Daytona Beach, FL – Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey earned a podium spot when he finished second overall at the tenth round of the Monster Energy Supercross Series, an FIM World Championship. His Red Bull KTM teammate, and the current West 250SX point leader, Ken Roczen, raced aboard the KTM 350 SX-F in his first 450SX main event earning an impressive 7th place result.
Dungey and Roczen were placed in heat number one. Both riders got off to great starts with Roczen sitting in third position while Dungey was two spots back in fifth. Roczen rode strong on the first two laps to catch the second place ride of Broc Tickle. He made the pass for second at the end of lap two and set his focus on the led KTM ride of Andrew Short. Roczen battled with Short for the next two laps before he found a line around Short and made a pass for the lead. Roczen then led the next three laps holding off a hard-charging James Stewart as well as his Red Bull KTM teammate, who had moved into third.
With one lap to go, Roczen held the lead. As the riders entered the whoop section, Roczen made a mistake which allowed Stewart to make a pass. Roczen fought back but was unable to get around Stewart before the checkered flag. Roczen held on to finish an impressive second place in the heat while Dungey was right behind in third.
When the gate dropped for the main event, Roczen launched off the gate to a second place start. His teammate, Dungey, was not far behind in fifth. As the riders neared the end of the first lap, Roczen inherited the lead after Ryan Villopoto went off course. Roczen continued to lead for two more laps before losing the lead back to Villopoto. Roczen fought hard for a top position but eventually fell back after struggling with arm pump. At the end of the twenty lap main event, Roczen was able to hang on for a top ten finish taking home seventh overall.
Meanwhile, Dungey moved up from his fifth place start to second place before the halfway mark of the race. He continued to turn impressive times throughout the main event to earn a podium finish and secure important points toward the championship hunt.
“It’s pretty rough track tonight,” commented Dungey. “Luckily, we got my suspension dialed in after practice and my bike worked really well. I got off to a great start and was able to put myself in a good position early on. It feels great to get back up on the podium.”
Next Event: Indianapolis, IN – March 16, 2013
Overall Results:
1. Ryan Villopoto
2. Ryan Dungey – KTM
3. Justin Barcia
4. Eli Tomac
5. Chad Reed
6. Trey Canard
7. Ken Roczen – KTM
8. James Stewart
9. Broc Tickle
10. Davi Millsaps
11. Matt Goerke – KTM
12. Andrew Short – KTM
13. Jake Weimer
14. Les Smith – KTM
15. Josh Hill
16. Mike Alessi
17. Ben Lamay
18. Weston Peick
19. Phil Nicoletti
20. Justin Brayton
Overall Point Standings:
1. Ryan Villopoto – 202
2. Davi Millsaps – 200
3. Ryan Dungey – 188