Team Suzuki Press Office – June 29.
Four overall wins in a row out of five races has put Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey in command of the AMA Motocross 450 class championship chase. Dungey went 2-1 at the Thunder Valley AMA Pro Motocross on Saturday, taking the overall and putting himself even further ahead of the competition on the race to the title.
Dungey started the day by proving that his Suzuki fuel-injected RM-Z450 was well equipped for the thin air. He got a great jump off the gate and was immediately in second place and staring down the leader. Ryan followed until the chance to take over the lead presented itself, and he didn’t hesitate to take over the top spot. With pressure from another racer right behind him, Dungey focused on running his own race. By the time the chequered flag fell, Dungey was again in second place.
In the second moto, Dungey followed the formula that’s been working for him this year: get a good start and let no one stand in the way of the finish line. He found himself in second place again at the start of the battle, but by the third lap Dungey had made his move to take over the lead. To win the overall he would have been fine to stay in second, but the 2010 Supercross Champ pulled away from the pack and put more than 13 seconds between him and the other racers by the time the moto was finished.
“Today it took an entire team effort to get the win,” Dungey said after the race. “I got a good start in Moto 1 but I didn’t have that extra step and ended up second. We went back to work and made a couple key adjustments to the bike, which ended up making all the difference. Goose, Roger, Ian, and Adam and Scott at Showa have been working really hard this year and it’s showing in the results.”
Throughout the day, Dungey’s outstanding fitness and the unrivalled reliability of his RM-Z450 remained strong. With his great moto finishes, he took the overall in Colorado, which makes it four straight for the 20-year-old Rookie. “We have won four in a row but now is not the time to let up and get complacent,” Dungey said. “Red Bud is a track where we haven’t been able to put it together in the past, so we’re going back to work this week to get ready.”
Dungey’s team mate Matt Moss was hoping to have his breakthrough race in the tough conditions of Colorado. With the altitude and heat, Moss was able to wrangle 28-19 moto finishes to put himself in 22nd overall. He also was awarded the Recovery Award, which gives him $500 and recognition for his fight to come back after an injury sidelined his entire Supercross season.
Thunder Valley 450 results: 1. Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 2. Ben Townley, 3. Brett Metcalfe, 4. Josh Grant, 5. Andrew Short, 6. Kyle Regal, 7. Kyle Chisholm, 8. Mike Alessi, 9. Chad Reed, 10. Justin Brayton.
Championship points: 1. Ryan Dungey 218, 2. Brett Metcalfe 167, 3. Chad Reed 160, 4. Mike Alessi 154, 5. Andrew Short 153, 6. Josh Grant 152, 7. Ben Townley 151, 8. Kyle Chisholm 108, 9. Tommy Hahn 101, 10. Kyle Regal 94.
