Ryan Dungey collects his seventh win of the season after a race-long tussle with Ken Roczen at the Indy Supercross.
It was one of those epic battles that reminds doubters that supercross is real racing and not just some wintertime sideshow circus, and when all was said and done, reigning Monster Energy AMA Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey emerged victorious at the Indy Supercross at Lucas Oil Stadium in a race that brought the fans to their feet numerous times.
The Red Bull KTM-backed Dungey collected his seventh win of the season and the 29th premier-class win of his career to move into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time AMA Supercross winner’s list, mastering a rutty, nasty Indy track that was terribly unforgiving of mistakes.
And that was the real story of the race, as Dungey’s nemesis, RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki’s Ken Roczen was clearly the faster of the two in the main event—the only rider who could challenge Dungey for the lead—but made just enough mistakes at the least opportune times to prevent himself from scoring a win and stemming the tide of championship points that Dungey has been collecting each week. Roczen took the lead away from Dungey late in the race, only to lose it with two laps to go, and he was forced to settle for second place to Dungey again. Conversely, the two riders were so fast that third-place finisher, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson, was 30 seconds behind them by the finish of the 20-lap main event.
“That battle, that’s what it’s all about,” Dungey said. “It’s good to be able to work hard and fight to the end, and it’s a rewarding finish. But tonight it wasn’t just the pressure that was tough. It was also the ruts that we were dealing with too.”
Smartop/MotoConcepts Honda’s Mike Alessi pulled the holeshot at the start of the main event, but his lead was short-lived as Dungey cut to the inside of him to take over first place through the first rhythm section while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac battled with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Christophe Pourcel for third place. Roczen was in the mix as well, running fifth, barely ahead of BTO Sports KTM’s Justin Brayton.
Roczen then got really aggressive before the end of the first lap as he followed Tomac past Alessi in a left-handed berm and then shot underneath Tomac in the very next right-hand sweeper after the triple jump. That put Roczen second and Tomac third. Dungey was only 1.8 seconds ahead at that point, and Roczen quickly chewed into that gap to challenge Dungey for the lead. Meanwhile, Anderson was showing that he had the speed that had earned him the number one starting position for the main event as he battled with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Baggett for eighth place behind Pourcel, Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard, Brayton and Alessi.
The battle for the lead heated up on lap four as Roczen showed Dungey a wheel in the left-hander before the whoop section, and the two then ran side by side through it. Dungey was able to prevent a pass by scooting over into Roczen’s line and pinching off the German before he could gain enough momentum. Roczen would lose a little time immediately afterward, but he was clearly cutting faster laps times than Dungey, and he drew close to the leader again, showing him a wheel in the left-hander before the mechanic’s area, only to mis-time the rhythm section and drop back again. The two pulled away from Tomac, who ran third. Anderson was now sixth, just behind a furious battle between Pourcel and Canard for fourth. Anderson got underneath Pourcel for fifth on lap 10 and came after Canard, and he made a pass for four fourth place through the whoops on lap 11. That quickly became third place when Tomac stalled his Kawasaki right in front the mechanic’s area on lap 12.
Up front, Dungey had about 1.7 seconds on Roczen, but Dungey’s advantage evaporated on lap 13 when he was hindered by Smartop/MotoConcepts Honda’s Vince Friese, who was running 13th and about to be lapped. Roczen got close to Dungey again with five laps to go, and he made a pass for the lead on the next lap when Dungey had trouble in one of the rhythm sections. Roczen then faltered just before the finish line jump and wasn’t able to get a good run at it, allowing Dungey to fly past him and retake the lead. Roczen closed in again with two laps to go, and he pulled out all the stops in an effort to challenge Dungey one final time, but Dungey ran two clean laps to remain out front and collect the win.
“You could see we both made mistakes, and when you’re out front there is a little more pressure than normal,” Dungey said. “It is what it is, but we do our best to handle it. Obviously, a track like this really shows the bike, and obviously how much hard work the [Red Bull KTM] guys are putting into it. This track is very difficult. It’s tough. These wins are awesome, and when it happens like this it’s even sweeter. We put a lot of hard work in, so it’s really rewarding. Tonight was a tough track.”
Afterward, Roczen attributed some of his performance to changes that he and his RCH crew made to his machine during the week.
“I have a lot more confidence, a lot more faith in the bike, so that was a big thing,” Roczen said. “Other than that, tonight was an awesome race. We kept it fun the whole ride. Ultimately I wish the race would’ve kept going maybe for another five laps. I made that mistake and let him [Dungey] back by, but I fought the whole way. The track was really technical out there. We’ll be back next week. I’m happy with how I rode.”
Anderson once again put together a fine third-place finish after rounding the first turn in ninth place on the opening lap.
“I want to do better,” Anderson said. “Being on the podium is cool, but once you do that a certain amount of times, you want to be on that top step. I definitely want to be better and be battling with these guys—even if I got third I’d feel way better about my ride if I was up there battling with them. This was a tough race, and just to come out and have a podium, I’m very excited. It’s a good group up here, but at the same time I want to beat both of them.”
2016 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series
Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana
Results: April 9, 2016 (Round 13 of 17)
450 Main
1. Ryan Dungey-KTM
2. Ken Roczen-Suz
3. Jason Anderson-Hus
4. Trey Canard-Hon
5. Blake Baggett-Suz
6. Chad Reed-Yam
7. Christophe Pourcel-Hus
8. Justin Brayton-KTM
9. Eli Tomac-Kaw
10. Mike Alessi-Hon
11. Vince Friese-Hon
12. Josh Grant-Kaw
13. Justin Bogle-Hon
14. Broc Tickle-Suz
15. Justin Barcia-Yam
16. Weston Peick-Yam
17. Nick Wey-Kaw
18. Cade Clason-Hon
19. Nicholas Schmidt-Suz
20. Jake Weimer-Suz
21. Tony Archer-Kaw
22. Jeff Alessi-Hon
Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (after 13 of 17 rounds)
1. Ryan Dungey-303/7 wins
2. Ken Roczen-255/3 wins
3. Jason Anderson-240/2 wins
4. Eli Tomac-212/1 win
5. Chad Reed-193
6. Marvin Musquin-182
7. Cole Seely-173
8. Justin Brayton-149
9. Trey Canard-138
10. Jake Weimer-106
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