twenty lap main, but the biggest draw wasn’t the track or the format. The biggest draw was a $250,000 purse and a million-dollar bonus for anyone that could win all three main events.
With the biggest purse in the history of the sport up for grabs, riders like Ryan Villopoto, Ryan Dungey and more postponed their vacations for one last major race in 2011. The 2011 Motocross and Supercross Champion Villopoto actually postponed his honeymoon for the Monster Energy Cup. For that, the Monster Energy/Kawasaki pilot rewarded himself by taking home the bulk of the $250,000 purse and a million dollar bonus for winning all three main events. Mr. Villopoto was on another level on Saturday night, and after holeshotting and running away with dominant wins in the first two main events, he made quick work of Mike Alessi–who holeshotted main event number three–and easily won the third one as well.
Main event #1 recap:
In main event number one, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ben Townley got off the gate in second behind RV2 with Team Alessi’s Mike Alessi, Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe and Red Bull KTM’s newest member Ryan Dungey in tow.
With Villopoto up front and walking away, Dungey knew he needed to act fast and made quick work of Metcalfe and Alessi, but once in third was not able to make a pass stick on Townley for second. The top three would stay Villopoto, Townley and Dungey with Metcalfe and GEICO Powersports/Honda’s Eli Tomac rounding out the top five.
Before the first of three main events, many doubted that anyone would be able to win all three and the million dollars that went with it. After RV2′s dominant fifteen-second win in main event number one, though, most doubted anyone could stop him from winning it.
Main Event #1 of 3 Results
1 2 Ryan Villopoto 2 101 Ben Townley 3 5 Ryan Dungey 4 24 Brett Metcalfe 5 19 Eli Tomac 6 800 Mike Alessi 7 23 Martin Davalos 8 125 Marvin Musquin 9 11 Kyle Chisholm 10 38 Chris Blose
Main event #2 recap:
In the second of three main events, RV2 once again holeshotted, but this time he had the 2010 450 Supercross Champ–Ryan Dungey–right behind him. While RD5 looked better than some expected after only six days of testing on the new KTM, he still has a way to go before being able to compete with the comfortable and ultra-confident Villopoto. RV2–just like in main event number one–easily rode away from the former champ to win the second of the three main events.
Behind RV2, Dungey rode the whole race all alone in second with Metcalfe, Tomac and Factory Honda’s newest recruit Justin Brayton all finishing in the top five. With Villopoto, Dungey and Metcalfe finishing about where most expected, we’d have to say that Tomac’s fifth in main one and fourth in main two on the unfamiliar 450 was one of the biggest surprises of the evening. The Colorado kid looked very much at home on the big bike and showed that he has a bright future later on in the premier class.
Two men that were in the overall running after main event one and were completely out of it after main event number two were Ben Townley and Mike Alessi. Both would DNF in the second race with mechanical issues.
Main Event #2 of 3 Results
1 2 Ryan Villopoto 2 5 Ryan Dungey 3 24 Brett Metcalfe 4 19 Eli Tomac 5 10 Justin Brayton 6 32 Jake Weimer 7 23 Martin Davalos 8 125 Marvin Musquin 9 11 Kyle Chisholm 10 108 Jimmy Albertson
Main event #3 recap:
The only way to win the one million dollars was to win all three main events, so with two out of the three in the bank for Ryan Villopoto, nerves had to be at an all-time high for the multi-time National Champion as the gate dropped for the third and final main event. Off the gate in main event number three, it was the number 800 with the holeshot and Villopoto and Dungey close behind. Before the end of lap one, Villopoto would grab the lead, and by the end of lap two, he was probably already spending the million dollars in his head. The Factory Kawasaki rider left no doubt that he will be the man to beat in 2012 as he walked away with another seemingly easy win and the first million dollar payday in the history of the sport.
While Villopoto’s win looked easy, the battle for second was quite the opposite. We’re not sure if Alessi has a personal problem with Dungey or his former KTM team, but the number 800 made it apparent that he has a problem with one of them. What started out as an innocent battle for second between the 800 and the 5 quickly escalated into a block fest and a middle finger wave from Alessi. In the end, Dungey was able to secure the second position and second overall on the night, but not before a bit of craziness and a Suzuki going off the track. After it all settled down, Brett Metcalfe was able to secure third and, with a 4-3-3 score on the night, third overall. Brett was solid on Saturday night and showed that he and his Yoshimura/Suzuki are gelling well as they head into 2012 together.
Finishing fourth overall on the night was probably the biggest surprise. The normally inconsistent Martin Davalos used consistency to get the job done on Saturday. Martin–in his first race on a 450–went 7-7-5 for fourth overall. Congrats to Martin and Rockstar/Suzuki on a great night.
The feel-good story of main event number three–other than RV2 winning the million–was the man in fourth, Nick Wey. Nick, as of right now, is a man without a team, but he showed he’s not done yet. With his Michigan Mafia and MSR backing, he pitted out of a van and went 14-11-4 for seventh overall on the privateer Kawasaki.
Main Event #3 of 3
1 2 Ryan Villopoto 2 5 Ryan Dungey 3 24 Brett Metcalfe 4 27 Nicholas Wey 5 23 Martin Davalos 6 800 Mike Alessi 7 11 Kyle Chisholm 8 108 Jimmy Albertson 9 20 Broc Tickle 10 19 Eli Tomac
2011 MEC Overall Results – (for full results click here)
1 2 Ryan Villopoto Seattle, WA, US 3 1 1 1 * Wins $1,000,000 2 5 Ryan Dungey Belle Plain, MN, US 7 3 2 2 3 24 Brett Metcalfe Lake Elsinore, CA, US 10 4 3 3 4 23 Martin Davalos Cairo, GA, US 19 7 7 5 5 19 Eli Tomac Cortez, CO US 19 5 4 10 6 11 Kyle Chisolm Valrico, FL, US 25 9 9 7 7 27 Nicholas Wey Murrieta, CA,US 29 14 11 4 8 108 Jimmy Albertson Ozark, MO, US 29 11 10 8 9 32 Jake Weimer Rupert, ID, US 29 12 6 11 10 800 Mike Alessi Victorville, CA, US 33 6 21 6 11 125 Marvin Musquin Le Reole, FR 33 8 8 17 12 10 Justin Brayton Murrieta, CA, US 36 13 5 18 13 14 Kevin Windham Centerville, MS, US 41 15 14 12 14 38 Chris Blose Phoenix, AZ, US 41 10 16 15 15 101 Ben Townley Taupo, NZ 41 2 19 20 16 20 Broc Tickle Holly, MI, US 43 16 18 9 17 34 Cole Seely Corona, CA, US 46 21 12 13 18 76 Kyle Partridge Las Vegas, NV, US 47 18 15 14 19 53 Jarred Browne Nuevo, CA, US 49 17 13 19 20 72 Nick Paluzzi Riverside, CA, US 58 20 22 16 21 100 Josh Hansen Elbert, CO, US 60 22 17 21 22 43 Weston Peick Wildomar, CA, US 61 19 20 22
Monster Energy Cup – Race Review
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Monster Energy Cup – Ryan Villopoto Takes the Million
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GoPro HD: Monster Energy Cup Highlights
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