Roczen and Dungey Finish 1-2 at Muddy Creek National
OutdoorHub 06.30.14
Red Bull KTM Factory riders Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey split moto wins in Rd. 5 of the US Pro MX Championship series at the Muddy Creek National to finish 1-2 overall in the 450-class at Blountville, Tennessee.
The two KTM riders in the 450-class lead the points standings after Rd. 5 with Roczen of Germany on 230 and Dungey on 214. Roczen is in his rookie year in the senior class. Both riders are racing with the KTM 450 SX-F factory machines. KTM rider Andrew Short finished fifth overall to give the Austrian brand three riders in the top five.
Red Bull KTM’s French rider Marvin Musquin continued to make a good comeback in the 250-class with an overall fifth to move into the sixth place in the points standings. Musquin rides the KTM 250 SX-F.
Both Roczen and Dungey got away well in their opening moto. Roczen hit the front in lap two but a crash half a lap later saw him slip back to fourth place, allowing Eli Tomac, Trey Canard and Dungey to go by. He scrambled back into the action, moved onto Dungey’s wheel and the two teammates started to pressure the top two riders. They quickly moved up to the front of the pack and began to pull away from the rest of the field.
Dungey and Roczen stayed close together for most of the race but Roczen crashed again with three laps to go. He conceded some space to his teammate but was back on his bike without losing second place. Dungey went on to take the moto win with Roczen some 10 seconds behind in second.
Dungey was quick out of the gates in the second moto and grabbed the holeshot only to see Roczen snatch the lead in the opening lap. The two KTM riders went on to pull a massive lead on the rest of the field until near the end of the moto when lappers slowed down their action and allowed the gap to narrow somewhat. Roczen claimed the second moto win ahead of Dungey and the KTM riders were an impressive full minute ahead of the third place finisher.
“I think having Ryan (Dungey) push me the whole moto today helped us both stretch our lead out front,” Roczen said after the second moto. “We’ve both been training hard and it is showing on the track.”
Roczen took the overall glory for Rd. 5 by virtue of his 2-1 results with Dungey in second on 1-2.
After the race, Dungey commented: “I’ve been able to train in the hot weather lately and that really paid off for me today. The bike felt great and I got off to good starts in both motos. The lappers definitely made a difference in the second moto but I am glad to run up front with my teammate and to see both Red Bull KTM bikes on the top of the box.”
Musquin picks up a solid fifth in 250-class
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Marvin Musquin continued his strong comeback to racing after a long injury pause with an impressive ride in the 250 class. He picked up two fifth places in his two motos for fifth overall at is now sixth in the points standings five rounds into the season.
Musquin had to fight for his fifth place in his opening moto after a poor start that saw him back at fifteenth place in the opening lap. But he steadily worked his way through the pack, was in seventh at the half way mark and had already set his sights on the next two riders. He moved around Cole Seely and Justin Hill in the next lap, pulled away and hung onto the position right through to the flag.
In the second moto Musquin got off to a much better start and was in sixth place in the opening lap. By lap three he had already moved into fifth place. He maintained the position for the rest of the race, while still edging closer to the fourth placed rider. Musquin’s 5-5 moto result gave him fifth overall.
Next Event: Red Bud – Buchanan, MI – July 5, 2014
