Podium for Marvin Musquin; Dungey Sixth at Atlanta Supercross
OutdoorHub 02.24.13
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Marvin Musquin of France grabbed his first podium of the season in the second race of the FIM SX 250s East Coast series in the Georgia Dome, Atlanta on Saturday night. Teammate Ryan Dungeyrecovered a rough start to finish sixth in the 450s to stay third overall in the points at the eighth round of the FIM US Supercross Series.
Musquin was placed in heat number two where he jumped off to a second place start but he then lost a place to Wil Hahn in lap four. The French rider went on the attack and he and Hahn both caught leader Zach Bell and made the pass on him in the final lap. Hahn went on to take the win while Musquin finished second to earn a top spot in gate selection for the main event.
Musquin started the main event in fifth position and quickly passed Justin Hill to take over fourth place. He then slipped into podium contention in the third lap after passing Blake Wharton. Once in third he hung on to the spot for the remaining laps to earn his first podium of the season in only his competition second track outing for 2013.
“The track was fun today. It was very technical and I enjoyed racing at the Georgia Dome. I had great practice times and I had a decent start in the main, and of course, it is nice to be back on the podium. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to catch up to the leaders today but I will come back stronger next week and hope to continue to improve,” commented Musquin.
Dungey retains third in the points
Meanwhile Dungey was placed in 450SX heat number one and was fifth out of the gates. He caught Mike Alessi and made a pass for fourth on the fifth lap of the race. He then had a small off in the final lap and lost a couple of positions to finish seventh to still transfer to the main event.
Dungey missed the start in the main but was still in the top ten rounding the first corner. He made a quick recovery and was seventh after the first few corners before slipping into sixth in lap six. He quickly reeled in the fifth place ride of Trey Canard and the two battled for that spot for the remainder of the race. But at the flag, Dungey was unable to make the pass and had to settle for sixth.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the best start and I wasn’t able to put myself in the best position for the overall tonight. I am definitely disappointed in my result but the five guys ahead of me rode really well tonight. I know what to work on and will come back stronger for St. Louis,” stated Dungey.
Red Bull KTM Team Manager Roger DeCoster, commented, “It wasn’t a great night for Ryan. He rode well but the top riders are making no mistakes and we need to work on improving his starts to put him in a better position to fight for the overall.”
