RED BULL KTM FACTORY RIDERS FINISH 3RD AND 4TH AT SAN DIEGO SUPERCROSS!
SAN DIEGO, California – Red Bull KTM Factory riders Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey finished 3rd and 4th respectively at the sixth round of the Monster Energy Supercross 450SX Series held at Qualcomm Stadium.
The Red Bull KTM duo remained close throughout the day constantly matching each other’s practice times. It was Ken Roczen who turned the fastest lap in the first timed practice followed closely by teammate Ryan Dungey. In the final practice, Roczen and Dungey both earned times within the top three to garner a great gate pick for the heat races.
On his KTM 450 SX-F Roczen was placed in the first 450SX heat where he pulled a massive holeshot and took the early lead. Roczen went on to pull a seven second lead in the six lap heat before taking the win and earning the top gate pick for the main event.
His teammate, Dungey, matched his result in the next heat also taking the win. Dungey started in 4th at the gate drop and capitalized on a crash by the lead riders in the second corner to move into the lead. He maintained the lead through the remainder of the heat to earn the second gate pick in the final.
When the gate dropped for the main event, Dungey leaped out front and rounded the first corner in 4th place while Roczen was a few spots back in 6th. On the second lap, Dungey made a mistake in a rhythm section and nearly crashed. He was able to bounce back from the mistake but lost two positions in the process. That mistake allowed Roczen to move ahead of Dungey and into 4th place. Roczen then began to close the gap on the 3rd place ride of Chad Reed.
Meanwhile, Dungey was in a battle of his own with Justin Barcia for 5th position. The two riders remained close until Barcia crashed on lap nine allowing Dungey to take the position. At the same time, Roczen was able to make an inside pass on Reed to take over the podium position. In the remaining laps, Reed and Dungey began to close in on Roczen and try to pressure for the podium position. The three-way battle went through to the final lap where Reed tried to make a move on Roczen that resulted in a crash. Dungey was able to avoid the fallen bike of Reed and move into 4th place while Roczen went on to land on the podium with a 3rd place result.
“I had a few struggles tonight”, commented Roczen. “Overall, I am really happy to be on the podium. It is important to be consistent in the championship hunt and every podium finish helps toward the point standings.”
Next Round: February 15, 2014 – Arlington, TX
Results 450SX class San Diego
- James Stewart (USA), Suzuki, 16:00:602 min (20 laps)
- Ryan Villopoto (USA), Kawasaki, +1.311 sec
- Ken Roczen (GER), KTM, +8.543
- Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM, +11.363
- Weston Peick (USA), Suzuki, +27.937
Other KTM
- 10.Andrew Short (USA), KTM, +40.908
- 13. Ivan Tedesco (USA), KTM, +42.936
- 15. Matthew Goerke (USA), KTM, +1 lap
Standings 450SX class after 6 of 17 rounds
- Villopoto, 126 points
- Roczen, 117
- Chad Reed (USA), Kawasaki, 111
- Stewart, 105
- Justin Brayton (USA), Yamaha, 98
Other KTM
- 6. Dungey, 94
- 8. Short, 72
- 13. Tedesco, 46
- 20. Goerke, 26
