He didn’t win the race, but Ryan Dungey took the championship with a conservative fourth-place finish at the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Series finale at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Makita Suzuki rider spent a good portion of the race running out front after Troy Lee Designs rider Jake Moss slid out in a corner, handing the lead over to Dungey. But a hard-charging Trey Canard was nipping at his heels, and the GEICO Powersports Honda rider would not be denied his first, and only win of the season at the series finale.
“I didn’t want to take [Dungey] out of his game, but I wanted to win the race,” Canard said, who was riding aggressively in his charge through the pack.
Dungey didn’t seem to put up too much of a fight when Canard started bumping him from behind, looking for a way around him for the lead. Once Canard got around, the battle for the lead still raged on. Monster Energy Pro Circuit rider Jake Weimer followed suit, also getting around Dungey and soon reeling in Canard.
Although Weimer sat second in points behind Dungey coming in to Salt Lake City, he would not only need to win, but Dungey would need to finish outside the top five for Weimer to take the title. Knowing this, Dungey opted to stay out of trouble rather than fight to maintain position as Canard and Weimer continued their battle. Weimer set up Canard, and got by him on the inside just after the white flag, which set the stage for an amazing last-lap.
Weimer and Canard battled side-by-side, banging bars and rubbing paint down the last two straightaways, but ultimately it was Canard who took the checkers. Weimer held on for second and was followed by his Pro Circuit Kawasaki teammate, Ryan Morais, who also made his way around Dungey on the last lap to get on the podium, and to claim third in the Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites series.
Canard was happy to cap off a rough season with a win, and Dungey was content to wrap up the title with a conservative finish.
“I did it from the heart,” Dungey said. “It was tough – it was a battle the whole time. I lost a few battles to Weimer, but I’m pumped.”
In the end, Weimer also sounded content with his effort this season and called it a good night, happy to give the Salt Lake City crowd a tight race, which had them on their feet during the last lap.
“I gave it my best shot,” Weimer said from the podium. “That was the best I can do.”
Muscle Milk/MDK/KTM’s Justin Brayton rounded out the top five behind Dungey followed by the Troy Lee Designs Hondas of Chris Blose and Jake Moss.
Lites Main Event Results:
1. Trey Canard
2. Jake Weimer
3. Ryan Morais
4. Ryan Dungey
5. Justin Brayton
6. Chris Blose
7. Jake Moss
8. Kyle Cunningham
9. Michael Hall
10. Ben Evans
11. Sean Borkenhagen
12. Mike Sleeter
13. Jeff Alessi
14. Ryan Clark
15. Cole Seely
16. Ben Lamay
17. Gray Davenport
18. Adam Chatfield
19. Brady Sheren
20. PJ Larsen
