Dungey’s victory marks the first for the KTM brand in the 450 Motocross class. This is the second milestone Dungey has accomplished for the European manufacturer this season. Dungey earned KTM its first Supercross win
at the Phoenix Supercross race earlier this season and now gave KTM its first 450 Motocross overall win just a few months later.
At the start of the first moto, Dungey jumped off the line to a 6th place start. He used the first lap to quickly pass two riders to move up to 4th place. On the second lap he made a nice pass on Jake Weimer to take over 3rd position. As he started the third lap he caught up to James Stewart and both of them made a pass on Tommy Hahn to take over 1st and 2nd place respectively after the finish line jump. A few corners later, Stewart suffered a crash and Dungey was able to move around and take the lead. Dungey went on to lead the remaining laps to win by a gap of 22 seconds at the end of the moto.
Dungey followed up his first moto win with a second victory in the next moto. This time, Dungey nailed the holeshot and put his KTM up front early. He led every lap of the 16 lap race and took the moto win and 1st overall for the day. Dungey’s win at Thunder Valley moved him and his KTM 450 SX-F into 1st place in the overall point standings.
“I'm really happy to give Red Bull/KTM its first overall 450 Motocross win in the US. It’s great to be a part of something that's full of firsts. Everyone on the team works really hard and we receive tons of support from KTM worldwide,” remarked Dungey after his win. “No rider ever likes to see anybody get hurt and I really hope James (Stewart) is okay after his crash in the first moto. While pursuing championships it always comes down to staying healthy and being there every week and I plan to keep pushing forward and taking each race one and at time. We are heading to High Point Raceway next week and I have always liked that track and am looking forward to another good race.”
Next Race: High Point Raceway, Mt. Morris, PA – June 9, 2012
Results 450 Motocross Class Thunder Valley
1. Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM – 1-1
2. Jake Weimer (USA), Kawasaki – 2-4
3. Andrew Short (USA), Honda – 7-2
4. Nico Izzi (USA), Yamaha – 5-5
5. Brett Metcalfe (USA), Suzuki – 3-10
Standings 450 Motocross Class after 3 of 12 rounds
1. Dungey, 136 points
2. Weimer, 101
3. James Stewart (USA), Suzuki, 100
4. Mike Alessi (USA), Suzuki, 100
5. Short, 97
Credits: KTM Press release
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