Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ryan Dungey rides to impressive 2nd overall finish at Hangtown MX National

Courtesy of KTM Racing

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ryan Dungey captured a pair of 2nd place moto finishes on Saturday to claim 2nd overall at the opening round of the 2016 AMA Pro Motocross Championship. In his American Motocross 450 Class debut, Marvin Musquin finished 8th overall on the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION.

With only one weekend off between the AMA Supercross finale and the opening round of American Motocross, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team switched gears with new bike set-up and much different track conditions outdoors.

Moto 1
In Moto 1, Ryan Dungey powered his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into a top three position off the start, where he quickly jumped into 2nd place behind Ken Roczen on lap two. His teammate, Marvin Musquin, got a great jump off the start to begin the race inside the top five.
With consistently fast lap times, Dungey chased Roczen down for the lead position throughout the entire 34-minute race but it wasn’t enough to close the gap that Roczen created right off the start.
Meanwhile, Musquin dropped back a few positions to ultimately finish 9th place in Moto 1.

Moto 2
In Moto 2, Dungey shot off the line to capture the holeshot but Roczen got around him to take over the early lead on lap one. From there, Dungey put forth a hard-fought effort to catch Roczen out front, where he came within a seconds of the leader at times. Despite a valiant effort, Dungey finished 2nd place in Moto 2, where he secured 2nd overall for the day.

“It was overall a really good way to begin the season,” Dungey said. “We want to win for sure but overall we’re just getting things started in outdoors, adapting to the bike and keeping the comfort from Supercross flowing into this summer. The speed was there, everything was there, and I trust the boys at KTM to keep advancing the bike and I’ll do the work on my side to get there.”

Musquin began Moto 2 outside the top ten but the 450 Class Rookie set his sights on moving through the pack. Musquin made a few passes to reach the 7th place position where set his sights on Justin Barcia in 6th. As the race wore on, Musquin was able to close the gap on Barcia but he wasn’t able to climb into another position before the checkered flag flew.

With moto scores of 9-7, Musquin secured 8th overall at the season opener.

“The first moto didn’t go as I wanted but we worked between the motos with the team and came out with good changes,” Musquin said. “I’m happy to finally race my first AMA 450 outdoor race and can’t wait to go to the next one! I know the season will be long and I want to keep improving.”

Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM start Motocross season with top-10 finishes

After a supercross season that had the riders spilt racing east and west coast divisions, the team was together again as the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship got underway at Hangtown MX in Northern California. Back from injury and away from a gate drop since January, Jessy Nelson grabbed the Moto 2 holeshot with his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION on his way to a 7-6 moto result for sixth overall. Teammate Mitchell Oldenburg joined Nelson in the top 10 with an 11-10 result that placed him 10th overall for the day.

Coming back after being sidelined with injury, Nelson looked as if he never missed a gate drop as he completed his first race since January in seventh. In Moto 2, he grabbed the holeshot, but the race was red flagged and the riders were sent back to the line for a full restart. But that didn’t deter him as Nelson grabbed another holeshot once Moto 2 was restarted. He led a majority of the race and ultimately came across the finish in sixth to secure sixth overall.

“I’ve been working really hard to be prepared for the competitive outdoor season and I think that I rode pretty well considering I wasn’t sure how I would stack up after being out so long,” said Nelson. “We have a good base to work off of for next weekend and I’m really looking forward to Glen Helen next weekend.”

After finishing the first moto in 11th, Oldenburg was set to put his KTM in the top 10 during Moto 2. The red flag ended up benefitting Oldenburg as he was collected in the first turn the first time around. After the restart, Oldenburg was 13th following the first lap and made his move forward to finish 10th in Moto 2 and claim 10th overall.

Alex Frye lined up for the first time at Hangtown MX and was quick to make a good impression on the rough circuit. Despite tough conditions in the opening moto, Frey claimed 10th. With a points paying finish in Moto 2 of 17th, he was able to finish 15th overall and leave Northern California with some added experience and a handful of points.

Like his teammate Nelson, Justin Hill was also coming back from injury sustained during the supercross season. His opening moto put him outside point-paying position in 21st, but he wasn’t about to go down without a fight in Moto 2. Even after starting outside the top 15, Hill quickly made his way through the pack to finish 13th and earn 16th overall.

Shane McElrath’s day started well as he battled hard in the opening moto to claim 18th. He was inside the top 10 in the second moto when he was forced to retire early with timing and scoring crediting him with 36th.

Next Race: May 28, 2016 – Glen Helen, CA (USA)

Results 450MX Class Hangtown 2016
1. Ken Roczen (GER), Suzuki (1-1)
2. Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM (2-2)
3. Eli Tomac (USA), Kawasaki (4-4)
4. Jason Anderson (USA), Husqvarna (6-3)
5. Trey Canard (USA), Honda (7-5)
Other KTM
8. Marvin Musquin (9-7)

Standings 450MX Class 2016 after 1 of 12 rounds
1. Roczen, 50 points
2. Dungey, 44
3. Tomac, 36
4. Anderson, 35
5. Canard, 30
Other KTM
8. Musquin, 26

Results 250MX Class Hangtown 2016
1. Joey Savatgy (USA), Kawasaki (1-1)
2. Alex Martin (USA), Yamaha (8-2)
3. Cooper Webb (USA), Yamaha (4-5)
4. Aaron Plessinger (USA), Yamaha (9-3)
5. Jeremy Martin (USA), Yamaha (3-9)
Other KTM
6. Jessy Nelson (USA), KTM (7-6)
10. Mitchell Oldenburg (USA), KTM (11-10)
15. Alex Frye (USA), KTM (10-17)
16. Justin Hill (USA), KTM (21-13)
23. Shane McElrath (USA), KTM (18-36)

Standings 250MX Class 2016 after 1 of 12 rounds
1. Savatgy, 50 points
2. Martin, 35
3. Webb, 34
4. Plessinger, 32
5. Martin, 32
Other KTM
6. Nelson, 29
10. Oldenburg, 21
16. Frye, 15
17. Hill, 8
23. McElrath, 3

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