It is unlikely that Ryan Villopoto will ever better 2011. It has been nothing less than a monumental campaign for the 23 year old from Washington who won both AMA Motocross and Supercross championships, the Motocross of Nations and the first Monster Energy Cup last weekend and earn a million dollars for one evening’s work. To cap it off ‘RV’ married his girlfriend Kristen and will jet off on his honeymoon on Tuesday this week. We got five minutes with the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider after a busy year…

Ryan, there must have been a bit more tension before that last race as you were so close to the million…

RV: Yeah, I guess the last one was the most nerve-wracking, if you can say that because there wasn’t really anything on the line. I just wanted to leave here in good shape. Once I got the start I did in the last moto then I thought it was only about me being able to stay up and I knew I would be fine. The track was OK but in the outside section it was super-rocky and needed some work.

Was there any moment in the final Main Event when you were thinking about what you might spend the money on?

RV: No…I got enough money to spend on whatever I want right now! I’m gonna take it [the Monster Million] over twenty years so that in three years when I’m retired I wont be in the tax bracket I am now and I can collect the rest of it!

You must have had many questions about this perfect year but have you had time to really digest what you have done?

RV: We’ve already moved on! We are now at the Monster Cup and after the Motocross of Nations I started to ride Supercross again and get back into things. I haven’t had any time off so come Tuesday we will be escaping for our vacation/honeymoon. It’s only ten days and then we will be right back going for 2012. Of course I haven’t forgotten about what I have won but there is a tendency to immediately think and plan ahead so you don’t reflect too much. They say you are only as good as your last race and if 2012 doesn’t go like it has this year then they will forget about 2011. In a way it is already forgotten about.

If I were to retire tomorrow then I would be able to say that I had supercross and outdoor championships in the 450 class so from here-on-out it is just about how many more I can get before I stop. My focus is not to beat anyone’s record or something like that, it doesn’t really interest me. I will just go on as long as I can and want to.

Was there a moment that stands out when you were really enjoying yourself this year?

RV: Not really…mainly because this year was so tough in both series, many riders could have won them. Supercross is tough because everybody is right there and anyone can win at any time. The season felt long and hard and then I came into the outdoors not really where I needed to be and I was playing catch-up all year.

Is the current scheduling too much?

RV: I think so yeah. I think manufacturers and people need to get together. I don’t have the solution off the top of my head right now but there has to be a way to slow it right down and give us and everybody on the teams an off-season. We need time to have a break, recover and look forward to the next season.

How does it feel to be married and do something with your life away from a motorcycle that is memorable?

RV: My family got me into racing a long time ago. My grandpa still rides even now. It started as fun and I got to be pretty good and we did some racing. It took off from there but I look at it now like it is my job and it is not what I live for. I am now one step closer to having kids and a family; that’s what I am really looking forward to. I was talking to Stefan Everts at the Nations and he said to me that he thought racing was his life and then he had his son Liam and realised that it was just a very small part. I said ‘I don’t have kids yet but that’s how I look at it already’. I am here doing my job and I love it. It makes me good money and I’ll be able to retire. I’m not going to take that for granted but I know racing is just racing.