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theGRIT
Ryan Dungey didn’t have the best Saturday morning by the standards that he has set for himself
as the defending series Champion. He had one of his worst qualifying practices of the season, slotting into 7th place behind his Red Bull KTM teammate Marvin Musquin. Fortunately, since his day started with a 7am track walk, he has an excuse for underperforming in practice. Dungey would have hoped to be a little bit closer to the front of the field, but just under a second off of the lead pace set by Eli Tomac is manageable. Dungey lined up in the second 450 heat race and tried to hug the inside chalk (a first corner technique that he’s practically patented this year) to bring him holeshot. He wasn’t able to make it work as the more aggressive riders were favored by the double apex corner and the tacky Missouri dirt. Justin Brayton and Ken Roczen both had the advantage on Dungey through the first couple of jumps and Justin Barcia attempted to tag along. The JGR Yamaha rider stuck a wheel in on Dungey in the 2nd corner and wiped the front end of the KTM out from under him. It was a display of tentative riding that we haven’t seen from the Minnesotan in a while, although he didn’t show any hesitation while carving back through the pack to take 8th. Dungey came out in Semi 1 and immediately learned from his first corner mistake from the heat race. He rode the high line and used the finish line landing as a berm to get optimal drive coming into the first section of jumps.
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