Successful start to the AMA Supercross season for KTM Factory Racing teams

Courtesy of KTM North America

It was a successful start to the season for KTM’s Factory Racing teams as the Red Bull KTM duo of Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin captured two podium finishes in the premier 450SX class, while Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM’s Shane McElrath earned his first-career victory with a dominant performance in the 250SX Main Event.

Marvin Musquin kicked off the day with an impressive performance in the timed qualifying sessions, where he assumed the top position heading into the evening’s heat races. Musquin lined up alongside Ryan Dungey in Heat 2, each aboard a KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION machine. Both riders put themselves into a favorable position off the start where they charged ahead to ultimately capture 2nd (Dungey) and 3rd (Musquin) in the heat race.

The team’s newest member, Trey Canard, made his official racing debut with the team on Saturday aboard the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION. However, Canard struggled in his heat, semi-final and LCQ races due to a sore shoulder sustained in crash during the afternoon practice session. Following a discussion with the team after the parade lap, Canard decided to not line up for the Main Event.

Main Event
Musquin got off to a great start aboard his KTM as he battled with Ken Roczen for the holeshot. While Roczen assumed the early lead, Musquin tucked in close behind for the 2nd place position, while Dungey jumped into a top-five position on the opening lap.
By the halfway point Dungey had worked his way into the 2nd place position, while Musquin briefly dropped back a position to Eli Tomac. However, the Frenchmen immediately charged back to reclaim his podium position by lap 12.
Dungey maintained a solid 2nd place position for the remainder of the race while Musquin put on a late-in-the-race charge to catch up to his teammate. After 20 laps of racing, Dungey crossed the finish line to capture 2nd overall at the season opener.

Dungey: “It was my first time back on the gate in a while but no excuses, I feel like we’re off to a pretty decent start. I’m happy with the ride and I’m excited to move forward this season. The track was rough and tough tonight, it would reach out and bite you if you weren’t careful. Kenny was riding really well tonight, I didn’t have anything for him. The start was key and you had to get out there and go right off the bat.”

Musquin held strong in the final moments of the race to finish just over one second behind Dungey to capture 3rd place at the season opener.

Musquin: “It feels really good to be on the podium tonight, especially at Anaheim I, it was big. I knew I was capable and it’s just really awesome to see the work that we put in while in Florida pay off. It was a tough track tonight so I’m really happy to be on the podium and I’m looking forward to making some more adjustments with the bike and continuing the momentum.”

250SX West Class
TLD Red Bull KTM’s Shane McElrath powered his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION into favorable position off the start, capturing the holeshot and the early lead. His teammate, Mitchell 

Oldenburg, settled into a top five position on the opening lap where he set his sights on a podium position. After 15 laps of racing McElrath emerged victorious to capture the first-career victory in the 250SX class. Oldenburg held tough to finish just off the podium with a 4th place position at the opening round.

McElrath: “That’s what we do during the week – practice with our teammates and try to race hard with people behind you pressuring you. It was tough to be consistent lap after lap – the track was pretty tough but when you make a mistake you just kind of shake it off and try not to let the nerves get to you. We definitely put in the work, we didn’t have high expectations but we knew what we had to do.”


Next Round: January 14, 2017 – San Diego, CA (USA)
Results/Standings 450SX Class Anaheim 1 2017 after 1 of 18 rounds
1. Ken Roczen (GER), Honda, 21:08.409 min, 25 points (20 laps)
2. Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM, +16.200 sec, 22
3. Marvin Musquin (FRA), KTM, +17.598, 20
4. Jason Anderson (USA), Husqvarna, +25.990, 18
5. Eli Tomac (USA), Kawasaki, +28.869, 16
Other KTM
7. David Millsaps (USA), KTM, +41.678, 14
DNS Trey Canard (USA), KTM


Results/Standings 250SX West Class Anaheim 1 2017 after 1 of 9 rounds
1. Shane McElrath (USA), KTM, 16:11.289 min, 25 points (15 laps)
2. Aaron Plessinger (USA), Yamaha, +2.299 sec, 22
3. Martin Davalos (USA), Husqvarna, +10.779, 20
4. Mitchell Oldenburg (USA), KTM, +13.249, 18
5. Justin Hill (USA), Kawasaki, +16.829, 16

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