Steve Cox | February 25, 2017
2017 Atlanta 450cc Supercross Results: Just when it seemed the momentum had completely shifted away from defending champ Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey, he did what champions do: He turned it around.
On a slick and beat up track inside the Georgia Dome for the last race ever to be held in the venue, Dungey grabbed the holeshot just in front of Motoconcepts Honda’s Mike Alessi and set sail, while fast qualifier (and winner of three of the last four races) Eli Tomac, of the Monster Energy Kawasaki team, started outside the top 10.
2017 Atlanta 450cc Supercross Results
Predictably, Tomac was the man on the move, catching up to seventh and going to work on Monster Energy/Yamalube/Chaparral Yamaha’s Chad Reed, who was working on Honda’s Cole Seely and RCH Suzuki’s Justin Bogle. Rocky Mountain ATV/MC KTM’s Blake Baggett sat a strong second.
Bogle and Seely both passed Alessi at the same time through the sand, and Alessi began going backward. Reed was probably the last guy still skimming the whoops, even though they were rutted and cupped out, and it bit him just a few minutes into the race, when he got sideways, then lost control of his motorcycle entering the following turn, moving Tomac by.
Tomac made quick work of Bogle for fourth, and then Seely for third, and sat 10 seconds behind Dungey and 5 seconds behind Baggett. Tomac closed the gap on Baggett and dived to the inside after the finish-line jump to snatch second. Although Tomac was the fastest guy on the track late in the race, he simply didn’t have time to chase Dungey down.
Dungey took the win just a couple of seconds in front of Tomac, and Baggett held off Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson for his first podium finish since Daytona, 2015.
Dungey’s win tied him with Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael at five wins each in the Georgia Dome, and extended his points lead by three points over Tomac, who now sits 27 points behind Dungey in third in the points standings.
Dungey’s teammate Marvin Musquin recovered from a terrible start to finish fifth, and now sits two points in front of Tomac in the championship, 25 points behind Dungey with nine races left to go in the championship.
2017 Atlanta 450cc Supercross Results
2017 Atlanta 450cc Supercross Results
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