Second Place for Both Dungey and Roczen at St. Louis
OutdoorHub 03.04.12
Red Bull KTM rider Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen had a good night out in St. Louis at the AMA SX and SX Lites East on Saturday night when they both finished on the podium in second place. Marvin Musquinrounded off a good night for KTM finishing ninth in his debut ride in the SX class on the 350 SX-F.
Both Dungey and Musquin turned impressive qualifying times in the afternoon practice sessions. Dungey registered second fastest time while Musquin was sixth which put them both in the first heat. They both pulled off decent starts and easily transferred to the main event after finishing third and sixth respectively.
Dungey then had a horrible start off the gate in the main but some critical moves down the start straight put him back in the top five by the second corner. Musquin was not as lucky and started the race back in sixteenth place. It was immediately clear that Dungey was choosing some hot lines and his lap times were matching those of the leader, Villopoto. He shot past Windham in the first two laps then six laps later had reeled in Davi Millsaps to move into third before setting down to hunt down Justin Brayton and be right behind Villopoto, who by then had a commanding six second lead. Over the final five laps, Dungey reduced the deficit to just two seconds but had to settle for second.
“It feels really great to finish strong tonight,” remarked Dungey. “I wish I could have had a better start but I am very satisfied with my performance and I’m glad that I can keep my Red Bull KTM Team in the championship hunt.”
Musquin went on to earn an impressive ninth place result after charging through the pack from his poor start. “The 350 is an amazing bike,” remarked Musquin. “I feel very comfortable on the bike and am so happy I was able to get a top ten finish. I will race the next two races in the Supercross class and hope to improve my results.”
With nine rounds complete, Dungey remains second in the championship point standings only 13 points behind Villopoto.
Roczen keeps his title chances alive
Meanwhile, KTM’s talented young German rider Ken Roczen also kept his chances alive for the East Coast Lites titles with his strong second place, his second podium and best result for the season after returning from pre-season injury in only his third ride.
In the main event Roczen broke his streak of bad starts to be second at the first corner and stuck there the entire race while holding off holding off heavy pressure and advances from Justin Bogle.
“I struggled the whole week with a cold and I felt like I was riding tight but I still managed to get my best finish of the season and I’m really happy for that. I’m really looking forward to next weekend in Daytona when my dad, sister and little niece all come over to join me at the race,” stated Roczen after the event.
Ryan and Ken resume their fight for the titles next week – March 10, 2012 at the Daytona Supercross where Marvin will have his second ride on the 350 SX-F.
Overall Results – Supercross Class
- Ryan Villopoto
- Ryan Dungey – KTM
- Justin Brayton
- Kevin Windham
- James Stewart
Point Standings – Supercross Class
- Ryan Villopoto – 205
- Ryan Dungey, KTM – 192
- James Stewart – 152
Overall Results – East Supercross Lites Class
- Justin Barcia
- Ken Roczen – KTM
- Blake Wharton
- Darryn Durham
- Justin Bogle
Point Standings – East Supercross Lites Class
- Justin Barcia – 75
- Ken Roczen – 57
- Blake Wharton – 56
