Photography by Kit Palmer
Having the points lead in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series without a win was bugging Ryan Dungey. It didn’t take him long to rectify that situation. The Red Bull KTM rider scored a commanding victory in Anaheim III in front of 43,441 fans, not only scoring his first win since the Indy Supercross last season, but also building on his series lead, which is now up to 11 points (107-96) over RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy Johns Suzuki’s Ken Roczen.
Dungey led 19 of the 20-lap main and was 2.361 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Team Honda’s Cole Seely at the checkered flag. GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac passed Roczen on the last lap to nail down the final podium position.
It was a typically clean race for Dungey. He got around surprise holeshot and first-lap leader Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett on the second lap and was never challenged.
“Being in first is a good spot and it’s about how you handle that,” a smiling Dungey said after the win. “It kind of jabs you when you’ve got the red plate, but you’ve got no wins. That’s what I wanted. That was my goal tonight. I didn’t do anything crazy, but I just opened it up like I needed to. The Team Red Bull KTM was working awesome tonight.”
It marked the 15th-career victory for Dungey – his first since Indianapolis last March, 12 races ago.
“The whole day was great,” Dungey concluded. “We went out there and got a good start, got into the lead and led all of the laps. That is all we can do. We’ve finished fourth, third, second, second and now first [this season], and that is a step forward. We will continue to take it race by race and give it everything we have.”
Seely earned his first podium of the season with a season-best second. He followed Dungey around Baggett in the early going and ran a strong race. The battle that waged behind him in the late going between Roczen and Tomac came right up to his back wheel at one point, but the Seely never wavered under the pressure and crossed the line 9-10ths of a second ahead of Tomac in the end.
“Those guys were pressuring me toward the end of the race, but I was able to put my head down and hold them off,” said Seely.
The big battle on the final lap was between Roczen and Tomac. The two went at it for the last three laps and finally Tomac made a clean inside pass on the final go around to secure his third podium of the season. Tomac and Canard are tied for third in the series with 84 points each.
Last week’s winner in Oakland, Trey Canard ran as high as third, but finished a distant fifth. Chad Reed worked his way up to sixth after running as far back as 10th. He got by Baggett with four laps to go. 450 class rookie Baggett earned a milestone with his first career holeshot and first lap led, but he faded to seventh, his best result of the season.
The series now moves downstate to San Diego next Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015.
450SX Class Results: Anaheim Race 3
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
2. Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
4. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
5. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda
6. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki
7. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki
8. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
9. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna
10. Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha
450SX Class Season Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 107
2. Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki, 96
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 84
4. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda, 84
5. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna, 74
6. Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha, 71
7. Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda, 67
8. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki, 57
9. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 54
10. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki, 54
