The 2006 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF will come to an exciting conclusion this Sunday at the Giant RV Glen Helen National in San Bernardino, California.
The biggest story at Glen Helen this weekend will be the battle for the AMA Motocross Lites Championship. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto is on the verge of winning the title in his first full season of professional racing as he leads Mike Alessi by 29 points going into the final round. Alessi, who rides for
Red Bull KTM, still has a shot at winning the Lites championship, but he’ll need a little luck on his side to do so.
Last year Glen Helen was the site of a dramatic last round. Like Villopoto, Ivan Tedesco looked to have a lock on what was then called the 125 title. But a crash in the first moto left him with no points and the championship was again up for grabs. Tedesco recovered to finish ahead of Alessi and clinch the championship in race two, but not without drama as the two collided and fell - with Alessi later penalised for trying to obstruct Tedesco after they had fallen.
Unsurprisingly, Villopoto is hoping to avoid the nerve-wracking path that Tedesco took to the championship last year. "I’m going into Glen Helen hoping to ride like I have all season. I want to go into the race and have a real solid first moto, and not end up like Ivan last year," said Villopoto, who has won five events this year. "I’d like to gain enough points the first moto so in the second moto I can just race to race - and not race for the championship."
If Villopoto wins or finishes second in the first moto at Glen Helen he will clinch the championship and he has history on his side: Kawasaki riders have won seven of the last nine AMA Motocross Lites titles at the challenging Glen Helen track, including the last four. But Makita Suzuki’s Broc Hepler has been on a tear in the class, winning the last three events. That’s the longest winning streak in the highly competitive series in two years.
