Take that AMA!
Two weeks after becoming the first rider in Supercross history to have a win stripped, Ryan Dungey showed his rare aggressive side to racing, bounced off Justin Bogle on Lap 1 during Round 12 of the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross series and checked out for his (officially) 28th career win and sixth of the year on Saturday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
Dungey got docked two spots in Detroit for Round 11 after jumping when the Red Cross flag waved which negated his win and dropped him to third-place. Though he showed no interest in dwelling on the past nor did he indicate he used the outcome of last round as motivation, Dungey fended off a daring Ken Roczen on Lap 8 and raced one of his strongest rounds this season leading all 20 laps.
"Man the track was tough, Kenny was right behind putting the pressure on," Dungey said. "We were really pushing the pace, he wasn't letting off (then) we came into some heavy lappers."
Dungey brushed off questions on the Detroit controversy saying all he could do was move past it. After the penalty came down, Dungey said he did not see the Red Cross flag waved in time and video seemed to prove his point. However, recent footage showed Dungey looking behind him after he jumped which indicated he realized, at the very least, shortly after jumping that he likely made a mistake. The American Motorcyclist Association took some heat on the issue on many fronts, including location of the flagger and the actual need for a Red Cross flag wave at that point, especially since it negated a win and cost Dungey a fistful of cash.
Regardless, the outcome had little effect on the standings and after Round 12's dominating route, Dungey leads Roczen by 42 points with five rounds remaining in the series. Dungey beat third-place finisher Jason Anderson by more than 15 seconds and leads him by 58 points.
"These wins are awesome, it's good to get a win," he said. "There's lots of racing left. A lot of good to take away from tonight."
Ken Roczen tried but couldn't get around Ryan Dungey
Roczen finished second tailing Dungey for much of the race just a second or two behind but just couldn't make a pass. He got close once but Dungey quickly closed the door. The second-place result is Roczen's seventh podium of the year.
"I'm looking at some positives," he said. "I had a tough couple of weeks. I got sick and wasn't really feeling it over the whole two weeks (off). I felt really good in the Heat race and went in the Main with happiness and I think that's what made me ride good. Overall it was a good race."
Elsewhere James Stewart returned to action after bruising his lower back in Daytona and took second in his Heat race to Dungey. The veteran who has had a rough 2016 after returning from a 16-month suspension looked in vintage form for the first time all year but appeared to have bike troubles and left the race on Lap 7. He's only completed one full round this year as a concussion suffered in Round 1 set him back.
James Stewart can't catch a break this year
Trey Canard crashed in his Heat race and got hit by Weston Peick while on the ground but managed to slip by Eli Tomac on the last lap of his Semi for the win and went on to a season best fifth-place finish narrowly missing out on fourth-place, which went to Chad Reed.
Marvin Musquin had his worst performance of the season finishing 17th, ending a four-straight podium run. Justin Barcia returned to action from thumb surgery after Round 2. He finished 16th. Josh Hansen made his first appearance this season taking 14th and MotoSport rider Nick Wey took 18th.
Cooper Webb is one solid race away from capturing back-to-back 250SX West titles
The 250SX West Class returned to action for the first time since Arlington and the break showed no effect on Cooper Webb who started sixth and moved through the pack to take the lead on Lap 11 something he's done all year. It was Webb's fifth win of the year, none of which he led wire-to-wire, and seventh podium. He increased his lead in the standings to 16 over Joey Savatgy, who finished third, by five points.
"In the Heat race, I got a terrible start and didn't make anything of it. I was not happy after that," said Webb, who was the day's fastest qualifier. "I got a decent start (in the Main), I was Top 5 or so, just put my head down and was making some quick passes. Zach was riding really well, I knew he was going to be hard to beat. I knew I had to make a pass quick and make it stick."
Webb needs just a 10th-place finish at the finale in Las Vegas to wrap up his second consecutive 250SX West Championship.
Osborne held on for second, his fourth podium of the year, which also put him into fourth-place in the standings, tied with Colt Nichols who finished seventh. Christian Craig took fourth, ending a five-straight podium streak.
"I had a comfortable little gap and the lappers held me up a tiny bit and that allowed (Webb) to get close to me and he got a run on me," Osborne said. "Close, three laps short."
Elsewhere, Hayden Mellross is now well-known though not for anything related to performance. On Lap 1, Mellross front-wheelied into a corner, flew into the tough blocks with his arms outstretched and ultimately landed on fencing located at the start line. Thankfully, he walked away but was unable to finish the race. Watch the video:
Supercross moves back east for Round 13 at Indianapolis where the 250SX East Class resumes it's season. Buy tickets online or at the Lucas Oil Stadium box office.
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Glendale Results
Santa Clara Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Ryan Dungey
- Ken Roczen
- Jason Anderson
- Chad Reed
- Trey Canard
- Justin Bogle
- Eli Tomac
- Weston Peick
- Jake Weimer
- Blake Baggett
Santa Clara 250SX West Class Results
- Cooper Webb
- Zach Osborne
- Joey Savatgy
- Christian Craig
- Mitchell Oldenburg
- Colt Nichols
- Jordon Smith
- Kyle Peters
- Alex Martin
- Michael Leib
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey (278)
- Ken Roczen (236)
- Jason Anderson (220)
- Eli Tomac (200)
- Marvin Musquin (182)
- Chad Reed (178)
- Cole Seely (173)
- Justin Brayton (136)
- Trey Canard (120)
- Davi Millsaps (105)
250SX West Class Season Standings
- Cooper Webb (170)
- Joey Savatgy (154)
- Christian Craig (147)
- Zach Osbourne (132)
- Colt Nichols (132)
- Mitchell Oldenburg (113)
- James Decotis (109)
- Kyle Peters (100)
- Kyle Cunningham (78)
- Jordon Smith (77)
