St. Louis – Red Bull/KTM rider Ryan Dungey’s weekend can be condensed into one number: 7. The AMA Supercross at the Edward Jones Dome marked his 7th podium of the season when he nearly caught series leader Ryan Villopoto to finish 2nd at the ninth round of the series. The second highlight of the evening came from Marvin Musquin who deserves special recognition for earning a top ten finish on his KTM 350 SX-F debut in the Supercross class.
Both riders turned impressive qualifying times in the afternoon practice sessions. Dungey turned the 2nd fastest time while Musquin managed to turn in the 6th fastest time. Both riders were placed in the first heat where they both pulled off decent starts and went on to easily transfer to the main event finishing 3rd and 6th place respectively.
Dungey had a horrible start off the gate in the main event but made some critical moves down the start straight to place his KTM into the top five by the time the lead group rounded the second corner. Musquin was not as fortunate and started the race in 16th. It was apparent from the start of the race that Dungey had some hot lines the other riders were not taking and that his lap times were matching those of the leader, Villopoto. Dungey passed Kevin Windham within the first two laps to jump up to 4th. He then reeled in Davi Millsaps to move into 3rd six laps later. He spent the next five laps hunting down Justin Brayton. He leaped in front of him to take over 2nd place and then began to catch Villopoto. When Dungey moved into 2nd position Villopoto had a nearly 6 second lead. Over the next five laps Dungey was able to reduce the lead to 2 seconds by the end of the 20 lap main event.
“It feels really great to finish strong tonight,” remarked Dungey. “I wish I could have had a better start but I am very satisfied with my performance tonight and am glad that I can keep my Red Bull/KTM Team in the championship hunt.”
Musquin went on to earn an impressive 9th place result after charging through the pack from his poor start. “The 350 is an amazing bike,” remarked Musquin. “I feel very comfortable on the bike and am so happy I was able to get a top ten finish. I will race the next two races in the Supercross class and hope to improve my results.”
With nine rounds complete, Dungey remains 2nd in the championship point standings only 13 points behind Villopoto.
Next Event: Daytona Supercross – March 10, 2012
Overall Results – Supercross Class
- Ryan Villopoto
- Ryan Dungey – KTM
- Justin Brayton
- Kevin Windham
- James Stewart
- Davi Millsaps
- Jake Weimer
- Brett Metcalfe
- Marvin Musquin – KTM
- Nick Wey
- Broc Tickle
- Matt Goerke
- Mike Alessi
- Bobby Kiniry
- Justin Sipes
- Kyle Chisholm
- Gavin Faith
- Jimmy Albertson
- Cole Seely
- Josh Hansen
Point Standings – Supercross Class
- Ryan Villopoto – 205
- Ryan Dungey – 192
- James Stewart – 152
