Supercross Rider Round Up Pre Detroit

KTM Seeks Continued Supercross Dominance with Dungey and Musquin
Detroit Supercross Track Layout Will Bring Riders into the Stands at Ford Field

For the past three weeks, Monster Energy AMA Supercross has been about two riders – Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin. The Red Bull KTM teammates have put a stranglehold on their respective divisions by winning three straight races and four of the last five Main Events.

Dungey’s dominant run has helped him open up a 45-point lead in the 450SX Class point standings, while Musquin’s advantage in the Eastern Regional 250SX Class has grown to 16 points.

As the championship heads to the “Motor City” of Detroit this weekend, the world’s best riders will have the unique opportunity to race up into the stands at Ford Field as the track layout pays homage to the iconic trademark of many races held at the old Pontiac Silverdome. Both Dungey and Musquin will be in search of their first Supercross wins at the facility in their respective classes.

450SX Class

Red Bull KTM
#5 Ryan Dungey
Current Championship Position: 1st
Indianapolis Start: 1st
Indianapolis Finish: 1st (+/-0)
2015 Average Finish: 1.9

Dungey has tied his career best of five wins in a season and is in search of his first 450SX Class victory in Detroit. He did win inside Ford Field during his rookie 2007 season. Dungey is currently in the midst of a 10-race podium streak.

“I’m taking every race one at a time,” said Dungey. “It’s a long series and you can’t get too far ahead of yourself. I owe everything to my team and the man above. The Indianapolis track was really tough [last week]. Everyone was running the same pace and it provided a good challenge. The start was key, and luckily, I got a good one.”

Team Honda HRC
#41 Trey Canard
Current Championship Position: 2nd (-45 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 11th
Indianapolis Finish: 3rd (+8)
2015 Average Finish: 4.3

Canard overcame a tough start in Indianapolis to land on the podium and has earned four third-place finishes over the last five races. He’ll be in search of his first win since San Diego, hoping to chip away at his deficit in the championship.

“[Indianapolis] could’ve gone better but it also could’ve gone worse, so overall I’m grateful to be walking away healthy,” said Canard. “I had a scary crash in practice, then went down in the first turn of my Heat Race and had to transfer through the Semi. That gave me a bad gate pick for the Main and I had to line up pretty far to the outside. Again I didn’t get a great start, so I just tried to make passes as early as possible and work my way through the pack. I made my way into third, but by that time the front guys were pretty far apart. I’m happy with a podium, but it’s a bummer that I let Dungey get away with more valuable points. I’m even happier for my teammate Cole; he rode awesome and really deserved [to finish second].”

#14 Cole Seely
Current Championship Position: 4th (-89 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 2nd
Indianapolis Finish: 2nd (+/-0)
2015 Average Finish: 7.2

Seely tied his career-best finish of second in Indianapolis, which is also where he earned his first podium finish in the 450SX Class last season. The strong ride moved him up to fourth in the championship standings, just nine points out of third.

“It’s my rookie season and I can’t complain about a podium,” said Seely. “It’s been a great year of learning and gaining experience among some of the greatest riders. When I was behind [Ryan] Dungey, I tried to be patient and wait for a mistake, but that’s a bit rare with him. I knew if I stayed close I could learn a lot and I’m happy overall with how I rode. The last couple weekends I’ve felt really spunky and have a lot of energy on the bike, which I think is showing in my riding. I’ve been trying not to overdo my training during the week so that I can come into the weekend fresh and excited to ride. Everyone has been really great supporting me this season, and I’m thankful for the group I have in my corner.”

Trey Canard and Cole Seely on the podium at Indianapolis

GEICO Honda
#3 Eli Tomac
Current Championship Position: 3rd (-80 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 4th
Indianapolis Finish: 11th (-7)
2015 Average Finish: 7.1

Tomac’s speed has been as consistent as ever, but misfortune has resulted in a pair of finishes outside the top-10 over the last month. As a result, he’s lost valuable ground to the lead pair in the championship standings and is less than 10 points ahead of fourth.

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“I owe it to my team, my sponsors, and myself to race to the end,” said Tomac, after finishing 11th in Indianapolis. “I wasn’t trying to prove a point or anything like that. I was simply riding as hard as I could to the checkered flag to get the best result I could. In Indianapolis, it was 11th. We were pretty fast there. Indianapolis was pretty good to me last year, and we were hoping to get on the podium again, but that wasn’t in the plans this time around. We’ll try to get back on the podium in Detroit.”

Eli Tomac and Broc Tickle battle at Indy

RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Suzuki Factory Racing
#94 Ken Roczen
Current Championship Position: 5th (-93 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: DNS
Indianapolis Finish: DNS
2015 Average Finish: 5.9 (9 Races)

Roczen is sidelined with an ankle injury and hopes to return to competition in Houston on April 11th.

Ken Roczen — Roczen will have to watch from the sidelines

#20 Broc Tickle
Current Championship Position: 10th (-129 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 13th
Indianapolis Finish: 8th (+5)
2015 Average Finish: 9.3 (10 Races)

Tickle earned his sixth straight top-10 finish in Indianapolis and now heads to his hometown race in Detroit looking to improve upon his season-best fourth-place finish.

“We made progress each time we went out [in Indianapolis] but I still struggled with speed a little bit,” said Tickle. “I was really looking forward to Indianapolis because I finished fifth last year. I knew that the track was going to be really rutted and normally I excel in those conditions. I wanted to put 20 solid laps together, which I feel like I did, but I was still off the pace a little bit. I’ve been training pretty hard during the week so I’m hoping a little bit of rest will re-energize me for the Detroit supercross this weekend. I need to be stronger during the middle stages and at the end of the Main. I felt like I struggled toward the end of the race and normally that’s not the case for me. That tells me I might be doing a little too much during the week.”

Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports
#22 Chad Reed
Current Championship Position: 6th (-97 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 20th
Indianapolis Finish: 9th (+11)
2015 Average Finish: 8.0

Since winning at the first race in Atlanta, Reed has earned mixed results of seventh, fifth and ninth the last three weeks. He is just four points away from taking control of fifth in the championship standings.

Chad Reed had to battle back through the pack at Indy after an early fall

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
#21 Jason Anderson
Current Championship Position: 7th (-105 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 15th
Indianapolis Finish: 17th (-2)
2015 Average Finish: 8.2

Anderson’s impressive distinction of being one of just two riders to finish inside the top-10 at every race this season came to an end in Indianapolis.

“The whole day [in Indianapolis] was kind of weird, I just didn’t feel good at all,” said Anderson. “I went into the Main hoping to recover and still make a good day out of it and ended having two pretty good crashes. I’m going to just try and forget about last weekend and come back next weekend.”

Yoshimura Suzuki
#4 Blake Baggett
Current Championship Position: 8th (-108 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 10th
Indianapolis Finish: 15th (-5)
2015 Average Finish: 8.5

After stringing together eight straight top-10 finishes, including his first career podium result, Baggett was hit with misfortune in Indianapolis and finished 15th. He’s just three points from taking over seventh in the standings.

“The [Indianapolis] track was super-technical with a lot of ruts,” said Baggett. “But the bike setup we found was working really well. Things were going good, I was working my way towards the front and I just made a mistake, caught a rock and went down. I was stuck under the bike for a whole lap and just had to wait until someone came over and got it off me. The whole time the bike was still running and the chain was grinding away on me and I was pinned down. I got up and was a lap down and did the best I could. I’m going to come back strong next weekend and see what we’ve got.”

BTO Sports KTM
#29 Andrew Short
Current Championship Position: 9th (-125 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 3rd
Indianapolis Finish: 6th
2015 Average Finish: 9.8

Another strong start allowed Short to earn his first top-10 finish since the first race in Atlanta.

“Indianapolis was a step in the right direction, but I don’t think anyone felt completely comfortable on the rutted technical track, including myself,” said Short. “My starts were very good and that put me in a great position all night. I still don’t feel like I’m 100% where I want to be but sixth was a great accomplishment for me and the team after the past two rough weekends.”

Eastern Regional 250SX Class

Red Bull KTM
#25 Marvin Musquin
Current Championship Position: 1st
Indianapolis Start: 2nd
Indianapolis Finish: 1st (+1)
2015 Average Finish: 1.2

Musquin has finished no worse than second in five Eastern Regional 250SX Class races.

“My bike was flawless [in Indianapolis],” said Musquin. “I was very excited to get a win there and stretch my point lead. I haven’t lost the red plate yet and I am excited to keep it heading to the next round.”

GEICO Honda
#1 Justin Bogle
Current Championship Position: 2nd (-16 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 3rd
Indianapolis Finish: 2nd (+1)
2015 Average Finish: 2.4

Bogle has done what he’s needed to do in terms of consistency to defend his Eastern Regional title, finishing on the podium at every race thus far. However, the pace Musquin has set has put Bogle at a double-digit deficit just five races into the season.

“[Indianapolis] was good and bad for me,” said Bogle. “I felt awesome all day long on the bike. In fact, qualifying was the best I have felt all year. The Heat Race was spot on. I got the holeshot and was able to check out. I’m just thankful I get to do what I love for a living and that I’m out here enjoying myself. Coming away second after the way my Main Event went, I’ll take that.”

#80 RJ Hampshire
Current Championship Position: 4th (-48 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 5th
Indianapolis Finish: 3rd (+2)
2015 Average Finish: 6.6

Hampshire, a graduate of Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross in AMSOIL Arenacross, earned the first podium finish of his career.

“I’m very excited and Indianapolis was a great for me,” said Hampshire. “I couldn’t be more excited to get my first podium. I was feeling great after my fifth last weekend at my home race in Daytona. I got second in the Heat Race [in Indianapolis] and got a good start in the Main, and kept pushing to the front. I was mainly focused on getting in the top-10, so it was a huge bonus to make it to the podium. I went from being very hurt to fifth and now third. My goal every weekend is to be in the top-10 and put my best into every lap for my team.”

Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha
#6 Jeremy Martin
Current Championship Position: 3rd (-37 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: DNS
Indianapolis Finish: DNS
2015 Average Finish: 2.5 (4 Races)

Martin entered Indianapolis second in the championship standings, but after to failing to qualify for the Main Event he lost valuable points and dropped to third.

#62 Anthony Rodriquez
Current Championship Position: 10th (-83 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 8th
Indianapolis Finish: 16th (-8)
2015 Average Finish: 10.6

Rodriguez has recorded three straight eighth-place finishes heading into Indianapolis, but saw that streak come to an end with finish outside the top-10.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
#37 Joey Savatgy
Current Championship Position: 5th (-49 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 4th
Indianapolis Finish: 20th (-16)
2015 Average Finish: 7.2

Savatgy was running a solid third in Indianapolis before encountering issues that forced him to record a DNF.

“That was obviously not the result I wanted [in Indianapolis],” said Savatgy. “I was feeling really good coming into the race. I had a good week of training and was confident all day. I know we showed we can be right up at the front and I want to get back on the podium.”

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
#47 Martin Davalos
Current Championship Position: 6th (-60 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 1st
Indianapolis Finish: 15th (-14)
2015 Average Finish: 8.8

Davalos, a lead contender for the Eastern Regional 250SX Class title last season, discovered heading into Indianapolis that he has the Epstein-Barr virus, which severely hinders energy and endurance.

“Indianapolis started off just trying to get through the day,” said Davalos. “I’ve been struggling with my health since January, and I felt like I couldn’t recover. I figured after I broke my foot and had so much time off that my body was just trying to adjust again. I didn’t have any adrenaline or fire in me and that’s not me; I usually have too much of that. I went to the doctor to get checked out and I have a flare of Epstein-Barr. That kind of put my body into a shock and my blood levels are insufficient. I’m just trying to get myself back going and I don’t want to get worse. I’m struggling with energy and my adrenal glands aren’t working. I told myself that I would save myself for the Main and that’s exactly what we did. I got a great start in the Main, the bike was working awesome, but I’m just not on point. I’m making little mistakes and not really clearing stuff like I should. That kind of took me off the podium. I feel like I could have been on the box [in Indianapolis].”

Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
#45 Vince Friese
Current Championship Position: 7th (-64 behind leader)
Indianapolis Start: 6th
Indianapolis Finish: 9th (-3)
2015 Average Finish: 9.4

Friese crashed during practice in Indianapolis, cracking his collarbone. He raced despite the injury and was able to battle his way to a top-10 finish.