Coming off his third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross championship, Ryan Villopoto made his return to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Series in a big way, earning two impressive moto wins on Saturday at the season opener. The Hangtown National just outside Sacramento, Calif. brought out impressive crowds to watch Villopoto race to margins of victory over 20 seconds each 450MX moto. Villopoto will run the coveted red number plate at the second round as he holds a six-point lead in the 450MX class.

hor’s Tyla Rattray made his 450MX class debut at Hangtown and came through the pack in both moto to race inside the top 10. His 9-9 moto result panned out to a ninth-place overall finish. His Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Dean Wilson was also making his 450MX debut, while also coming back from his supercross injury, and scored a 17-14 moto finish to end up 17th overall.

Also coming back from injury, Josh Grant started strong in the opening moto, but had some bad luck with collisions with other riders, was forced to come through the pack. He ended up 24th overall.

The 250MX class saw the return of 2012 champion Blake Baggett. Thor’s Baggett was also another rider returning to action from injury, and while he was completely 100 percent, managed to lead laps, and left Hangtown with a second-place overall finish.

Also putting together a great ride at Hangtown was Marvin Musquin, who was in the thick of the podium hunt on Saturday. He was able to put together two solid motos, and even came back from a crash in Moto 2 to finish 4-4 for fourth overall.

Rookie Justin Hill got through the first two motos in the 250MX class, showcasing his charging speed to finish 10th overall. In Moto 1, he overcame a 31st place start to work his way up to a 13th-place finish. He improved upon that result to claim ninth in the second moto.

Thor’s Darryn Durham took to the track for the first time since the end of the 2012 supercross season and in the opening moto proved that his speed remained. He finished sixth in the opening moto, and was running sixth in the second moto before going down, leaving him unable to return. Despite his 6-36 moto result, he still finished 14th overall.

Martin Davalos also had trouble in a moto, but came back in the second moto to finish with a 38-12 moto result for 17th overall.

Photos: Simon Cudby

Thor riders were back at it again over the weekend, winning races around the globe in dominating fashion. Collecting the first win of the weekend was Thor’s Mike Brown at the season opener of the EnduroCross series. At the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Brown collected the fastest hot-lap time in both the afternoon and night sessions, grabbed a heat-race win, and took his first EnduroCross series win of his career. While he has won at X Games, this is the first series win for the 41-year old. Also putting in great efforts in the main event were Thor’s Taylor Robert and Destry Abbott, finishing sixth and 11th, respectively.

Mike Brown

Also running in Las Vegas was the final round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series at Sam Boyd Stadium. Villopoto clinched the championship last weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he was hungry to claim that 10th win of the season. He got to the front quickly and by the second lap he had moved into the lead, adding another win to his impressive comeback season.

Ryan Villopoto

The 250SX riders had a lot of racing to do over at Sam Boyd Stadium, with a 15-lap main event and a 10-lap East/West Shootout. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki interim rider Tyler Bowers started the night on a positive note as he broke through for his first career win in the Eastern Regional 250SX Main Event. Later in the East/West Shootout, he was in the top five, but a crash pushed him back and he recovered for 14th.

Tyler Bowers

It was a hard-fought battle for Eastern Regional title-contender Marvin Musquin who finished just a few points out of the title. He never gave up and nearly beat Bowers to the line, taking second in the main event and second in the standings. In the East/West Shootout, Musquin finished on the podium again with a third-place result.

Marvin Musquin

In the Western Regional 250SX Main Event, Martin Davalos shot out of the gate and grabbed the holeshot, leading the field for 11 laps before eventually rounding out the podium in third. Tyla Rattray was able to work his way up to ninth. Davalos almost had another podium finish in the East/West Shootout, but finished just off the podium in fourth, while Rattray finished 10th.

Martin Davalos

Tyla Rattray

Out in the Utah desert, Thor’s Kurt Caselli added another win to the weekend with an impressive ride at the AMA National Hare and Hound in Jericho, Utah. After six rounds, Caselli holds a decent points gap over second place in the championship standings.

Kurt Caselli

On the other side of the globe, the FIM Motocross World Championship headed to Agueda, Portugal for the sixth round of the season. Thor’s Gautier Paulin held off his toughest rivals to claim the overall win by finishing with a 1-2 moto finish, making it back-to-back wins for the Frenchman.

Gautier Paulin

Also in the MX1 class, Thor’s Jeremy Van Horebeek showcased his speed with a 5-6 finish for seventh overall, while David Philippaerts was just behind him in eighth overall with an 8-8 moto result. In the MX2 class, Christophe Charlier put in a great ride to finish with a top five.

Jeremy Van Horebeek

Also in the MX1 class, Thor’s Jeremy Van Horebeek showcased his speed with a 5-6 finish for seventh overall, while David Philippaerts was just behind him in eighth overall with an 8-8 moto result. In the MX2 class, Christophe Charlier put in a great ride to finish with a top five.

Charlie Mullins

Kailub Russell

One final win was added to the tally when Thor amateur rider Ryder DiFrancesco took the win during the KTM Supercross Juniors Challenge in Las Vegas during the Monster Energy Supercross.

Ryder DiFrancesco

Thor’s Ryan Villopoto elevated himself to Monster Energy Supercross greatness on Saturday night following one of the most intense races of the season in Salt Lake City, Utah. Fans at the Rice-Eccles Stadium witnessed Villopoto hold off his biggest competition to clinch the 2013 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM Championship one round early, placing him in supercross history books. In clinching his third-consecutive championship, Villopoto became only one of four riders to accomplish the feat, including the likes of Ricky Carmichael, Jeremy McGrath, and Bob Hannah.

Entering the race, Villopoto’s main goal was to get out of Round 16 safe and with the points lead heading into the finale in Las Vegas. He did more than that as he quickly took over the lead at the second turn of the main event and held off attacks from rivals Davi Millsaps and Ryan Dungey to capture his ninth win of the season, a total that is a season and career best, and clinch his third championship. 

“Every lap of that race was intense. I knew for those guys (Dungey and Millsaps) it was all or nothing when I was out front and I had to be smart. At the beginning of the season, we had a bit of a deficit to make up, and we had to chip away as the season went on. I have a great support system behind me, with Thor being a big part of my program, and we never wanted to seem defeated but go at it one race at a time, hoping things would turn around and it did. I am so grateful to have Thor on my side as a great sponsor and happy I was able to bring them another championship.” – Ryan Villopoto, Three-Time Supercross Champion.

Thor’s Ryan Villopoto edged ever closer to a third consecutive Monster Energy Supercross title after placing second at his hometown race in Seattle. His second-place finish increased his overall points lead to 25. With just two races left, Villopoto can clinch the title with another strong finish next week in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Western Regional 250SX returned in Seattle, with Tyla Rattray and Martin Davalos lining up for Thor. Rattray rode to his best finish of the season in fifth, moving him to ninth in the season standings. Martin Davalos overcame a few mistakes to take ninth, placing him sixth in the standings.

Thor’s Marvin Musquin, Charlie Mullins, and Kurt Caselli dominated their respective races over the weekend. Starting the weekend of victories was Musquin at the Monster Energy Supercross in Minneapolis, Minn., who continued his chase for the Eastern Regional 250SX championship with his fourth win of the season. He dominated the 15-lap main event and eventually won by eight and a half seconds.

In the 450SX class, Thor’s Ryan Villopoto led 16 of 20 laps in Minnesota before taking second-place. Villopoto’s finish helped his extend his lead to 22 points over second place in the championship standings with three races remaining.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki interim rider Tyler Bowers competed in his second 250SX race of the season since making the jump from Arenacross. He had a solid heat race, and overcame a crash in the main event to finish fifth. Cole Thompson was running in sixth most of the race, but went down in the final laps to finish 10th.

At the AMA National Enduro in Forest Hill, La., Thor’s Charlie Mullins dominated the field by winning all six tests and taking his second win of the season. Mullins extended his series points lead to 11. Thor’s Grant Baylor was sixth and maintained his sixth place standing in the season points race.

Thor’s Kurt Caselli took over the points lead with a first-place finish at the AMA National Hare and Hound race in Lucerne Valley, Calif. despite not finishing the first race of the season. Thor’s Ivan Ramirez was on pace for a good finish but took 15^th after running into trouble on the final loop.

At the foot of the Italian Alps, Thor riders took to the track this weekend for the FIM World MX Championship in Arco di Trento, Italy. Gautier Paulin hit the podium once again to finish third, his third podium in four races. Thor’s Jeremy van Horebeek posted his first top ten of the season, finishing ninth.

In MX2, Thor’s Christophe Charlier finished just off the podium in fourth after battling through a number of riders after a tough start. He missed the podium by a single point. Alessandro Lupino grabbed a top ten finish in front of his home crowd.

The Monster Energy Supercross riders will make its move west to CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. Both the National Hare and Hound and National Enduro will return in two weeks.