Page 69 - GRIT30final

RYAN DUNGEY
The last time Ryan Dungey sat aboard his Red Bull KTM at Sam Boyd Stadium, he did so as the newly crowned 2016 Monster Energy Supercross Champion. Lots of things have happened since that stormy May evening in Sin City; Dungey struggled to match the pace of Ken Roczen early in the outdoor season, he made an uncharacteristic mistake at the Thunder Valley national that ended up injuring
his back, therefore prohibiting him from defending his title and condemning him to the sidelines for the
remainder of the season. Ken Roczen went on to reclaim his crown as the number one rider on the outdoor circuit and Dungey wasn’t able to complete another set of back-to-back titles. The Red Bull KTM poster boy made his return to competitive racing a couple of weekends ago at the SMX Cup - a new event held at a football stadium in Germany by the name of Veltins arena. It’s a similar format to the Motocross of Nations, but it’s a hybrid MX-SX track where riders from around the world represent their manufacturers. The Minnesota native was the strongest, most consistent KTM rider in contention which contributed directly to KTM winning the manufacturer’s cup. Dungey didn’t win a moto, but he never once finished off the podium in typical diesel style, earning himself the rider’s cup trophy as well. He was able to best some of Europe’s most talented riders in their own back yard, but will he able to repeat his showing of excellence on American soil and win his first ever Monster Energy Cup?
WWW.GRITMOTO.COM
69
>>