Dungey and Roczen on the SX Podium in San Diego
OutdoorHub 02.10.13
Red Bull KTM Factory riders Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen had a good night out at the sixth round of the AMA Supercross championship in San Diego with Dungey finishing third in the big 450 class and Roczen taking a great second in the 250s to retain the red plate as championship leader.
Dungey qualified sixth fastest from the days practice sessions to earn a spot in heat race number one. He rounded the opening turn in eighth and proceeded to work his way into the top five before moving up to fourth at the flag.
This left Dungey with a decent gate pick for the main event and he chose the third gate to the left of the start box. Launching from the start line Dungey was about sixth place by the end of the opening lap. Shuffling a few spots during the race, he successfully got around Justin Brayton to move into podium contention with six laps to go. Dungey’s third place result is good enough to retain second overall in the championship points with 113.
“I’m actually pretty happy with my ride tonight,” said Dungey. “It was a tough track to pass on and as I didn’t get a great start, I think I rode pretty strong to come through the pack and finish on the box. It would definitely make my life a little easier if I could keep getting a start like I did last week! But that’s just something I have to work on”.
Roczen consolidates championship lead in West Coast competition
In the 250 class saw German teenager Roczen finish a strong second in San Diego and with three rounds in the 250SX West Coast Series remaining has a solid points lead in the championship standings.
Roczen rode well all day starting from the early afternoon practice session where he qualified fifth fastest. He jumped fourth out of the start gate in his heat race and maintained that position until the flag to secure a good gate pick for the main event.
Off the start of the 250SX main, Roczen hustled mid pack rounding the opening turn yet managed to maneuver his way into third place by the end of the opening lap. With Eli Tomac out front, Roczen set his sights on Jason Anderson for the number two spot and successfully made the pass on him midway in the race. Never one to go down without a fight, Roczen set about reeling in Tomac for the lead and was just 0.2 seconds shy of the race win when they crossed the line.
With six rounds down and a 10-week break scheduled before the next round in West Coast series resumes in Seattle, Roczen holds an 18-point lead in the championship standings. The East Coast series will see Roczen’s factory teammate Marvin Musquin of France back on the track.
“I’m actually really happy with the way I rode tonight,” said Roczen. “I was kind of uncomfortable on this track all day but I think I put together a good race come the main event. I guess my focus at this point in time is just to stay healthy and to keep things going the way they have been going at the races while our series is on a break and come out blazing again in Seattle.”
