Langston Wins AMA Toyota Motocross Championship

Yamaha’s Grant Langston, of Clermont, Fla., clinched his first-
ever AMA Motocross class championship today before a crowd of
26,205 at Glen Helen Raceway’s Giant RV Motocross National
Presented by Yamaha, final round of the 12-race AMA Toyota
Motocross Championship Presented by FMF. Kawasaki’s Ryan
Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., secured his second-consecutive AMA
Motocross Lites title.

Langston, who entered the season finale needing a top finish to
hold off his three nearest competitors, turned in a championship-
winning performance with a 1-3 moto finish en route to his third-
straight overall win to close out the season.

“It’s definitely a great feeling to win this championship,” said
Langston, 25, who also won the 2003 AMA 125cc Motocross
championship and 2005 and 2006 AMA 125cc Supercross titles. “I
think it was just five or six races ago that I thought I didn’t have
a snowballs chance (at winning the title). Every week I kept
chipping away. The championship was a like a carrot being
dangled in front of me. Once I could see the carrot I got on a
roll.”

KTM’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., finished 2-2 for second
overall, while Honda’s Kevin Windham, of Centreville, Miss., was
third (5-1).

In the Lites class, Ben Townley, of Tallahassee, Fla., who entered
the race trialing by 19 points, picked up his sixth overall win of
the season with a 1-2 moto finish, but it wasn’t enough to keep
Villopoto (1-2) from walking away with the championship.
Kawasaki’s Bret Metcalfe, of Murrieta, Calif., was third overall
after a 3-3 finish in the motos.

“I always heard that it was harder to back it up,” said the 19-year
old Villopoto, referring to repeating as champion. “Mitch (Payton,
team manager) said he hasn’t seen two guys go at this hard. Ben
and I went at it every weekend. It was definitely harder than last
year." AMAMotocross.com - photos from Racerxill.com &
Motocross.com