Ryan Dungey remains AMA SX series leader
By Team TMX on 29th Jan 17
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Teams Ryan Dungey kept his podium streak alive on Saturday as he rode to a solid third place finish at Round 4 of the 2017 AMA Supercross Championship in Phoenix.
TLD Red Bull KTM's Shane McElrath bounced back from a visit to the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) to capture a second place finish in the 250SX West division. Both Dungey and McElrath maintain the championship points lead in their respective classes after four rounds of racing.
In 450SX Heat 1, Marvin Musquin put his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into a top five position off the start where he pushed his way into the top three by the third lap. After an all-out battle with Cooper Webb, Musquin was able to make his podium position stick as he cleanly transferred to the Main Event.
Ryan Dungey lined up in 450SX Heat 2, where he powered his Red Bull KTM 450 factory bike into 5th place off the start. Dungey made his move into 4th around the halfway point of the six-lap heat race as he finished strong to capture a transfer position into the Main Event.
Main Event
The Main Event was full of action as the top five riders battled it out for a podium position all race long. Dungey began just inside the top five as he rounded the opening lap in the fourth place position, with Rocky Mountain ATV*MC/WPS/KTM's David Millsaps in 5th. Dungey eventually caught the battle for second where he made the pass on Justin Brayton to inherit third. From there, Dungey set his sights on catching Cole Seely for the second place position.
Dungey eventually made his move around Seely just after the halfway point and the duo battled back and forth throughout the next few sections of the track. However, a hard-charging Chad Reed blazed past both riders through the rhythm section leaving Dungey to fall back into the third place position once again.
Despite every effort to catch the leaders, Dungey wasn't able to make up enough time to catch Reed for the second place position. With a steady string of podium finishes through the first four rounds, Dungey maintains the 450SX championship points leader by a 15-point margin over his teammate Musquin.
Dungey: "After I got up to third I set my sights on trying to make the pass on Seely and then I was able to, which was good. In the sand he came back and took the position back and then we go into the next corner and Seely slid so I was boxed in down that whole rhythm and there came Chad – he was riding good. Once Chad got by I tried to tow in behind him – I knew I was losing a lot of time in that one rhythm lane but overall just trying to tow in with him. I really wanted to make a late charge at the end but I wasn't able to, those guys were riding good tonight.”
Musquin didn't get a favorable start in the Main Event as he came around for the opening lap in 13th place. Musquin continued to push throughout the 21-lap race where he ultimately climbed back to an 8th place finish for the day.
After four rounds, Musquin sits only 15 points back for 2nd place position in the 450SX championship point standings.
250SX West Class
Shane McElrath was able to lead 11 of the 16 Main Event laps aboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. McElrath put himself into a favorable position from the beginning as he remained inside the top three at all times. While battling for the lead position late in the race, McElrath chose to maintain his composure and capture the second place position where he remains in command of the 250SX West points lead after four rounds of racing.
McElrath: "We overcame a lot of adversity today. I had been riding a little cautious and wanted to have that fire again. That race should have been mine, but you do need to be careful when you come up on lappers and aren't sure what they are going to do. I'm thankful we're safe after going down in the heat race.”
