Ken Roczen wins Metlife Stadium SX
Ryan Dungey takes 2016 450 SX Championship Title
In front of 59,311 fans at MetLife Stadium, Suzuki’s Ken Roczen dominated en route to a second straight win in Monster Energy AMA Supercross, but it was Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey who walked away with his second consecutive 450SX Class title.
In the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, championship leader and GEICO Honda rider Malcolm Stewart grabbed his second victory of the season to extend his points lead heading into the final race of the season.
450 SX
Ken Roczen kicked off the 450SX Class Main Event with his third SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award ahead of Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely.
KTM’s Justin Brayton and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Chad Reed engaged in an early battle for third, with Brayton eventually getting the upper hand, while Dungey positioned behind them in fourth.
With an open track in front of him, Roczen quickly surged to a healthy lead while Seely settled comfortably into second. Brayton, Reed and Dungey remained close, with Dungey moving into fourth on Lap 2. For the next handful of laps Dungey applied heavy pressure on Brayton and after several unsuccessful attempts finally made the pass stick on Lap 7 to move into podium position.
As Roczen continued to extend his lead Dungey closed in on Seely for second. The two would find themselves side by side on several occasions, but Seely maintained the position, which ultimately allowed a hard-charging Eli Tomac to close in on his Monster Energy Kawasaki after starting seventh. Tomac took advantage of Dungey’s inability to pass Seely and got alongside Dungey in the whoops to take over third on Lap 15. He continued to push and was able to get by Seely on the following lap for second.
The battle between Seely and Dungey resumed again in the closing laps, this time for third, but after a few more unsuccessful attempts Dungey was forced to settle for fourth.
Roczen crossed the line nearly 20 seconds ahead of Tomac with a wire-to-wire effort, bringing his season win total to five.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do [tonight]. We got the holeshot and put in 20 solid laps. The track was in great condition,” said Roczen. “We did what we have to do and we’ll look ahead to try and get another one next weekend.”
Tomac secured back-to-back runner-up finishes, while Seely earned his first podium since the sixth race of the season. Dungey’s championship celebration was bittersweet as his record 31-race podium streak came to an end, but his third career 450SX Class title puts him in elite company as just the sixth rider in Monster Energy Supercross history with a trio of championships.
“It’s a bummer [to have the podium streak come to an end], but the real goal this year was to back up the title [from last season]. It was a tough challenge and we had to bring it every single weekend,” said Dungey. “[My competitors] were tough and they brought it, but we kept fighting and here we are, back where we wanted to be. I couldn’t have done this without the support of my entire team and family. There’s definitely no I in team and this could have never happened without their commitment.”
Dungey will seek a career-best ninth victory this season next weekend at the season finale. It is the third-career title for Dungey and his second straight with Red Bull KTM.
Jason Anderson took sixth for the night and remains thirds overall in the championship standings.
“My night was ok,” said Anderson. “I got a bad start in the heat race, but got a holeshot and a win in the semi. I ended up with ninth gate pick in the main so that heat race didn’t help me out the entire night. I actually rode really well and came up from 12th to finish 6th. I almost had 5th, but I’ll make a comeback next weekend in Vegas. The track was good, but it was really tough to make a pass on. There was only one right hander.”
Chad Reed finished in ninth position and retained his fifth ranking in the championship standings.
450SXÂ Race Results
- Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki
- Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
- Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM
- Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna
- Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM
- Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda
- Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
- Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda
450SX Class Championship Standings
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM – 366
- Ken Roczen, Clermont, Fla., Suzuki – 330
- Jason Anderson, Rio Rancho, N.M., Husqvarna – 293
- Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Kawasaki – 270
- Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha – 232
- Marvin Musquin, Corona, Calif., KTM – 213
- Cole Seely, Sherman Oaks, Calif., Honda – 207
- Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM – 186
- Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda – 183
- Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha – 125
250 SX
KTM rider Dakota Alix started the 15-lap Eastern Regional 250SX Class Main Event by capturing his second consecutive SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award, but it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Martin Davalos who had the momentum to assume the early lead, with Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers slotting into second. After starting inside the top five, Stewart was able to make a push to secure third on the opening lap.
As Davalos chased a second straight win, Stewart started his march to the front with an impressive pass on Bowers for second on Lap 1, using the momentum from a surge through the whoops to slip inside on the final corner and take the position. Stewart duplicated that pass in the same spot one lap later to take over the lead from Davalos, closing in through the whoops and making the pass on the inside of the turn before the finish. He opened a gap the following lap and never looked back, taking his second win of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s a lot of hard work [during the week] coming into these races. It’s starting to pay off now,” said Stewart. “[My] strategy is to not even focus on the points lead. That’s what I did tonight. Win or lose, I put it all out there [on the track]. It’s definitely better to go [to the last race] with a 14-point lead instead of a one-point lead, but anything can happen.”
Davalos settled into second and was never challenged by Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin, who passed Bowers for third on Lap 6 and maintained the position through to the finish.
“I had a good night,” said Davalos. “I’ll take a second, but I really wanted that win. I feel like Malcolm was just a little better than me tonight. I feel like I rode really consistent and I don’t have any excuses. I had a good start and my bike worked really well. I’m pumped with how everything went. I was 2nd in qualifying at practice. I’m lucky I was able to put in a solid 15 laps and end up with a 2nd place finish. I’m pretty pumped overall. I’m excited to race the west coast guys in Vegas next weekend and see what plays out. I’m hoping to end up in a good spot in Vegas and then get ready for outdoors.”
Stewart extended his points lead to 14 points over Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger, who started 15th but battled his way through the field to pass 10 riders an earn a fifth-place finish. Martin sits third, 19 points out of the lead. These three riders are the only ones with a mathematical shot at the championship heading into the final race next weekend, when the Eastern Regional Championship and Western Regional Championship converge in a head-to-head battle to crown a champion in each region.
The 2016 season will come to an end next Saturday, May 7, with the Monster Energy Supercross Finals from Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Results
- Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda
- Martin Davalos, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha
- Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha
- Tyler Bowers, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki
- Gannon Audette, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki
- Dakota Alix, Jay, Vt., KTM
- Luke Renzland, Hewitt, N.J., Yamaha
- Cedric Soubeyras, France, Kawasaki
Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship Standings
- Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Honda – 160
- Aaron Plessinger, Hamilton, Ohio, Yamaha – 146
- Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha – 141
- Martin Davalos, Clermont, Fla., Husqvarna – 130
- Shane McElrath, Canton, N.C., KTM – 109
- Tyler Bowers, Corona, Calif., Kawasaki – 108
- Gannon Audette, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki – 105
- RJ Hampshire, Brooksville, Fla., Honda – 99
- Anthony Rodriguez, Cairo, Ga., Kawasaki – 78
- Matt Bisceglia, Weatherford, Texas, Suzuki – 68
