Ryan Dungey wins second moto in Thunder Valley National to collect his first victory of the season
The second 450-Class moto of Lucas Oil American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) National Motocross (MX) Championship’s fifth round, Thunder Valley National, went down on Saturday, June 25, in Lakewood, Colorado.
After a really intense contest, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s racing rider Ryan Dungey took the coveted victory in Moto 2 to clinch the overall win, his first of the current season. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto settled for the runner-up position in
Moto 2 to finish second overall in the race. Two-Two Motorsports/Bel-Rey’s Chad Reed took third position to finish third overall.
Reed got off to a flawless start in Moto 2, taking the holeshot as the starting gun was fired. Dungey and Villopoto were right on his heels, determined to make their way into the front.
The battle for the top slot continued fiercely throughout the first three laps. However, Dungey’s persistence finally paid off as he managed to edge past the Two-Two Motorsports/ Bel-Rey racing rider to move into the lead.
Once removed from his initial position, Reed seemed to have lost his concentration and ended up moving down even further by losing his place to Villipoto just a lap later.
As the Washington-based rider moved into second place, a really intense battle began between him and Dungey. Knowing a victory in Moto 2 would allow the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider to walk away with the overall victory, Villopoto kept pushing harder and
harder as the race progressed.
Both riders stayed at par with each other in terms of lap-times for most of the race and it seemed to be anybody’s race.
While the thrilling battle continued in the front, Reed comfortably rode in third, looking quite content with his position. Kevin Windham rode in fourth place, with Tommy Hahn holding on to fifth place.
The ongoing battle in the front finally subsided after Dungey managed to pull away from his threatening pursuer through consistent and near-flawless riding, opening no window of opportunity for Villopoto to capitalise on.
The outstanding performance throughout the second moto eventually carried Dungey off to the decisive victory, earning him his first overall victory of the season.
Villopoto, who had won the first moto with a convincing margin, had to settle for second position. Reed crossed the finish line next, while Windham and Hahn rounded out the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR team rider David Millsaps made a commendable comeback after spending most of the first moto in the pits to finish sixth in Moto 2 and 15th overall in the race. His impressive performance in the second moto earned him the
Muscle Milk Recovery Award.
For updates on the sixth stop of Lucas Oil AMA MX Nationals Championship, Rockstar Energy RedBud National 2011, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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