Supercross Rd. 3: Roczen Wins 250; Dungey Third 450s
OutdoorHub 01.28.13
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Ken Roczen of Germany took his first win of the 2013 Supercross West 250SX Series while teammate Ryan Dungey was on the podium in third in the 450 cc class at Round 4 of the series in Oakland’s O. Co Coliseum.
Roczen was again fastest in the afternoon practices and went on to take his heat win, his fourth in the heats this season. The German teenager then got away well in the main event and was nicely placed at third in the first corner.
He quickly moved around fellow KTM rider Joey Savatgy to move into second on the first lap and began to close the gap on the lead ride of Cole Seely. Then as they approached the finish line jump, Roczen made a mistake and landed on an inside tuff block. This launched him straight into the face of the finish line jump. He came right off the bike as he rolled over the jump but managed to stay in control, remounted and held onto second place.
From then on Roczen made no mistakes and slowly closed the gap on Seely. He took the lead with three laps to go, went on to register his first victory of the 2013 season and is now in front in the championship points. He starts with the coveted red plate in the next round (Anaheim 3) February 2, 2013.
Good night for Dungey
Ryan Dungey laid down the fastest lap in the final 450-class practice session of the day and went on to race in the first heat. He was third at the start, advanced to second and carried the position to the flag to easily qualify for the main event.
But it was in the eventful main that Dungey unrolled his great comeback power. He rounded the first corner in a good position in the middle of the pack but then Chad Reed crashed going into the second corner and took out multiple riders. The riders tumbled around Dungey and his bike got pushed to the outside of the track. He maintained his cool to move around the fallen riders but lost ground and was then near the back. He then had to open the throttle and work hard to get back in the top ten in the next laps. At the halfway point he had moved into the top five, and started to make a move on the top riders. One lap later he passed Mike Alessi to move into fourth and slipped by Justin Brayton into a podium spot in the next lap.
Dungey continued to close the gap on the second placed Davi Millsaps right to the finish. He crossed the finish line just a few bike lengths behind him to pick up his second podium of the season. Dungey’s speed was definitely evident to all who watched him in Oakland and his determination to get back up front landed him a podium spot. Now four rounds into the season, he sits fourth overall in the point standings.
