News 2 Feb 2015

Dungey dominates A3 to extend points lead

Webb wins controversial 250SX final following full restart.

Image: Simon Cudby.

Image: Simon Cudby.

Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey earned his first Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, win of the season in front of 43,441 fans at Angel Stadium to cement his position as the 450SX Class points leader.

For the first time in his 450SX Class career, Team Yoshimura Suzuki rookie Blake Baggett earned the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award with Dungey in second place.

Dungey used a pass on the opening lap to get around Baggett and take over the lead, and on the same lap, Team Honda’s Cole Seely passed Baggett to take over the number-two position.

Team Honda’s Trey Canard, who won last week’s race in Oakland, moved into third place on lap two, but while pressuring his teammate Seely for second, Canard crashed on lap 10 and lost several spots.

That allowed RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Factory Suzuki’s Ken Roczen to take over third place and GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac to move into fourth place.

Dungey led 19 of the 20 laps in the main event to earn his 15th career victory and his first since Indianapolis last March, 12 races ago.

“The whole day was great,” said Dungey. “We went out there and got a good start, got into the lead and led all of the laps. That is all we can do.

“We’ve finished fourth, third, second, second and now first [this season], and that is a step forward. We will continue to take it race by race and give it everything we have.”

On the last lap, Tomac made a pass on Roczen to secure the third and final spot on the podium. Seely held on for a career-best second place finish.

“Those guys were pressuring me toward the end of the race, but I was able to put my head down and hold them off,” said Seely.

Dungey extended his lead over Roczen in the championship to 11 points, while Tomac moved into a tie with Canard for third.

Australia’s Chad Reed moved forward from outside the top 10 in the early laps to finish sixth on board his Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports entry.

Team Dirt Candy Suzuki rider Brett Metcalfe raced to 18th in the main event, with Adam Monea eighth in the LCQ putting an early end to his penultimate US appearance.

Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Cooper Webb won his third Western Regional 250SX Class main event in five races to extended his points lead.

Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM’s Jessy Nelson, who won the opening race of the season in Anaheim, started the Western Regional 250SX Class final with the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award following a controversial full restart.

Webb, who entered the night with two wins in his last three starts, followed Nelson in second place with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Zach Osborne in third place.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers moved into fifth place by the end of lap one, but on the following lap he crashed, reentering in last place after stopping for adjustments in the mechanics area.

Webb passed Nelson for the lead on lap seven and rode to his third win of the season. Webb’s teammate and 250SX Class rookie Aaron Plessinger earned the first podium of his career with a third place effort.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better race,” said Webb. “I look forward to keeping the momentum up next weekend in San Diego.”

Nelson moved into second place in season standings, up one position from last week, and sits 18 points behind Webb.

Osborne, who finished fourth, moved into third, while Bowers dropped to fourth following his 15th-place finish. Bowers entered the night in second.

Jackson Richardson was 11th at A3 in another strong performance, while Luke Wilson made his debut and marginally fell short of making the night program.

Monster Energy Supercross continues next weekend with its sixth stop of the 17-race season from Petco Park in San Diego.

2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship
Round five – Anaheim, CA

450SX Class results:
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Cole Seely
3. Eli Tomac
4. Ken Roczen
5. Trey Canard
6. Chad Reed (AUS)
7. Blake Baggett
8. Justin Barcia
9. Jason Anderson
10. Josh Hill
18. Brett Metcalfe (AUS)

450SX Class championship standings:
1. Ryan Dungey 107
2. Ken Roczen 96
3. Eli Tomac 84
4. Trey Canard 84
5. Jason Anderson 74
6. Justin Barcia 71
7. Cole Seely 67
8. Chad Reed (AUS) 57
9. Davi Millsaps 54
10. Blake Baggett 54
15. Brett Metcalfe (AUS) 30

Western Regional 250SX Class results:
1. Cooper Webb
2. Jessy Nelson
3. Aaron Plessinger
4. Zach Osborne
5. Matt Bisceglia,
6. Shane McElrath
7. Josh Hansen
8. Justin Hill
9. Alex Martin
10. Cole Martinez
11. Jackson Richardson (AUS)

Western Regional 250SX Class championship standings:
1. Cooper Webb 111
2. Jessy Nelson 93
3. Zach Osborne 87
4. Tyler Bowers 84
5. Justin Hill 78
6. Aaron Plessinger 74
7. Malcolm Stewart 68
8. Shane McElrath 64
9. Josh Hansen 61
10. Alex Martin 59
15. Jackson Richardson (AUS) 30

Click here for detailed results

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