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RYAN DUNGEY
450 SX / TEXAS
IMAGE / LANNAN WORDS / KILPATRICK DESIGN / WILSON
>> There’s been a lot of chatter around the industry, on the interwebs, and amongst the paddock that has indicated there’s a problem with the reigning Monster Energy Supercross Champion. He has been caught from behind and overtaken in two consecutive races -- something that didn’t happen once throughout the entire 2016 season. There’s no need for overreaction or overanalysis; Ryan Dungey is just doing what needs to be done to defend the title. The Red Bull KTM rider hasn’t put his neck out on the line in the previous two rounds, opting out of big rhythm sections in order to salvage valuable championship points. Although Dungey hasn’t shown the same killer instinct as some of the other riders, he has still increased his points lead each and every round since Anaheim II. The Minnesotan hasn’t been the fastest rider on the track the past few weekends, but he has kept himself in the battle at the front of the field. Dungey continued to do just that as he mustered a second session burst of speed and ended up qualifying in sixth position this weekend in Arlington. He couldn’t have got off
to a better start in his heat race as he rocketed out of the gate to a clean holeshot. He battled Blake Baggett on the opening lap, fending off the challenge from the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM rider. The defending Champ gradually pulled a gap at the front of the field, riding comfortably with an unob- structed track at his disposal. He looked completely in control in the lead as he turned metronomically consistent lap times, although he allowed his teammate to close in after he began to wade through lapped traffic. Unbelievably, Dungey took his first heat race win of the season and took back a min- iscule mental edge on the competition heading into the main event. The Red Bull KTM rider suffered one of his worst starts in recent memory as he was practically buried in last place heading into the first corner. Dungey ended up fighting his way to thirteenth position throughout the course of the opening lap, sticking him in the hotbed of carnage that exists in the midst of the pack early in a main event.
In the the typical robotic fashion that Dungey has displayed throughout his multiple championship winning campaigns, the Red Bull KTM rider picked off spots one-by-one over the course of the first six laps. By the time the seventh lap began, he had pushed himself all the way up to eighth position, just behind the Rockstar Husqvarna of Dean Wilson. It was certainly a battle of attrition in Arlington, and Dungey has the unrelenting style to benefit from such an affair. Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac both had to pull into the mechanics area; meanwhile, Justin Bogle took a dirt sample after coming together with Anderson -- this played perfectly into the hands of Dungey as he quietly slotted into the top five, already beginning to salvage valuable championship points. From that point onward, he was stuck in a tightly contested battle with his former Red Bull KTM teammate of Wilson until the bitter end of the race. It wasn’t until the twentieth lap that he finally forced his way past the Rockstar Husqvarna rider after the whoops section, squaring him up aggressively as the two of them scraped plastics into the ensuing rhythm section. Although Dungey finished off the podium for the first time in the 2017 season, he still managed to increase his points lead by two points, further expanding his comfort zone heading into his home race in Minneapolis.
16 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 12, 2017