Title for Dungey at Unadilla
Sunday 19 August: Round 10 of 12 - eighth victory of the season secures Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Title for Dungey at Unadilla. Musquin emerges with first career 250 Class win on U.S. soil after Roczen claimed Race 1.
The
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing,
hosted its annual stop from Central New York on Saturday, with the 10th
round of the season from Unadilla. Continuing his dominance of the 450
Class field, Red Bull KTM's Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plaine, Minn.,
captured his second career title with two rounds remaining by sweeping
the day's motos for his eighth consecutive victory. In the 250 Class,
Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin, of France, broke through for his first
career win on U.S. soil.
BTO Sports/Palmetto Suzuki's Michael Byrne, of Australia, and Team
Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., battled for the
early lead in the opening 450 Class moto, with Stewart taking the spot
on the second lap. However, the following lap, Stewart crashed out of
the lead, dropping to the tail end of the field and allowing Byrne to
reassume the position. The same lap, Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jake
Weimer, of Rupert, Idaho, passed Byrne but went down moments later,
unable to finish the race.
Byrne
paced the field for the next seven laps and opened a multi-second
advantage, only to experience misfortune of his own and suffer an injury
that ultimately forced him out of the moto. In Byrne's absence, Monster
Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Broc Tickle, of Holly, Mich., took over
the lead with Dungey, who also fell in the early stages of the moto,
assuming second.
Tickle
fended off Dungey for four laps, but the KTM rider made his move with
two laps remaining to take a hard-fought moto win, battling his way
forward from 10th place. Dungey's closest championship rival,
MotoConcepts Suzuki's Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., also suffered
from misfortune in the moto, completing only four laps before pulling
off with a DNF, which put Dungey is position to claim the title.
In Moto 2, Dungey capitalized on a good start, slotting himself into
third place early behind Team Chaparral Honda's Andrew Short, of
Smithville, Texas, and Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX's Davi Millsaps, of Cairo,
Ga. Dungey wasted little time in moving forward, passing both of his
competitors to move into the lead by the third lap. Once out front,
Dungey never looked back and brought home his 22nd career premier class
win, tying him with Ricky Johnson for third on the all-time wins list.
"It
was a pretty amazing day," said Dungey. "To be honest, I knew we could
wrap (the championship) up today, but my focus was putting on a solid
performance and moving forward. Mike (Alessi) has been riding well, but
unfortunately there was a DNF. In the second moto, I just wanted to put
in a solid ride and wrap up this championship. It's amazing to see
everything that's gone in to making this moment happen. It's pretty
special."
Dungey's championship is a historic one for KTM, marking the Austrian brand's first title in the 450 Class.
"I
knew we had the right people behind us and if anyone could do it, (Team
Manager Roger DeCoster) and this team could," added Dungey. "We
struggled at times, but as a team we worked it out and were able to
overcome it. It took a lot of effort from everyone here and overseas. We
had a god opening round and just kept making progress. I committed
everything and winning a championship is paying that due. I hope this is
the first of many more."
Tickle posted a career-best runner-up finish (2-4), while Short rounded out the podium in third (4-3).
450 Class (Moto Finish)
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (1-1)
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki (2-4)
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (4-3)
- Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha (3-5)
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki (5-6)
- Nico Izzi, Rochester, Mich., Yamaha (6-8)
- Tyla Rattray, Durban, South Africa, Kawasaki (8-9)
- Phil Nicoletti, Cohocton, N.Y., Honda (7-11)
- Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Kawasaki (12-7)
- Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki (39-2)
450 Class Championship Standings
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 480
- Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki, 367
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 311
- Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Kawasaki, 293
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 293
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Kawasaki, 226
- Justin Brayton, Ft. Dodge, Iowa, Honda, 202
- Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Kawasaki, 182
- James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 163
- Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha, 150
250 Class: GEICO Honda's Zach Bell, of Cairo, Ga., positioned
himself at the front of the field of the opening moto and led the first
two laps before giving way to Red Bull KTM's Ken Roczen, of Germany.
Once out front, Roczen pulled away from the field and claimed his first
moto win since moving to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship this
season.
In
Moto 2, GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia, of Monroe, N.Y., took advantage of
the holeshot to open an early lead and rebound from a seventh-place
finish in the first moto. Behind him, fellow GEICO Honda rider Eli
Tomac, of Cortez, Colo., and Musquin began to assert themselves at the
front of the field.
Tomac
eventually closed in on Barcia and passed his teammate on Lap 8,
pulling away for the moto win. Musquin solidified himself in third
through the remainder of the moto and the consistency was enough to
award the former two-time World Motocross Champion the overall win.
"This
is my best result here," said Musquin. "I was finding good lines, and
this track is really about technique. I (also) got two good starts. In
the first moto, I was happy to follow Kenny (Roczen) and in the second
moto I was determined to get a good start because I haven't been doing
that this year. I kept thinking about the overall, because I knew Tomac
and Barcia had trouble (in Moto 1). With Kenny and Ryan (Dungey) winning
as well, it was a good day for KTM. "
Tomac
(6-1) and Roczen (1-6) finished with identical moto results, tying for
second overall, but Tomac claimed the spot by virtue of the second-moto
tiebreaker.
Points
leader Blake Baggett, of Grand Terrace, Calif., finished fifth overall
aboard his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki but still maintains
possession of the 250 Class lead, 24 points over Barcia.
After
a break in the action next weekend, the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross
Championship will return with the 11th of 12 rounds this season in
Pennsylvania. The Steel City National from Delmont's Steel City Raceway
will host the world's best riders on Saturday, September 1, beginning at
1 p.m. Eastern.
250 Class (Moto Finish)
- Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM (2-3)
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (6-1)
- Ken Roczen, Apolda, Germany, KTM (1-6)
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Honda (7-2)
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki (3-5)
- Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda (11-4)
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda (9-8)
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki (5-12)
- Martin Davalos, Quito, Ecuador, Suzuki (13-7)
- Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda (14-9)
250 Class Championship Standings
- Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki, 436
- Justin Barcia, Monroe, N.Y., Honda, 412
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 408
- Ken Roczen, Apolda, Germany, KTM, 385
- Marvin Musquin, La Reole, France, KTM, 336
- Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 255
- Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Suzuki, 215
- Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M, Suzuki, 206
- Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 189
- Travis Baker, Temecula, Calif., Honda, 168
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