Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey had a good night out in Round Seven of the Monster Energy Supercross series with a second place, riding in front of the packed AT&T Stadium at Arlington, Texas. Teammate Ken Roczen, secured sixth and remains second in the overall points standings.
Dungey contested the first 450SX heat race where he was sixth at the first corner after a solid start and had moved up to fourth by the hallway mark. He attacked on the final lap to battle for third but was unable to make the pass stick. His fourth place secured his transfer to the main event.
Roczen was up next in 450SX heat number two. The German rider pulled a third at the start and was right on the wheels to the two leaders. Half way through the heat he slipped by them on the inside as they fought for the lead. Once Roczen hit the front he pulled a small gap and went on to take the heat win and secure a great gate pick for the main event.
Dungey was fast out of the gate in the main event to secure the holeshot on his KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition race machine. He led the first three laps of before dropping back to second position. Meanwhile, Roczen had earned a fifth place start and was lodged in a four-man train of riders that were all contesting the final podium position. Roczen battled for multiple top five positions throughout the race, swapping places with Justin Barcia, Ryan Villopoto and Justin Brayton along the way. Despite his efforts he crossed the line in sixth at the end of the 20-lap race.
While Roczen was in the mix and in the fray for the final podium, Dungey, up with the leaders, remained close to Stewart for the remaining laps and was able to pull a gap on the third place rider. He rode a very strong race for his well-deserved second place, which boosted his overall standing in the championship points, moving him up to ourth place.
On the podium, Dungey commented, “Stewart was pulling a triple after the finish line that I wasn’t hitting for the first part of the race and I lost some time to him. He rode awesome tonight and I want to congratulate him on his win. My bike performed flawlessly and I was really happy with my ride. We will build off of this for next weekend. I am really happy to be on the podium. It’s a great feeling to be up here.”
The evening also saw the launch of the 250-class East Coast competition and the top KTM rider was Cole Thompson in sixth place. Red Bul KTM Factory rider Marvin Musquin of France is still recuperating from surgery.
Next Event: Atlanta, GA – February 22, 2014
Results AMA US Supercross
Rd. 7 of 17 at Arlington Texas
450 SX Class
1, James Stewart, 25
2, Ryan Dungey, KTM 22
3, Justin Barcia, Honda, 20
4, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, 18
5, Justin Brayton, Yamaha 16,
6, Ken Roczen, KTM, 15
Other KTM
10, Andrew Short, KTM, 11
12. Ivan Tedesco, KTM, 9
15, Matthew Goerke, KTM, 6
450 SX Championship Points after Rd. 6
1, Villopoto, 144
2, Roczen, KTM 132
3, Stewart 130
4, Dungey 116
Other KTM
8, Short, 83
11, Tedesco, 55
18, Goerke, 32
Manufacturer’s points after Rd. 7
1, Kawasaki 160
2, KTM 147
3, Suzuki 141
Rd. 1 East Coast Championship
250-class
1, Adam Cianciarulo, Kawasaki 25
2, Blake Baggett, Kawasaki 22
3, Martin Davlos, Kawasaki, 20
4, Fince Friese, Honda, 18
5, Justin Bogle, Honda, 16
6, Cole Thompson, KTM 15
Manufacturer’s Points (combined West- and East Coast Championship)
1, Kawasaki 149
2, Honda 147
3, KTM 146
