Red Bull KTM riders win as Monster Energy AMA Supercross heads east.
Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, hosted the seventh race of the 2015 season in a dominant night for Red Bull KTM, who not only grabbed the 450SX Class win with Ryan Dungey, but also the opening race of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship with Marvin Musquin.
Each rider led every lap of his respective Main Event, providing KTM with its third ever main event sweep in both classes.
Dungey led the field out of the gate in the 450SX Class main event to earn the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Davi Millsaps and Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports’ Josh Grant, who was quickly shuffled back.
Dungey was quick to open a lead on the field ahead of Millsaps and Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett, who moved into third, while Roczen was making his march to the front.
On lap one Roczen passed Baggett for third and was quickly followed by Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard, who won the previous race. Millsaps then came under from Roczen, who was able to make the pass and move into second on lap five.
On the following lap, Millsaps crashed out of the race, allowing Canard to take over third. While Roczen initially closed on Dungey, the margin eventually grew as the laps wore on and the top three remained unchanged through to the finish.
Dungey became the third different two-time winner this season, joining Roczen and Canard, and moved into a tie with Jean-Michel Bayle for 13th on the all-time 450SX Class wins list with 16.
“Wins are important. You’re especially going to need them as we get towards the end of the season,” said Dungey. “We’re doing the best we can each week, putting ourselves in a good spot and we need to keep doing that. I got a good start tonight and was able to ride my own race.”
Dungey extended his lead in the 450SX Class standings to 12 points over Roczen, while Canard sits 23 points behind.
“It was tricky out there,” said Roczen. “I got off to a decent start and made a small mistake early, but I’m happy with a second place. It’s a long, hard season and the championship won’t come easy.”
Australian Chad Reed, now the lone of the Aussies in the 450SX Class as the series heads east, was 11th after an early incident involving Eli Tomac.
The Eastern Regional 250SX Class Main Event began with Musquin grabbing the first SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award of the championship ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Martin Davalos and GEICO Honda’s Justin Bogle, the defending Eastern Regional champion.
While Musquin opened a small gap, Bogle passed Davalos for second, with the Husqvarna rider falling to the ground shortly thereafter, allowing Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Anthony Rodriguez to take over the position.
Musquin extended his advantage over Bogle, who sat comfortably ahead of Rodriguez for third, until a crash by AG Motorsports/Gurrnaid Energy Honda’s Kyle Cunningham brought out a red flag on lap eight.
Since the 15-lap race was past its halfway point, the restart featured a staggered lineup of riders across the start straight. When racing resumed, Musquin opened up the lead again and Bogle reasserted his control on second.
The battle for third, however, intensified as Rodriguez received pressure from both Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Joey Savatgy and his Star Racing Yamaha teammate Jeremy Martin. The riders went three wide in the whoops with Savatgy emerging from the battle with the position.
Musquin took his fifth career main event win, multiple seconds ahead of Bogle, while Savatgy fended off the late challenges of Martin to claim his first career podium in third.
“I had a great start then I just did my laps and kept doing what I had to do,” said Musquin, who missed all of last season with an injury.
“Just being consistent is what it’s going to take and that’s what I’ve been preparing for. I’m just happy to get it [a win] done this early, be here feeling good and healthy, and starting out strong.”
Musquin sits three points ahead of Bogle in the initial Eastern Regional 250SX Class season standings and five points ahead of Savatgy.
With Hayden Mellross ruled out in the lead-up, Taylor Potter was ninth in the LCQ on board his privateer Honda as the sole Australian in the field.
Monster Energy Supercross continues next weekend with its eighth stop of the 17-race season and the first of back-to-back races from Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship
Round seven – Arlington, TX
450SX Class results:
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Ken Roczen
3. Trey Canard
4. Blake Baggett
5. Andrew Short
6. Jason Anderson
7. Eli Tomac
8. Josh Grant
9. Broc Tickle
10. Cole Seely
11. Chad Reed (AUS)
450SX Class championship standings:
1. Ryan Dungey 152
2. Ken Roczen 140
3. Trey Canard 129
4. Eli Tomac 114
5. Jason Anderson 100
6. Cole Seely 93
7. Blake Baggett 86
8. Chad Reed (AUS) 85
9. Andrew Short 82
10. Justin Barcia 71
Eastern Regional 250SX Class results:
1. Marvin Musquin
2. Justin Bogle
3. Joey Savatgy
4. Jeremy Martin
5. Matt Lemoine
6. Vince Friese
7. RJ Hampshire
8. Arnaud Tonus
9. Martin Davalos
10. Kyle Peters
Eastern Regional 250SX Class championship standings:
1. Marvin Musquin 25
2. Justin Bogle 22
3. Joey Savatgy 20
4. Jeremy Martin 18
5. Matt Lemoine 16
6. Vince Friese 15
7. RJ Hampshire 14
8. Arnaud Tonus 13
9. Martin Davalos 12
10. Kyle Peters 11