Led by reigning Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Champion Ryan Dungey, KTM rode away with a convincing win in the inaugural Monster Energy SMX Riders & Manufacturers Cup at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Saturday night.
Dungey not only scored the Riders Cup win via 2-3-2 scores in the three feature races, but reigning FIM MX2 World Champion Jeffrey Herlings showed his mettle by winning the Race 3, going 5-5-1 for second place. Musquin made it an all-KTM Riders Cup podium via 6-2-3 finishes, giving KTM an easy win in the Manufacturers Cup
With a race format to the Monster Energy Cup, the SMX Riders & Manufacturers Cup combines attributes of supercross and the Motocross of Nations, only instead of teams being formed to represent the various nations that participate in the sport, they are formed to represent the manufacturers. Hence, the goal is to pull together the top riders that represent the brand from within each country. The scoring system is identical to the MXoN, with the team that scores the highest combined finishes, and thus earns the lowest number of points, declared the winner. Teams were allowed to throw out their two worse finishes over the three races.
But the SMX Riders & Manufacturers Cup isn’t a formal supercross race as evidenced by a course layout that was clearly designed to equalize the competition among riders with AMA Supercross experience and those who spend the majority of their time racing outdoors. Although the deep sand track inside the Veltins Arena presented its own challenges in the form of deep, wheel-swallowing ruts, a single supercross-style whoop section was nowhere to be found on it. That would be telling as Dungey, who thrives on proper supercross tracks, failed to win any of the three feature races. Nevertheless, he was the most consistent rider of the night.
“It was kind of nice because the pressure to do it individually was not there but you also wanted to win for the manufacturer,” Dungey said. “It was great to be alongside Marvin [Musquin] and [Jeffrey] Herlings and [Jorge] Prado [the team’s joker (substitute) rider] and good to see the KTM team from Europe here. I’m glad that we could get the Manufacturer’s Cup and go 1-2-3 in the individual. A lot of people looked at the track and said I would have an advantage because it was a supercross track, but it wasn’t. It got a lot rougher than you would want for supercross. We got the bike working well, and the boys did a great job. They rode well and were consistent and if there was a mistake, they charged back. I thought we worked well as a team.”
Race 1
Reigning MXGP World Champion Tim Gasjer got off to a rocket start in the first feature race, with Dungey right behind him while KTM teammates Musquin and Herlings were involved in a multiple rider pileup at the start. Both men got back underway and went on to finish fifth and sixth respectively, which turn out to be the team’s worst scores of the night.
Dungey tried to reel-in Gasjer, but the Slovenian proved to be fast and consistent at the head of the pack, crossing the finish line a little over 2 seconds ahead of the AMA Supercross Champion. Riding for Husqvarna, Dungey’s fellow American, Zach Osborne, put in a strong ride to finish third ahead of Yamaha’s Romain Febvre, the 2015 MXGP World Champion.
Race 2
Gasjer again pulled the holeshot in Race 2, while Honda’s Evgeny Bobryshev and Febvre battled for second place. Herlings once again saw his chances for the win suffer a serious blow when he hit the ground in the first turn for the second time. Musquin got off to a better start, running fourth ahead of Osborne and Dungey.
Febvre pressured Bobryshev for second place as Gasjer tried to get away, with the Frenchman making the pass on the Russian four laps into the 16-lapper. Gasjer was still running faster laps, but on lap six he made a mistake, crashing in right-hander and effectively handing the win to Febvre, who finished 3.8 seconds ahead of Musquin. Dungey was third, followed by Kawasaki’s Jordi Tixier, the 2014 MX2 World Champion. Herlings charged through the field after his first-turn crash to finish fifth.
Race 3
KTM lowered the boom in the final race as Dungey pulled the holeshot in Race 3. Herlings finally made it through turn one clean, but Osborne was a casualty of another first-turn melee, and the American dropped out of the race. Tixier ran second, followed by Gasjer, Musquin and Herlings. Gasjer was able to make his way past Tixier to second.
Herlings is a true sand specialist, and it showed as he blew past Musquin and dogged Gasjer for second place just four laps into the race, brushing the Slovenian aside to take over second place. Herlings then reeled off a series of fast laps to reel-in his American teammate, making the winning pass with just three laps remaining to claim the race win by 5.3 seconds, the largest margin of victory in any of the three races. Musquin also found his way past Gasjer to give KTM a sweep of Race 3.
“KTM had a lot of options, and I was surprised that they picked me, but I think I showed what I am capable of,” Herlings said. “I’m very happy to have been second in the individual, and its great to win as a team. It was a good experience to ride with Dungey and to pass him in the last moto. That was pretty cool!”
With their Race 3 domination, KTM easily won the Manufacturer classification with just 18 points. Honda was second with 43 points and Kawasaki was third with 61 points.
At the end of the day, the Monster Energy SMX Riders & Manufacturers Cup was another unique event with the potential to become a crown jewel in international competition. Its unique format makes it the only one to pit European and American riders on the same side in a team event. There’s no reason to believe that it won’t gain in stature in the coming years.
2016 Monster Energy SMX Riders & Manufacturers Cup
Veltins Arena
Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Results: October 8, 2016
Race 1
1. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda/13 minutes,47.253 seconds, 1 point
2. Ryan Dungey (USA)-KTM/+2.041 seconds; 2 points
3. Zachary Osborne (USA)-Hus/+8.878 seconds; 3 points
4. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam/+13.687 seconds; 4 points
5. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM/+16:628 seconds; 5 points
Race 2
1. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam/13 minutes; 58.209 seconds; 1 point
2. Marvin Musquin (FRA)-KTM/+3.811 seconds; 2 points
3. Ryan Dungey (USA)-KTM/+4.409 seconds; 3 points
4. Jordi Tixier (FRA), Kawasaki/+8.242 seconds; 4 points
5. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM/+12.965 seconds; 5 points
Race 3
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM/14 minutes, 3.857 seconds; 1 point
2. Ryan Dungey (USA)-KTM/+5.381 seconds; 2 points
3. Marvin Musquin (FRA)-KTM/+7.890 seconds; 3 points
4. Jordi Tixier (FRA)-Kaw/+9.100 seconds; 4 points
5. Tim Gajser (SLO)-Hon/+10.998 seconds; 5 points
Final Standings (Riders Cup)
1. Ryan Dungey (USA)-KTM/7 points
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM/11 points
3. Marvin Musquin (FRA)-KTM/11 points
4. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam/12 points
5. Jordi Tixier (FRA)-Kaw/16 points
Final Standings (Manufacturers Cup)
1. KTM-18 points
2. Honda-43 points
3. Kawasaki-61 points
4. Husqvarna-71 points
5. Yamaha-77 points
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