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What else is there to say about Ryan Dungey that hasn’t already been said the past 27 weekends
that he’s finished on the podium in Supercross? He qualified 5th on the day, 4 tenths of a second
off of his teammate Marvin Musquin. The top 10 was separated by just 1 second, further supporting the fact that this is one of the most competitive seasons in recent history. His qualifying was good enough to get him the gate pick that he wanted for his heat race which set the tone for his entire night. In typical Dungey fashion, he absolutely nailed his start and didn’t lose his composure in the first corner. While everyone else got lost in a battle of wills, attempting to outbreak one another, Dungey stuck to his marks and hugged the very inside line. He came out of the first corner with the holeshot and never looked back. He put in 6 smooth, solid laps and turned the fastest lap of the 450 heat races in the process. Therefore, Dungey had the first gate pick for the main event which set him up for another signature holeshot. It was almost a carbon copy of the his heat race start, except Marvin Musquin used the outside line in the first corner to get a better drive down the first rhythm lane. The two factory KTM riders battled for position in the first 90 degree corner as Musquin and Dungey both singled into the corner with their front tires heading for the same bit of track. Dungey was forced to back off, swapping the rear end sideways and narrowly avoiding a tough block, but he still remained in second place with Musquin in his sights. The whoops were a huge factor throughout the entire night of racing and that held true on the second lap of the main when Dungey blitzed past the inside of Musquin in the second set. Musquin knew Dungey was there and attempted to square the corner up, but he wasn’t able to hit the big rhythm and Dungey instantly pulled a fairly comfortable lead. He was easily one of the most consistent riders through the whoops section which allowed him to turn robotic laps and stretch a lead of about 10 seconds towards the end of the race. Dungey took the checkered flag first, but he was docked 2 positions for jumping on a red cross flag coming out of the last corner before the finish line. Although Dungey always prefers to win, he extended his points lead over Ken Roczen and brought his consecu- tive podium streak to 27 straight. It was just another Saturday night for ‘The Dunge.’
words/LAKEKILPATRICK WWW.GRITMOTO.COM 123