ANAHEIM, Calif. – Red Bull/KTM Factory Team rider Ryan Dungey finished 3^rd overall at the opening round of the AMA Supercross Series effectively earning KTM’s first-ever U.S. Supercross class podium finish.

Dungey looked impressive from the start of the first practice session on his newly released KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition race machine. He qualified third fastest from practice and was placed in the second heat.

He nearly nailed the holeshot once the gate dropped for his eight-lap heat but was cut off as the riders rounded the first corner and dropped back to 3^rd. He quickly passed Brett Metcalfe to move into 2^nd behind Andrew Short at the end of the first lap. Dungey, Short and a hard-charging James Stewart soon found themselves in a three-way battle for the lead. Stewart made the pass to take over the lead position while Dungey and Short battled it out for 2^nd place. Dungey was able to make the pass on the final lap to earn 2^nd overall in the heat.

At the start of the main event, Dungey leaped out front early to earn another good start on his KTM. He rounded the first corner in 5^th position and passed Mike Alessi for 4^th within the first few turns. He continued his forward momentum making a clean inside pass on Ivan Tedesco on the third lap of the race to move into podium position. Out front, Ryan Villopoto led the way while Chad Reed sat in the runner-up position and Dungey sat approximately 5 seconds back in 3^rd.

Dungey spent the first half of the race closing the gap on Reed, turning lap times nearly a full second faster. On the ninth lap Dungey made a mistake and tucked the front end causing him to crash. He quickly recovered but lost his position to Stewart. On lap twelve, Stewart made a slight mistake that Dungey capitalized on and moved his KTM back into 3^rd. On the next lap, Reed crashed which allowed Dungey and Stewart to close on him. The three riders then began a battle for 2^nd place that ran for the next four laps.

The crowd was on their feet as the three battled it out swapping positions. On the sixteenth lap, Stewart crashed, marking one crash for each of them. Stewart’s crash cost him a lot of time and he recovered in 6^th position allowing Reed and Dungey to pull away. Dungey continued to pressure Reed for the remaining laps eventually crossing the line in 3^rd just a bike length behind Reed.

Dungey’s podium finish marked the first for the KTM brand in its U.S. Supercross racing history. It also marked the first podium for the new KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition. “My bike ran flawlessly tonight,” remarked Dungey after the race. “I would have definitely liked to pass Chad and take 2^nd tonight, but I am happy to earn KTM its first podium. I can’t thank the team enough for all they have done for me in the development of this new bike.”

Red Bull/KTM Factory Team Manager Roger DeCoster commented, “The entire team is excited for the podium finish but we also know that 2^nd place was within our reach tonight. We were happy with Ryan’s performance but we know we have some areas that need work and we will begin to correct them immediately. We hope to continue this success into next week and improve our position on the podium.”

Next Event: Phoenix, AZ – January 14, 2012

Overall Results

1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Chad Reed
3. Ryan Dungey – KTM
4. Justin Brayton
5. Jake Weimer
6. James Stewart
7. Andrew Short
8. Kevin Windham
9. Mike Alessi
10. Josh Hansen
11. Brett Metcalfe
12. Broc Tickle
13. Ivan Tedesco
14. Kyle Chisholm
15. Ryan Morais
16. Davi Millsaps
17. Jimmy Albertson
18. Chris Blose
19. Josh Grant
20. Tommy Hahn

***

Musquin Earns 4th in Supercross Lites Debut

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Red Bull/KTM Factory Team rider Marvin Musquin earned 4th overall at the opening round of the AMA West Supercross Lites Series which also served as his professional Supercross racing debut.

The Frenchman traveled to the US to race as a member of the Red Bull/KTM Team at the end of 2010 and was injured in an unfortunate accident during an international race which disabled him from competing at any of the Supercross rounds. After a full-year to recover, Musquin showed up at Angel Stadium both excited and nervous. “I am so happy to be racing here in the U.S.” remarked Musquin. “This has always been my dream and I can’t wait to actually race at this stadium in front of the sold out crowd.”

Musquin turned heads during the morning practice sessions when he turned the fastest lap time in the second practice and ended up 6th fastest at the end of the final session. His qualifying time placed him in the second heat of the night.

Musquin rounded the first corner in 5th in his heat and quickly moved into 4th after passing Travis Baker before the end of the first lap. He continued to improve his pace and soon found himself in 3rd position where he would finish and easily qualify into the main event.

Unfortunately, the 30-second board girl turned the board early during the Supercross Lites main event which caused many riders to engage their clutch for double the normal time which badly affected many riders starts. Musquin was one rider who mentioned the issue but he still managed to pull a near mid-pack start around 11th place. He spent the next few laps catching and passing riders and was in 7th place by the third lap.

Continuing his charge through the pack, Musquin picked off Ryan Sipes on the sixth lap to move into 6th position. Wil Hahn crashed on the next lap to hand Musquin 5th place. Musquin held that position through the remainder of the race until Dean Wilson crashed on the final lap allowing Musquin to again capitalize on the mistake and gain a position. Musquin went on to finish 4th overall in his first U.S. Supercross Lites race.

“I am very happy tonight. I finally raced in my first Supercross event and I am happy with 4th overall. I was lucky some of the riders made mistakes tonight but overall I felt really good and my bike was great,” remarked Musquin.

Next Event: Phoenix, AZ – January 14, 2012

Overall Results –
1. Cole Seely
2. Tyla Rattray
3. Eli Tomac
4. Marvin Musquin – KTM
5. Ryan Sipes
6. Dean Wilson
7. Jason Anderson
8. Wil Hahn
9. Zach Osborne
10. Travis Baker
11. Matt Moss – KTM
12. Nico Izzi
13. Teddy Maier
14. Billy Laninovich
15. Vince Friese
16. Max Anstie
17. Ryan Marmont – KTM
18. Jackson Richardson
19. Martin Davalos
20. Christian Craig

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