Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey continued his impressive form at round eight of the US Supercross on Saturday night taking second place to extend his lead in the 450 class championship to 25 points.
KTM factory team-mate Marvin Musquin followed up his last weekend’s victory with a second place in round two of the 250 class East Coast series and also stays on top of his championship table.
Qualifying fourth fastest in practice, Dungey vied for his spot in the Main by racing in the opening 450 class heat race aboard his KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition.
He got away to a good start moving into the lead position early on the opening lap where he went on to take the win. Eli Tomac applied pressure to Dungey in the closing stages of the race but Dungey fended off his advances and was able to hold on to the top spot.
In the Main, Dungey got a reasonable start and was placed fourth rounding the opening lap. A lap later he gained a spot passing Phil Nicoletti for third and went on to ride consistent laps to gradually close the gap on those in front.
Midway through the race he moved into second and continued to gain ground on the lead ride of Chad Reed. He narrowed the gap to almost within a second of him but ran out of time and had to settle for second.
“Reed rode a solid race tonight getting a great start and holding on out front,” said Dungey. “I had some work to do to catch up to him after an okay start. Apart from the start, I’m happy with the way I rode. The way the cards fell tonight, and several guys having big crashes, I’m happy to have been able to extend my points lead in the championship.
“I’m looking forward to coming back here again next weekend to hopefully get on the top step of the podium.”
Musquin holds onto red plate in 250 class East Coast series
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Marvin Musquin’s second place finish in round two of the East 250 SX class championship held at the Georgia Dome means the French rider starts round three with the red plate.
Qualifying fastest in the 250 class earlier in the day, Musquin had first gate pick in his heat race. His anticipation at the start line hindered his jump from the gate and he rounded the opening turn in around fifth position.
Then Musquin went down during the heat of the first lap but remounted and rejoined the race well outside of the top 10.
Needing ninth or better to transfer directly to the Main Event, he pushed his way through the pack and managed eighth place at the end of the race to secure a spot.
Musquin got a reasonable start in the Main and rounded the opening lap in fourth position. By lap three, he had moved into third with the hard-charging ride of Jeremy Martin rallying behind him.
Driving each other and battling neck and neck, Musquin and Martin gradually reeled in both Martin Davalos and Justin Bogle. By the midway point in the race, Martin made a pass stick to get by Musquin and a few laps later the pair worked their way around the top two riders. Musquin stuck close to Martin and finished the race in second place.
Musquin’s podium finish at the Atlanta race allows him to remain the point leader heading to round three. He holds onto the red plate with a four point gap over Martin.
“I’m not overly happy with the way I rode tonight”, explained Musquin. “I let my frustrations from earlier in the day take over in the Main Event and I just didn’t ride as smooth and relaxed as I should have.
“I had a rough heat race and I should have been more focused in the Main. But I started to relax more toward the end of the race and still finished in second place. It takes consistency to win a championship, so I’m happy to be on the podium two weeks in a row and will make sure I’m back to being 100 per cent focused next week when we return to Atlanta.”
