The world was rocked by the surprise results of the 2007 Motocross of Nations held at America's Budds Creek. Ryan Villopoto, mounted on a KX250F, dominated both Race 1 and Race 2 to stand at the pinnacle of the motocross world. This gave the American team the overall victory, but what had everyone speechless was Villopoto's inspired riding and incredible results.

Ryan Villopoto dominated Races 1 and 2. No one could even get close.

The MXoN gathers the top riders from around the globe. Each country enters a team of three riders, one for each class: MX1 (450cc), MX2 (250cc) and Open (unlimited). There are three races (MX1/MX2, MX2/Open, MX1/Open), each following a mixed format that combines two of the three classes. Villopoto was the MX2 rider, so competed in Races 1 and 2. He won both, beating not only all the other 250s, but also all the MX1 and Open-class 450s. In the history of the MXoN, this was the first time a small-displacement bike had gone undefeated. Incidentally, Budds Creek is a course with a lot of elevation changes, so it goes without saying that the 450s' surplus of power gave them a definite advantage over the 250s.
The 2007 American team was made up of Ricky Carmichael (MX1/Suzuki RM-Z450), Ryan Villopoto (MX2/Kawasaki KX250F) and Tim Ferry (Open/Kawasaki KX450F). Each class competed separately in Saturday's qualifying races. In a clear display of superiority, the American riders came 1st in each of their respective races.
Back at the American camp, Roger DeCoster (Suzuki Team Manager, Team America Overall Manager), Mike Fisher (Kawasaki Team Manager) and Mitch Peyton (Pro Circuit Kawasaki Team Manager) gathered to discuss strategy for the next day's races.
"After the qualifiers on Saturday, we had a meeting and decided to put Ryan on the inside. When Roger first proposed the idea, Mitch and I were kind of aware what we were going to do. If Ryan is on the outside his chance to get the holeshot is pretty small, but if we give him the inside his chance to get the holeshot is pretty high. Still Ricky and Timmy can get around to decent starts from the outside gates and even work their way up through the pack."
The strategy explained by Mike Fisher would never have been used for an average MX2 rider on a run-of-the-mill 250cc machine. The only reason the team heads did not hesitate to implement this idea was that both Villopoto and his KX250F were in top condition.

40 bikes (20 x 2 classes) lined up for each race on Sunday. Having qualified in 1st, the American team had earned the first and twenty-first choice of gates in each race. Which rider would be given priority was a matter of team strategy, however. Normally, the first gate pick would go to the 450 rider, but this time it was Villopoto on his KX250F who lined up on the inside. The first corner at Budds Creek is usually a downhill S-curve, but for the MXoN the first corner had been revamped and was now a tight 180^o hairpin. With the new layout, being on the inside was a huge advantage.
Race 1 mixed the MX1 and MX2 riders. Villopoto timed his launch from the gate perfectly and slipped in front of the other bikes closing from the outside to take the holeshot. Once in front, his performance was nothing less than spectacular. By lap 3, he had a 10 second lead, and by lap 5 his lead had grown to 21 seconds. Villopoto had quickly established his dominance in the race. After encountering lapped traffic, he actually went down once, but even that hardly made a dent in his lead and he continued on to the chequers unchallenged. Chad Reed finished 2nd and Ricky Carmichael, who had crashed shortly after the start, had worked his way up through the field to take the final spot on the podium.

Team America celebrating from the top step of the podium.
The KX250F of Villopoto, who was instrumental in achieving the overall victory, stands in the foreground.

In Race 2, the MX2 riders competed alongside the Open-class riders. Once again, Villopoto nailed the holeshot and was never headed. 30 minutes into the race his gap over Ken de Dycker running in 2nd was more than a minute – or about half a lap of the Budds Creek track. Villopoto also won Race 2 in stunning fashion. At that point, he was the only undefeated rider of 60 contestants (250cc x 20, 450cc x 40). Ferry's recovery from a first lap crash to take 4th was also noteworthy, but Villopoto's brilliant achievement trumped everything else.
Race 3 was a mix of MX1 and Open-class riders. Carmichael and Ferry finished 1-2, giving Team America wins in all three races as well as the overall victory, their third in a row. It had been 20 years since the MXoN had been held on U.S. soil, so the American team felt duty-bound to win the event – but it was Villlopoto's contribution that went the farthest in achieving their goal.
Official records show some almost unbelievable lap times. In Race 1, the fastest lap was logged by Villopoto: 2:08.691; the second fastest rider was Carmichael with a 2:11.910… In Race 2, the fastest lap was once again set by Villopoto, with a 2:09.606. The next fastest rider was Antonio Cairoli, with a 2:11.196…

Villopoto gives a calm interview despite having just made motocross history.

"Last year when I rode this race for the first time in England I was under a little bit of pressure. But this time it was more comforting. I wouldn't say it was easy but I've always done good at Budds Creek. Obviously the inside was really an advantage because the first turn was a hard left. Ricky gave me his inside gate and Timmy gave me his inside gate. Once I got the holeshots, I could ride my own pace. This year I wanted to win at least one moto and it was cool to win everything."
Although Villopoto's "own pace" was quick enough for a 250 to run half a lap ahead of 450 machines, his demeanor after the race was remarkably calm. A win at the Motocross of Nations is the equivalent of an Olympic gold medal, but Villopoto's post-race grin was no different than the smiling face after one of his many AMA National wins. His serene expression stood in vivid contrast to the incredible feat he had achieved.