Defending champion Ryan Dungey sits third in the AMA series, gaining momentum in the closing stages.

Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey says that his performance at Jacksonville was another step in the right direction after scoring third place in the main event.

Dungey has had a difficult title defence to date but now sits just 18 points behind series leader Ryan Villopoto with six rounds still to run in a significant confidence booster.

After a decent start in the main, Dungey was able to work his way up to third position by the end of the first lap. He rode tenaciously but couldn’t quite catch the leaders and crossed the line, claiming a podium finish.

“All in all, today was a good day,” Dungey reflected. “My Rockstar Makita Suzuki felt great, practice was good, and the bike settled in really well too. Going into the night race, I got a good start in my heat race and got the heat win.

“In the main, I got caught up in the pack a little bit but was able to work up to third. I was trying to gain on the leaders, but I just couldn’t make up enough time and then made a pretty big mistake on my part.

“Overall, I think it was a great night and big step in the right direction. I’m looking forward to the next round in Canada. It’s a big stadium and the track layout is pretty amazing there. It will be good to go to another country as well.

“Hopefully we can get good starts and put ourselves in a good position there.”