Ryan Dungey rides to first over-all AMA Motocross race win at Thunder Valley Motocross Park
The Red bull KTM rider Ryan Dungey claimed top honours in the third round of 2012 Lucas Oil Motocross Championship that went down at the Thunder Valley Motocross (MX) Park in Lakewood, Colorado, on Saturday, June 2.
Kawasaki rider Jake Weimer finished in second place, whereas Honda’s Andrew Short rounded out the third-place finish.
Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart had been in a superb form since the start of the latest season of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Pro Motocross, claiming top honours in the previous two stops of the series while leaving Dungey to settle
for runner-up place.
However, the two 450-class races that went down at Thunder Valley MX Park featured a twist in the tale. Stewart once again got off to a strong start in the first moto and gradually moved from the third place to the front by Lap 2. However, he ended up stumbling
into the ruts in the fourth lap, which resulted in a hand injury and brought his race to an early end.
Dungey capitalised on the opportunity to grab the lead and held on to it until the end to gain an upper-hand in the race.
The second moto started without Stewart in the line-up. This time, the Red Bull KTM rider took control of the race from the word go and maintained his position in front throughout the course of the race to grab his first top podium finish in the season.
“I hate to win like that,” Dungey told MX Sports Pro Racing after the race. “James and I have pushed each other to new levels and although he won the first four motos [this season], it's been good. Hopefully he heals up and comes back [next week at High
Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pa.]. My game plan is always the same, to take it one race at a time. You can't focus on the end result and we saw that today. I just do my own thing, put my best foot forward, and never underestimate anyone.”
Weimer finished in runner-up place after making a second-place finish in the first moto, while finishing fourth in the second moto on Saturday.
Placing seventh in the first moto and backing it up with a runner-up finish in the second moto, the Colorado-based Short took an over-all third position. He conceded after the race that he was ecstatic about making the podium in front of his home crowd.
With the conclusion of the latest stop of the AMA Pro Motocross series, Dungey has moved into the No.1 spot in the over-all rankings, whereas Weimer rose to second and Stewart fell to the third spot.
The riders will continue their campaign for the Championship title at the High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, on June 9.
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