Post by Mr Moto on Oct 16, 2012 22:50:57 GMT -5
Hey, have you heard that there’s a race this weekend? In Las Vegas? And that the winner of all three main events could end up with a cool $1 million? Oh, so you have heard about the Monster Energy Cup at Sam Boyd Stadium. Yes, it’s a very intriguing race. Last year Ryan Villopoto, the man of 2011, capped off his amazing run with the Monster million dollar bonus. He made the field look silly on his way to winning every main event, but that’s because the competition was weak in comparison to what we’ll see on Saturday. With Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey (who is now familiar with his KTM), Justin Barcia and several potential surprises (although James Stewart tweeted that he’s out for this weekend), RV is going to have a tougher time winning the loot.
That doesn’t mean that I’m betting against Villopoto. Sure, he blew his knee out at Seattle and missed 15 races (two Supercross, 12 Nationals and I automatically counted him in for the Motocross des Nations team). Ricky Carmichael also blew his knee out in Supercross, and he didn’t return to the races worse for the wear. Villopoto looks dialed and hungry to line up again. Given his motivation to defend the Monster Cup win from last year, as well as anticipation to show everyone that he’s still as fast as a scalded cat, RV will be ready to go.
Is the Monster Energy Cup worth the trouble for the Pro riders? It depends on the person. You could win $1 million, or the $100,000 overall, or you could finish 40th and earn $500. There’s a steep drop-off in payout from third place to tenth (exactly $15,000). Money might not be the biggest motivating factor for quite a few of the riders. Take Ryan Dungey, for example. Last year he only had a few days on the KTM 450SXF before he opted to race the MEC. He didn’t win, but he got paid $35,000 (by finishing second overall) for an evening’s worth of race testing. Not too shabby. Below is the MEC purse payout:
MONSTER CUP PAYOUT
1. $100,000
2. $35,000
3. $20,000
4. $15,000
5. $10,000
6. $9,000
7. $8,000
8. $7,000
9. $6,000
10. $5,000
11. $4,000
12. $3,100
13. $2,500
14. $2,350
15. $2,150
16. $2,000
17. $1,900
18. $1,800
19. $1,700
20. $1,600
21. $1,500
22. $1,400
23 thru 40. $500
Total Payout: $250,000