Stroupe Takes Lites-Class Overall

Kit Palmer | May 25, 2008

Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto bounced back from his first-moto fifth to win the second moto in the MX Lites class at Glen Helen Raceway. However, it wasn’t enough to beat his teammate Austin Stroupe for the overall win.

Stroupe took top honors after finishing third in the second moto, which combined with his first-moto second, was good enough to give him the overall win in the MX Lites class.

Villopoto and Lawrence tied in points for second place, but Villopoto got credited for second overall, via his better finish in the second moto.

Dungey took the early lead in the second moto, which he held for a couple of laps before getting passed by both Stroupe and Villopoto. The two Kawasaki riders then battled for the lead until Stroupe swapped out and crashed at the bottom of one of Glen Helen’s big downhills. From there, Villopoto enjoyed a comfortable lead over Dungey for the rest of the race.

After Stroupe crashed, he and Brett Metcalfe battled back and forth for third until Stroupe took command of the position.

Behind Metcalfe, first-moto winner Lawrence and Trey Canard went at for a while before Lawrence took control of fifth, giving him the final spot on the podium.