Motocross: Ryan Dungey Gets Glen Helen 450MX Win
Kit Palmer | May 28, 2016
It was a bittersweet victory today for Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey at the second round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Glen Helen Raceway. A 1-2 moto tally did the trick for the defending champ but it really wasn’t the kind of victory that he likes. But he’ll take.
Ken Roczen was headed for a sure victory in the first moto when, with three laps to go and while enjoying a huge lead over Dungey, the air forks on his Suzuki lost pressure, forcing him to roll all of the big jumps on the track (and there were plenty of them). Roczen did what he could to finish the race. Luckily for him, he had built up such a large lead over the rest of the pack that he still was able to take fourth in the moto behind winner Dungey, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac.
In the second moto, Roczen was even faster, shooting into the lead by the second turn and simply pulled away from the rest of the field. This time his forks held up. He went on to win the race well ahead of Dungey, but his 4-1 wasn’t enough to top Dungey’s 1-2. However, he still leads the championship and will wear the red plate next week in Colorado. Dungey is second but closer; he’s just three points back now. (He was six points.)
Anderson ended up going 2-5 for fourth overall, while HRC Honda’s Trey Canard went 7-4 for fifth overall.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart did not compete. He rode practice this morning but then pulled out for the day, saying that the shoulder he dislocated at Hangtown just wasn’t strong enough for all of the pounding. He’ll be back for Colorado, though.
Stewart’s teammate Blake Baggett, who broke his collarbone at Hangtown and underwent surgery the next day, suited up and salvaged some points. He finished 16th in the first moto but did not start the second moto.