Ryan Dungey wins Oakland SX ahead of Roczen and Musquin
Dungey jumped out to an early lead in the 450SX Class main Event, winning the SupercrossLive Holeshot Award. His teammate Marvin Musquin followed in second place and Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s James Stewart, who was racing his first Main Event since the season opening race in Anaheim, in third place.
On the opening lap, RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s/Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen passed Stewart for the number three position. Roczen then passed Musquin for second place on Lap 4. Stewart withdrew from the race on Lap 8.
With the win, Dungey extended his points lead to 22.
“It feels great to get another win,” stated Dungey on the podium. “Being out front early allows me to ride my own race and stay focused. I am really happy for my teammate Marvin tonight. This is a big step for him to get his first podium of his 450 career. We train really hard together and I’m happy for him and the team to have us both on the podium.”
Roczen earned the best finish of his season with a second-place finish.
“We are making steps in the right direction every weekend,” said Roczen. “There were some parts of the track tonight where I was doing well and others where I struggled.”
Musquin remarked after a career-best third place finish in the 450cc category, “We did not expect for me to be on the podium already at the fourth round of the series. I am so excited to be up here and have the whole team to thank for this. I train with Ryan all week and it is great to be able to be up here with him.”
Jason Anderson was coming off a fifth-place finish at the previous round and was motivated to improve upon those results in Oakland. After getting shuffled to the back of the pack on the start of his heat race, he charged his way up to a transfer position before getting hit by another rider for the spot, forcing him to race the semi. Anderson pulled a top-four start in the semi before making a quick pass for the lead in lap three and taking the win for a transfer position to the main. He got a mid-pack start in the main, but he immediately started flying through the pack. He rocketed from 11th to 6th by the halfway mark and began to stalk the top-five to improve his race position. He navigated his Husqvarna FC 450 into fifth with four laps to go, before making an aggressive pass for fourth shortly thereafter. He held strong to finish the race in fourth.
“I rode great this weekend,” said Anderson. “I came out with a 4th in the main. If I could just get a good start I could be battling for a spot on the box. I had a little bit of a sketchy moment with Reed on the double triple double. I thought he was going to go triple and I clipped his back tire and almost looped it. All in all I came out fourth so it’s not a bad deal. I’m just going to keep moving forward.”
Chad Reed finished a highly creditable fifth place ahead of Cole Seely. Reed and Anderson are now tied in second place on the championship standings.
In the Main Event, Tomac started from outside the top ten, creating a long night for himself. He began charging his way through the field early and by the half way mark, Tomac had raced his way into eighth. By the end of the 20 lap Main Event, he crossed the line in seventh place.
“The day was up and down for me,” said Tomac. “We couldn’t quite figure out bike set up on tonight’s track which fought against us all day. Although, once the night show came around and we took the win in the first heat, I felt really good and was ready to drop the gate of the Main Event. Unfortunately, a small mistake getting out of the gate held us back from our goal. The team and I will continue to work and come back in Phoenix rejuvenated.”
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450SX Class Results – AMA SX – 2016 – Round Four – Oakland
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
- Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
- Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
- Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
- Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
- Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, CO., Kawasaki
- Jacob Weimer, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki
- Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM
- Wil Hahn, Menifee, Calif. Kawasaki
450SX Class Championship Standings – AMA SX 2016 – Round Four
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 97
- Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna – 75
- Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha – 75
- Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki – 73
- Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda – 70
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, CO., Kawasaki – 68
- Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM – 51
- Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM – 47
- Jake Weimer, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki – 46
- Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 45
Western Regional 250SX Class Main Event – Oakland
GEICO Honda’s Christian Craig opened the Western Regional 250SX Class Main Event with the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot as Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb and Savatgy followed in second and third respectively. Craig led the first three laps before crashing and handing the lead to Webb, shifting Savatgy to second and Webb’s teammate Alex Martin into third place.
On Lap eight, Martin crashed and Cycle Trader/Rockriver Yamaha’s Colt Nichols moved into the number three position. While leading on Lap 12, Webb had a mechanical issue that forced him to pull off the track. He did re-enter the race but finished in 21st place.
“Today was really good,” said Savatgy. “Qualifying went well, it’s really close between the top guys right now, so as long as we are all within about half a second we’re in a good spot. In the heat race I felt like I didn’t ride how I wanted to, I felt a bit tight, but I got a good start to the night by taking the win.
“At the gate drop I put myself in a good position and after a few laps I was in second. I settled in and tried to make sure I could stay with the leader. I ended up making the pass for the lead with a few laps to go and had a bit of a moment where I landed on a tough block, which bent my shifter all the way out to my foot peg. That made it very difficult to shift and forced me to concentrate for the rest of the race.
“I earned my first supercross win, and the points lead, so emotions are really high right now. Time to go back to the farm and keep working as hard as we have been.”
Nichols finished second, the best finish of his career, and Craig earned the second podium of his career with a third-place finish. Nichols moved into fourth place in season standings and Craig moved into fifth place in season standings.
“I almost got choked up when I came of the track,” said Nichols. “I have been envisioning this my entire life, and to be up here is a dream come true.”
Zach Osborne qualified second fastest during afternoon practice qualifying sessions, and was poised to have a successful night. He pulled a mid-pack start in his heat and made it up to fifth before stalling the bike and getting hit while trying to avoid another rider. He got going again around the 15th place position and started charging. He improved his finishing position all the way to 7th and earned his transfer position to the main. He got a top-five start in the main before finding himself in 13th after going down while trying to make a pass. He made his way up to 7th with four laps to go and was flying through the pack. He knocked off two more positions aboard his Husqvarna FC 250 before finishing the night in 5th.
“I started the night by crashing in my heat race,” said Osborne. “It was a tough night. I actually got a decent in the main, but ended up making an impatient pass and went down on the third lap. I came back to fifth. It’s a little bit of a bummer because I could have taken advantage of Cooper’s misfortune. I’m now only five points out of the points lead instead of 18th, which is where I was coming into this round, so it’s not that bad. I just have to keep charging.”
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Action resumes next Saturday night with the Monster Energy Supercross race at Glendale, Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium.
Western Regional 250SX Class Results – AMA SX 2016 – Round Four – Oakland
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki
- Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha
- Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda
- Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM
- Zach Osborne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna
- Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda
- Michael Leib, Wildomar, Calif., Yamaha
- Kyle Cunningham, Willow Park, Texas, Suzuki
- Jimmy DeCotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda
- Cole Thompson, Brigden, Canada, KTM
Western Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings – AMA SX 2016 – Round Four
- Joey Savatgy, Thomasville, Ga., Kawasaki – 78
- Cooper Webb, Newport, N.C., Yamaha – 76
- Zach Osborne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Husqvarna – 73
- Colt Nichols, Muskogee, Okla., Yamaha – 65
- Christian Craig, Corona, Calif., Honda – 62
- Jordan Smith, Belmont, N.C., Honda – 61
- Jimmy DeCotis, Peabody, Mass., Honda – 59
- Kyle Peters, Greensboro, N.C., Honda – 51
- Mitchell Oldenburg, Alvord, Texas, KTM – 48
- Kyle Cunningham, Willow Park, Texas, Suzuki – 41
