Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey earned 4th overall while newcomer Justin Hill earned an impressive 6th place result in his first race aboard the KTM 450 SX-F at the Monster Energy Cup in front of a packed Sam Boyd Stadium.
Race 1
Justin Hill turned one of the top three fastest lap times in the morning qualifiers creating quite a buzz through the pits as an unexpected top rider in his rookie performance on the KTM 450 SX-F. He quickly lived up to the hype when he earned a 2nd place start in the first main event behind Trey Canard. Hill applied heavy pressure to Canard throughout the ten lap main event before eventually finishing 2nd. His teammates, Ryan Dungey and Dean Wilson, did not have great starts. Both riders worked their way up through the pack. Dungey climbed up to 8th while Wilson finished 9th in the first main event.
Race 2
In the second race, Hill, once again, repeated his 2nd place start from moto one. He trailed Canard off the start and then began a battle with Davi Millsaps for 2nd place. Hill took the mandatory joker lane early in the race while Millsaps waited until the last lap to take the line. Once Millsaps took the line, it allowed Hill to close in and make the pass to finish the second main event in the runner-up spot. Dungey had a better performance in the second race starting around 7th position. Throughout the race he was able to move up two positions to finish 5th. Wilson had a bad start and a little trouble in the beginning of the second race and finished a disappointing 14th.
Race 3
In the final moto Hill earned another decent start rounding the first corner in 3rd position. Unfortunately, he suffered a crash in the first rhythm section recovering in 18th position. He worked his way up to 14th before he crashed again and dropped back to 18th. At the end of the race he was able to climb back to 11th but his result cost him an overall podium position.
“I am bummed that I had a poor last moto, but overall happy with my results,” commented Hill. “I feel really comfortable on my new Red Bull KTM and I was happy to put the bike on the podium twice in my first real race aboard a 450. Now I will go back to the 250 and prepare for Supercross season.”
Dungey rebounded in the third moto with a 5th place start. He quickly went to work to pass Anderson and moved into 4th early in the race. He gained one more position at the end of the race when Canard slide out which moved him to 3rd place. He finished the race in podium position. The final member of the team, Wilson, suffered a bad start and was unable to recover. He finished the race in 14th.
At the end of the three main events, Dungey was credited 4th overall while Hill finished 6th and Wilson placed 11th.
Results Monster Engergy Cup Las Vegas
1. Davi Millsaps (USA), Kawasaki (3-4-1)
2. Eli Tomac (USA), Honda (4-3-2)
3. Trey Canard (USA), Honda (1-1-8)
4. Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM (8-5-3)
5. Malcolm Stewart (USA), Honda (7-7-5)
Other KTM
6. Justin Hill (USA), KTM (2-2-18)
11. Dean Wilson (GBR), KTM
12. Andrew Short (USA), KTM
13. Justin Brayton (USA), KTM