Dungey Closes Out Supercross Season with Las Vegas Win in 100th Start
. By Bikeland Staff
In his 100th career start, Red Bull KTM's Ryan Dungey won his eighth Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, race of the season in front of 35,241 fans at Sam Boyd Stadium for the 2015 season finale. Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin led wire-to-wire en route to his first-ever Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout Championship, marking the sixth time this season that KTM has swept both Main Events.
Dungey led BTO Sports KTM's Justin Brayton and GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac across the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot line to kick off the 450SX Class Main Event. On the opening lap, Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha's Weston Peick moved into third place.
Out front, Dungey and Tomac traded positions on Lap 1, but on Lap 4 Tomac crashed while in pursuit, still able to remount in second place. Peick and Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports' Chad Reed engaged in a heated battle for third place on Lap 8, but Peick would hold his position and ride to his second podium finish of a year with a third place. Tomac finished second, his 11th podium of the season.
"We [Dungey and Tomac] really pushed the pace out there tonight and went back forth during the early part of the race" said Dungey. "This was a great year; I set a [personal] record for most wins in a season with eight and couldn't be happier."
Musquin, who won the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship last week, started the East/West Shootout with the SupercrossLive.com Holeshot Award. GEICO Honda riders RJ Hampshire and Malcolm Stewart followed in second and third, respectively.
Stewart passed Hampshire on the opening lap for second place. Hampshire held down the number three position until Lap 11, when his teammate Matt Bisceglia passed him and secured the final position on the podium. Stewart earned his best Las Vegas finish in second, besting his fifth-place finishes in 2011 and 2014. Musquin went on to dominate for his first victory in Sam Boyd Stadium in his final 250SX Class race.
"It's like a dream come true tonight," said Musquin. "I have never won in Las Vegas before and I used to watch this race back in the day when I was a kid, but tonight it's my turn. To win my very last supercross race on a 250cc [motorcycle] is awesome."
Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha's Cooper Webb, who won the Western Regional 250SX Class Championship, missed the Main Event after sustaining an injury during practice. Coming into tonight's race the Eastern and Western Regions were tied in Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout victories, and Musquin's win gave the Eastern Region the edge with the region's 10th win. Musquin closes out his 2015 campaign with seven victories.
HRT Racing's Vicki Golden made history this afternoon by becoming the first female in more than four decades of Monster Energy Supercross to qualify for the "Fast 40" - the riders that transition to the night program from timed qualifying - for tonight's 2015 finale at Sam Boyd Stadium and the 250SX Class' Dave Coombs Sr. East/West Shootout.
Tonight's race concludes the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross season. The first race of the 2016 season will take place on January 9 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
450SX Class Results: Las Vegas
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda
Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha
Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda
Josh Grant, Wildomar, Calif., Kawasaki
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki
Justin Barcia, Greenville, Fla., Yamaha
Justin Brayton, Mint Hill, N.C., KTM
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki
450SX Class Season Final Standings
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 390
Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda, 305
Cole Seely, Laguna Beach, Calif., Honda, 277
Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Kawasaki, 226
Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Suzuki, 223
Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda, 204
Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Husqvarna, 200
Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Suzuki, 194
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM, 180
Weston Peick, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha, 160