Irvine, Calif. – Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto joins an elite group of riders after clinching his third-consecutive Monster Energy Supercross Championship, Saturday night. Villopoto secured the title  by earning his ninth win of the season at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. He joins supercross legends Bob Hannah, Jeremy McGrath, and Ricky Carmichael as the only riders to win three straight supercross championships. The Washington native overcame a points deficit as high as 27 points at the beginning of the season, but knocked off five straight wins to take over the points lead.

“This is an amazing feeling,” said Villopoto. “Every year I have a goal of winning a championship and we all worked hard to accomplish that goal. Everyone on the Monster Energy Kawasaki team worked hard in the off-season and during the week to make sure we could run the No. 1 plate again next year. Even though we will be celebrating tonight, the work has already started to earn the outdoor title as well. ”

With 33 supercross wins, Villopoto is the winningest rider on a KX in the 450SX class and currently sits fifth on the all-time SX win list.