After a bit of back and forth to start Round 9 of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross series, Ryan Dungey grabbed the lead on Lap 5 and took the checkered flag on Saturday in Atlanta.
Dungey is the first three-time winner this season and the victory combined with his second-place finish in Round 8, also at Atlanta, gives him the inaugural "Duel in the Dome" title which went to the person posting the most combined points for both Atlanta races. Chad Reed, who won last week in the Georgia Dome, briefly lead the race after passing holeshot winner Weston Peick on the first lap, but Peick quickly took it back.
Dungey started out third and after Reed crashed on Lap 2 managed to pass Peick on Lap 5. Trey Canard was already running in third and on Lap 6 got into second place with Eli Tomac, who started fourth, moving into the third-place spot on Lap 7. The top 3 riders remained in their positions until Lap 16 when Tomac ousted Canard for second-place. It was Tomac's best finish since a third-place result at Anaheim 3. Canard got third-place for the third race in a row but also his fifth podium in six Rounds.
"The Honda boys (Canard and Tomac) were breathing on me, but I was able to put some distance between us as the race went on," Dungey said. "Winning the Duel in the Dome is icing on top of a great race."
Dungey's win added five points to his growing lead and he's now ahead of Canard by 30. He has three wins in the last five races and eight straight podiums. He's never finished below fourth-place. Ken Roczen finished in eighth-place and fell 13 points behind Canard for second. Tomac closed in on Roczen for third-place but is still 19 points behind. Rookie Jason Anderson, who again finished in the Top 10 - every race this season - lost some ground but hangs on to fifth-place just two points ahead of Reed who finished seventh and bumped up a place from last week into sixth.
Jimmy Albertson rebounded and made the 450SX Main for Atlanta 2
On the home front, Jimmy Albertson got back into the Main after missing it last week. He qualified in the Semi en route to a 19th place finish. Nick Wey was the last to qualify in the LCQ but went on to finish in 16th place. Wey now has four straight Mains and is in 21st place 10 points from the Top 20.
Nick Wey has found his rhythm making his fourth straight 450SX Main
In the 250SX East Class, Marvin Musquin put forth another dominating performance leading from start to finish, just as he did in Arlington, to capture his second win of the season. Behind him, riders shuffled a bit for final podium spots with Joey Savatgy starting out in second-place before Arnaud Tonus took over but by Lap 3. Then Jeremy Martin movd into the runner-up spot and Justin Bogle grabbed third on Lap 4.
Musquin, Martin and Bogle stepped on the podium for the second week in a row and it was also Musquin's and Bogle's third straight podium. Martin won last week and Bogle, the defending 250SX East champion, took third for the second straight week. Savatgy finished fourth. Musquin leads the point standings by seven over Martin, who leads Bogle by just three.
Kyle Peters posted his third Top 15 finish of the season in the 250SX East class
As for MotoSport riders, Kyle Peters finished 11th for his third straight Top 15 finish. He is in 11th place with 29 points. Colt Nichols, who rides with Peters on the MotoSport.com/GPI/Honda Racing team, qualified for the Main in the Heat race and finished 17th. Nichols missed the Main last week but now has 14 points for 16th place. Mitchell Oldenburg, who rides with Albertson on the ARMA/MotoSport.com/Yamaha Race team was unable to qualify for his third straight Main.
Colt Nichols got back into the 250SX Main finishing 17th at Atlanta 2
Daytona is next! Round 10 takes on the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday with a course designed by Ricky Carmichael. Action starts with practice at 12:30 p.m. (EST) with opening ceremonies at 7 p.m. Buy tickets online or at the main ticket office, 1801 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach, FL.
2015 Monster Energy Supercross Atlanta 2 Results
Atlanta 2 Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Ryan Dungey
- Eli Tomac
- Trey Canard
- Broc Tickle
- Blake Baggett
- Josh Grant
- Chad Reed
- Ken Roczen
- Jason Anderson
- Weston Peick
Atlanta 2 Supercross 250SX East Class Results
- Marvin Musquin
- Jeremy Martin
- Justin Bogle
- Joey Savatgy
- James Decotis
- Martin Davalos
- Arnaud Tonus
- Anthony Rodriguez
- RJ Hampshire
- Luke Renzland
2015 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey (199)
- Trey Canard (169)
- Ken Roczen (156)
- Eli Tomac (137)
- Jason Anderson (126)
- Chad Reed (124)
- Cole Seely (120)
- Blake Baggett (115)
- Andrew Short (100)
- Broc Tickle (96)
250SX East Class Season Standings
- Marvin Musquin (72)
- Jeremy Martin (65)
- Justin Bogle (62)
- Joey Savatgy (54)
- Martin Davalos (45)
- Matt Lemoine (39)
- Vince Friese (38)
- Arnaud Tonus (38)
- RJ Hampshire (38)
- Anthony Rodriguez (34)
