by Aaron Hansel
The Moment: A2
Sunday, February 6, 2011 | 6:20 PM
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PrintRyan Dungey didn’t come into the 2011 season with both guns blazing. At the opener, he took second, then finished in fifth at Phoenix. He took two podiums by finishing third in Los Angeles and Oakland, but he still hadn’t been able to stand on top of the podium. But while Dungey wasn't winning the races, his consistent finishes were at least keeping him in the hunt in case Ryan Villopoto or James Stewart threw out a huge crash or mistake, he'd be able to quickly make up any of the ground he'd lost through the first few races.
Ryan Dungey is going to have to dig deep.
Cudby photo
And at A2, the night was shaping up well for Dungey. He was the fastest man in qualifying, and won his heat race by taking the holeshot and leading every single lap. That’s as far as it would go for Dungey though, and when the main got underway, he found himself mid-pack after a mediocre start. He put his head down and fought to make up ground on the leaders, but on lap eight, disaster struck. A bobble in the corner right before the finish line jump sent Dungey off the track and into a Tuff Block. He didn’t lay it down, but his chain had somehow derailed in the incident, and in that moment, Dungey’s night came to a swift and sudden end. Stunned at what had just happened, all Dungey could do was bury his helmet in his arms on the seat of his broken motorcycle, crestfallen.
A DNF stings enough, but this was also devastating for Dungey’s bid for a second title. Coming into A2, he was 14 points out of first place. Now, he sits 38 points out of the lead, and has a much larger hole to climb out of. It’s not going to be an easy task, especially when you consider the fact that he’s going to have to go through guys like James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, Chad Reed, and Trey Canard to do it.
Consistency is not going to cut it for Dungey anymore. This is a disasterous scenario, and if Dungey was holding anything back in the early rounds, it's too late for that. And if he wasn't--if he simply doesn't have the speed to mount a win streak against this field, his championship hopes are dashed.
So this is an opportunity for Ryan Dungey to show just how hard he can fight. Last year, he seemed to find good fortune at every turn. This year, he's the first to face adversity. If there was ever an occasion to harden one’s resolve and dig deep, this is it. The time is now, Ryan. Show us what you got.
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end of " dungey rulles"...The champ is back..
I love how people are actually happy that misfortune fell upon Dungey (dodong galia = "typical internet mx/sx fan"). I dont see this being the end of Dungey's season though, at least now with the pressure off we might get to see him just focus on getting race wins, which wont be easy, but I think he is capable.
I have never heard of a chain breaking in the pro ranks ?
it didn't say his chain 'broke'.
it said derailed. big difference.
Well Mechanic, actually the chain didn't break, it derailed. Still odd though ...
On another note I remember Ward was sitting on the line to get ready for a SX race and his throttle cable broke. Strange things can happen ...
Someone start molding the crown for King James...
Ryan Hughes broke a chain outdoors a while ago and had pictures in ads for a while of him pushing his bike. I guess if youve only been a fan of motocross for a couple years you wouldnt know this or much else about the sport.
Dungey losing the chain and not getting points spelled the end for him and the title unless something extreme happens. And I hope it doesnt because it means injuries. And we dont need that.
While I don't necessarily take pleasure in Dungey's misfortune, it does seem a bit like justice to me, and justice has a naturally pleasing taste too. I really liked Dungey when he first came on the scene because it was cool to see a kid picked out of relative obscurity who obviously has a ton of talent do well. I rooted for him all through his 250 campaigns, but I never felt like he legitimately earned his 450 championships, at least not in the way that real champions of the past had (by defeating the current top contenders in the sport of their respective times). And yet he enjoyed all the spoils of a true champion and that has always just seemed a little wrong to me. Call it what you will, it just seems now that everything is being put back into it's proper place finally. I know a derailed chain isn't his fault, but something about the dominance of Stewart seems to make having bad luck like that much easier to do for all those behind him. Stewart gets out front and guys like RV tip over in turns, and Dungey's chain derails, etc. Maybe it's just the natural order of the universe making things right again.
That derailed chain is his fault! Shouldn't have bobbled in that turn.
if the chain twisted at all when it derailed it would have been useless to try and put it back on. if he did try and race with it he would have been on his head in less then a lap.
chains derail all the time it had nothing to do with anything dungey did.
The monster girls were lookin pretty good this time, was it just for the breast cancer theme, or did they totally do away with the skank factor?
@drj779 What? ""Chains derail all the time and it had nothing to do with what Dungey did?"" WTF are you talking about? I've ridden many dirtbikes for decades and have not had a chain derail since forever ago. It just doesn't happen that often. Modern dirtbikes aren't the same as bicycles. duh!! J-rock has it right. It's Dungey's fault the chain came off....
Hmm I thought after the jump into the finish line turn it came off? It looked like he rode over the tough block after it fel offl. He had already slowed down a lot. Its not even halfway through the season,if he can just ride like he knows how he can keep his title! I also don't it when people say he "didn't earn" his titles. The other "main" riders crashed. Was the season suppose to end because they were out?!? Oh JS hurts his hand lets cancel supercross! C'mon people! He won his races,stayed consistence and did the work!
I don't know where everyone got the idea Dungey was soo good (don't get me wrong, I realize all these guys are amazing). I actually started not liking him because of all the band wagon action that was going on (case in point: this feature is on a guy that is 3rd in points and hasn't came close to winning yet). The fact still remains that he is yet to out race Stewart, Villapoto, or even the aging Reed. Now that he is so far back I can actually start rooting for him and Im excited to see if he can have the same fire on the track that he shows training at home.
Aaron Hansel, are you blind? before you write a story. watch the race. his chain fell off before the corner. And i am so happy it did. I strongly dislike dungey. He will never win another championship. he was getting them handed to him. Pourcel had him until his motor blew up at southwick. its just stupid stuff like that that make me not respect him. I loved watching the pre show where RC MC and the rest picked him to win this year. are you kidding? eat your words GOAT. Ryan Villopoto or James Stewart would never sit behind andrew short for 9laps in an outdoor race like Dungey does. GO James.....shut them all up
How about The Moment: Stewart was doing stuff on the track that no one else In The World could do.
I'm guessing your not very fast are you wtfman by the way that is the gayest screen name ever.
It wasn't Dungey's fault it was his mechanics.
Lightning has struck for Dungey like no one else in the history of sx/mx. Pourcel's bike malfunction in 09, the duel champ take out and season ending crash of his win streaking top competitor. There is no way that he can curse the heavens for anything for the rest of his life.
Racer-x, here is a suggestion for your new site. In the archive area, add an input box, where people can manually enter a number to navigate to. I want to research 2006 stats, and it appears as if I am expected to navigate one (or 4, whatever) at a time.
Or better yet, input a date, or a series, to get there. The archives in the old site were much easier to use.
The clowns are in full force out here. First, Dungey's chain came off before he went off the track. He landed, looked back to check traffic, and rolled off the track. Doesn't happen often these days; used to be much more common. But it can happen. The guy that likely can't ride half as fast or hard as Dungey has nothing to say on the matter (though he may think so). Also, Dungey has beaten Pourcel and Villopoto many times. It's no more his fault that Pourcel broke in '09 or that Stewart, Reed and Villo all hurt themselves last year than it is that his chain came off. To say, at barely 21, that Dungey will never win again is just foolishness. Time will tell. But it's clear that the haters will never win ANYTHING. They'll take it out on truly talented individuals on these message boards, but athletes like Dungey need only laugh - all the way to the bank ... and to many more trophy presentations.
So, SpottedMarley. What do you call all of Stewart's titles? He never dethroned the competition, he had to payoff RC to actually win a big bike title. Even when RC was retired he come back for a few races and showed the world what was up and SMOKED JS, by huge margins.
Guess Stew is just another bum on the gate with Dungey, ehh?
JCaro you are a moron! If you listened to last weeks race Ricky Carmichael said that James Stewart was faster than him in supercross but he (Ricky) knew he could win by putting pressure on James and forcing him into mistakes. The Friggin Goat says that James is the fastest man to ever go around a supercross track!!! 40 AMA supercross wins and 100 plus amatuer titles and a 24 of 24 moto pefect season ain't bad either. How many titles do you have?
sef, if you're refering to me I never said he'll never win again, I said he will have to step out of his comfort zone to do it against top competion when they are healthy. I'm not saying he can't I just haven't seen it yet and I actually hope he can. And Jcaro, in the time when RC and JS raced sx together James never lost unless he crashed and I'm sure his win percentage was higher when they lined up together.
Dungey did have a good year in 2010. Granted there were alot of big players out( js7, cr22, rv2) really everyone that had a really good chance at the title for 2010..he still rode really well...Now would he have won his rookie season with a full and healthy field?? No! Js7 is just too fast for him and Villopoto would push Dungey beyond his limits to make him really earn every second. Lets face it Stewart is riding like the Bubba of old this season. Villopoto is also really fast but is making some mistakes and giving races away... But these guys all have factory support and you expect them to be that fast and win races.....I have the most respect for Chad Reed and his TWO TWO MOTORSPORTS team... That is now sitting in 3rd place in the points... Beating Dungey on the factory team...... He is a privateer out there riding on his own money.... And before people start saying it Yes i know he hasn't won a race but he has only place out of the top 5 once and has been on the podium twice in two rounds straight. ... Dungey just can't hack it this year but now at least he can use the excuse of what happened at a2 this weekend as the reason he isn't going to keep his title... No matter what he will always bring up what happened @ A2 And how it kept him out of it this year!!! There is still 12 rounds left and i can't wait to see these top three battle it out!!
this forum is a joke. it's not about racing, it's about a bunch of wannabe has beens critiquing what everyone is doing. I suppose you all would have called better plays for the Steeler tonight and won the superbowl also. Facts are Facts, These guy line up to race! It's their job to make it to the start gate everyweeks and their's no WHAT IF's in MX. James Beat Ricky Straight up, Chad beat Ricky straight up, Ricky beat chad and James straight up. Mcgrath slautered Ricky in 2000 and the got slaughtered by him in 01. These are all great champions so who care which one would have done what better... At the end of the day....1000 years from now they will all be in the Hall of Fame as CHAMPIONS!!!
Ask Andy Schleck about chains coming off. Blew his chance at the Tour
Sucks for RD
isnt that the point u have to finish to win? kudos to 154 and karo all year people have bragged up RV but if they recall dungy won enough races and oh remember the nasty jump reed complained was too dangerous that cost RV his leg but dungy did every lap! HMM i do believe RD has been riding not to lose it so far but he had the speed at A2 just still no holeshot which is not normal pre 2011
I like RD and he is obviously a strong rider, but listening to him makes me think he skipped English class. He can't complete a sentence before he starts another. Is he just another example of our failing education system?
Mechanics81 that is the best stuff I have heard in here for a long time.They are all champd and one is not better than another. We may like one better than the other, but the fact is I race with my 7 year old at least twice a month. And with that said, I have RESPECT for ALL Racers. I'm a 7 fan and my son is a 5 fan, but at the end of the day we love motocross. All this crying that goes on in here is a joke, and I almost got caught up in it (sorry bd200). Racing is racing ,like it or not someone is out there that does not like your rider. Get over it and race! That is what I'm going to do.
Where the heck is Josh Hill?
Referring to racerx cover a month or two ago where you guys had talked about ryan dungey being the fastest man on the planet... u guys are idiots. Dungey has yet to beat the two fastest riders in the U.S. yet
I would have had some mad respect for Dungey if he would have at least asked Goose to thow the chain back on. Yes I KNOW if it would have came off on the face of a jump..... blah blah. Call Ryno up and ask him what he would have done.
as in last weekend or are u referring to chad reed and js as the 2 fastest
I wouldnt count him out yet. Granite, bubba, RV, and Chad are charging, really posting great laps, and having really good races. I feel for Dungy and having the the pressure of having the fastest people in the sport to defend your title for. Some may say that he had it easy but like several others have said he still won SX and Outdoors with plenty of good talent to oppose him. i hope he gets back into the grove of things and makes watching SX exciting. Id rather see a battle for the top three if not top five instead of a blowout.
10-4 mr burger id hoped even canard and grant would mingle and mess things up front i am a fan of all but defend dungey often oh and alot off posts also forget the fact not only did he win, but he raced a full season last year unlike.....
Good god you guys, you make it sound like it was RD fault RV, JS and CR got hurt. What was he to do, not race anymore then who would you be hatin on, KW or Short? When was the last time you saw a rider push his own bike all the way out of the track? Most would throw it to the ground and let the mechanic deal with it. Hey I got an idea, before you bash someone you have to give your full name and all of your accomplishments in racing so we know what your talking about.
as he botttom out on the last single his chain was tightened by the suspension bottoming and pulling on the chain and it wasnt perfect in line it derailed of the rear tire sprocket
plain and simple mechanics
enough for one weekend but when exactly did james beat the goat straight up ??
Garjan111....AMEN....well put
Good Job, Ken Rozcen, for getting third place!!! This kid is for real and he should stay in the US for a whole season of Supercross and Outdoor racing....
Dig skid get on youtube and start watching some of the 06 supercrosses...Stewart only lost the title by 2 points to RC. Stewart beat him straigh up many times that year if you watch the races. Stewart would stalk RC for about 17 laps and then strike so that RC couldn't pass him back before the finish. Infact if Jeremy Mcgrath would not of knocked Stewie off the track on the holeshot In Anaheim... James would have got the 2 extra points and probably the title. Mcgrath and Stewie don't like each other....Just You tube it and you will see. Mcgrath raced a part time race that year.
For all of you hotheads on here who love to argue...Stewie did beat RC straight up 6 or 7 times during the 2006 supercross season and only lost the title by 2 points, it was the closest points chase every between stewart, reed and carmichael.
do you guys forget last year dungey beat JS7 and 22 and RV2 straight up at A1... the kid has talent i still think stewart is going to take it all unless he ends up on his head but give Dungey credit he is a solid rider...and he will probably have another championship in his life im sure of it.
Well you definately have short term memory because JS7 won A1 last year for his only win of the season before his injury.
My East Coast Predictions
1. Dean Wilson
2. Justin Barcia
3. Blake Baggett
4. Blake Wharton
5. Ryan Sipes
Sorry, I know its off topic, but I couldn't help myself. :)
Your comments about reed are nutty. In 2006 sx he was tied with r/c (not RC4) in points heading into the finale in vegas. And, he was 1 point ahead of stewart. He only had 2 wins out of 17, just to show you what a 90% podium percentage can do. And, he raced the second half with a separated shoulder, and refused to take pain killers. The question with reed is the bike, not reed himself.
Imagine what a motocross bike will look like 1000 years from now.
Um, Trick are you talking to me?
Whatever, but why wasn't dungeys chain in line? Something must have been messed up, or loose, or it would have been straight, right?
And that wasn't grant, he's hurt, it was brayton #10.
I agree, where is Josh Hill? Not that I think he would win a bunch of races, but he did just disappear. Weird.
By the way you can't win if you don't finish. The fact that many faster on most days riders crashed out in 2010 is not Dungey's issue. A champion knows how to do what is necessary to earn the points and win the championship. Dungey worked hard and stayed focused in 2010. Dungey's 2010 consistency was very similar to Stanton when he edged out Bradshaw for the championship, even though Bradshaw won 11 races that year. The races are sprints, the championship is a marathon.
digskid, go thru racer-x archives. all the answers are in there.
No, smee
I really doubt Dungeys chain was screwed up before the race started. He has the best wrench in the business. many things can happen to make the chain derail,,,contact with another bike...a rock...etc. even if his chain didnt come off he would have bbenhard presed to get on the box. he seemed to really struggle in first few laps. bad luck for sure but he will be back in his 4th place spot next week.
People saying they don't respect Dungey because he hasn't won championships fairly... Is it Dungey's fault that Pourcel's motor blew or that Ryan and James were injured? He worked just as hard as anyone to win those championships. If it was so easy why didn't you hop on your bike and take the national title?
after reading the majority of these posts i have come to the conclusion that this sport is growing. the reason i know this is because there is a whole lot of ppl that dont have a clue what they are talking about when it comes to motocross and how things go down. do everyone in the sport a favor and keep your half baked retarded responses to yourself, or take your comments over to transworld where the rest of the posers get their information.
@Suzukitk...this is an old argument that has been played out on message boards galore. I like RD5 and what happened at A2 sux...but for bench racers like us, we wanted to see RD5 do what RC did to Mcgrath, what McGrath did to stanton, what james tried to do to RC...it is that simple, he is still champ no doubt, but in order to claim your throne in the halls of motocross fame, you gotta beat the current guy and send him packing...this year is proving what an * means for dungey...unfortunately, and I am not against him...maybe he will unleash something we haven't seen now...
Last year the Dunge rode great and had LOTS of good luck...This year he is having some bad luck and obviously has competiton this time.....I would like to see him do what JS7 did 2 years ago after DNF'ing round 1.....He would need to do what JS7 did two nights ago and DOMINATE....winning a heat race while half the competition was in the first heat is not "dominating" the field.....sad to see the chain derail because now it will be just an excuse why he lost the championship....if the chain issue didnt happen.....Dungey would have pulled a 5th cause TC41 was on the move and actually passing riders....
I thought Reed and his fans were the ones full of excuses, it's fun listening to the Bubba fans trying to legitimize him crashing as a good excuse for the championships he COULDN'T win. Shoulda/coulda/woulda doesn't mean s*** in motocross. Every win is straight up, if you can't stay on the pace without crashing you shouldn't be going that fast. Dungey deserves full credit for his championships, he was the best guy last year. Face it, stop your crying and get back in the Bubba glory hole line. And also, anyone who discredits Reed is a moron if you have any clue about motocross and supercross. Jcaro, you're spot on, don't feel bad being shot down in a Bubba thread you will never win even when you're right, 50% of his fans are too ignorant to understand. mechanix81, all you have proven in this thread is you're good at making excuses for your favorite rider.
mechanix 81, I missed your one post where you actually gave credit to all the guys beating eachother, my bad. I thought you were just another JS fan who thought he was God and couldn't do any wrong.
So what does beating someone STRAIGHT UP mean? To me it is both riders leaving the gate together, as we all know, their are no ties in MX. What happens during the course of a race doesn't matter, unless it is a blatant take out. Dungy was the best of the rest last year, he won the title by beating everyone he lined up against. If they weren't on the starting line, they didn't win. Look at Tim Ferry. he won an east coast 125 SX title without winning a race, he was in the hunt every week. RD was #1 last year, he earned it, this year there will be a new #1, probably someone who could have won last year also IF they were healthy.
@Garjan111 - I totally agree with the idea that 'you gotta be in it to win it'. I think most people do, but in a sport like ours where there really is an elite class WITHIN the premiere class who are only competition for each other.. and that elite class is knocked out for whatever reason.. and so you do win a championship.. yes you earned it by virtue of being the team that avoided injury that year (which is part of the sport) but I think when people start heralding the arrival of a new king based on your accomplishments during that time (and in my opinion this is what has been done with RD) it bothers alot of peope. Like I've said before, I like Dungey and think he's definitely right at that level that makes him part of that elite class, but certainly not the king he's been made out to be. Will he get there? Maybe, but not so long as Stewart is healthy I think. ... Off topic: I enjoy racing you online. Are you stoked about MX v ATV Alive coming in May?
Dungey needs to get pist off for gettin second or third. Now that he DNF A2, I think it's good for him to show some emotion. RC, RV or James weren't really in content or happy with a second or third place finish. Dungey is. Champions are made by wanting to win every race. It 's almost impossible to win every time but you have to go out there not to get points but to win... Look at James, that's why he wins all the time. Yah he crashes alot but some how still wins championships. RC mastered domination with out too many injuries. James is so fast he can afford to crash once on every race and still get second or even first. RD's gotta go for it. You crash, experience learned. But atleast you're really going for it. Act like you want it!
His crash did not cuase his chaing to come off!! Dungey's Chain derailed before he went off the track. As soon as he hit the wall jump and landed. It poped off. I watched it sevaral times. He was leaning foward and on the gas waiting to go, Then you see him bobble the corner becuase he was looking down at the bike, That is when he hit the tuff block. If you go back and watch him on other parts of the track. U can see all the slack in his chain.
Aaron Hansel, so hot right now. Hansel.
You guys are right, Dungey's chain did indeed come off before he came into that corner. The press box was on the opposite side of the stadium, and from that distance, I couldn't see that his chain had come off already. My bad, we'll get it right next time.
@MNmoto. You took the words right out of my mouth. Nice one.
I'm glad there are a few people on here who were also able to see that Dungey's chain had derailed when he landed off the jump... He was looking down at his rear tire before he went off the track. It was clear he knew there was an issue as soon as he landed.
I really used to like Steward back in the day when he was a humble kid. He seems pretty arrogant at times now... I'm not going to say he isn't fast and doesn't kick butt racing, but it's much easier to like someone like Dungey or RV2 over someone like Stewart right now. I keep hoping he will go back to the humble kid who used to race 250's so I can really cheer him on again. Granted, to race at the level these guys do, and perform the way they do, there does have to be a certain amount of "arrogance" in them to do it. Some just show it more than others.
I'm bummed to see the weekend end the way it did for Dungey. I really like him a lot, and I think he just continues to grow as a rider.
On a side note, I am stoked to see Reed up on the podium again, and working hard to get there.
There has been some REALLY good racing already this year, and I hope everyone stays healthy and is able to ride a full season. We've already seen how one little mistake will take the win away from anyone who is in the lead. It's going to be an exiting, interesting year!
@digskid - Watch the 06 Supercross races. RC and Bubba had some awesome battles. Some were the entire 20 laps. I remember one where Bubba passed RC with 1 or 2 laps left. Straight up. There were some outdoor races where Bubba and RC battled from the back of the pack and Bubba won. There were a few but not many.
maybe racer-x should do a 05'- '07 re-cap article, to educate, and refresh.
or at least divide the comments section into: novice - intermediate - expert...
Good call Trick...So many people on here just repeat what their buddies tell them. I've been a die hard fan since 1996! I remember the wars between all these guys. You can't base who is the best off of 1 race or even 1 season and that's why ALL the greats have earned a nick name "GOAT" "King of Supercross" "Fastest man on the planet" "Hurricane" "The O' Show". It's all just good racing and entertainment. Wayyyyy too many people run their mouth on here and don't know anything about the sport's history!!
Wow Mechanix81, maybe you should take some of your own advice. In an earlier post you said that McGrath knocked Stewart off the track at Anaheim, which ended up costing Stewart the title that year. The race you are referring to was a heat race, which doesn't pay points. Stewart actually came back and won that heat anyway.
SpottedMarley.......yeah I can't wait for the new game but my wife can, ha. I haven't seen you on in a while so when I race I don't deserve to win because your not there har! Just messin with you. You are a bad ass on the game though.
thanks for the info and even light on the sarcasm(props to all fans/posters yr. to be excited about) yes i am well aware of the head to head battles between JS & RC my ? at the time was based on/or a poke on championships when they were both in the field, healthy etc
Details Smetails aaron dont sweat it ! We already know what Ryans made of . It caught me off guard but I was not surprised to see Ryan pushing his bike back to the pits ?
JimM
CarlsbadCa
END of DUNGEY RULES. hahahaHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yz sean where yat?
counting exclamations past......:)
MECHANIX 81, Stewie NEVER took RC for a title period. Its that simple. He NEVER won a single title until RC retired. RC said Stewie was faster because RC has class and never badmouths his competition. But its hard to say your the fastest when you never beat a guy for a title. RC is the GOAT period, Stewie will never be better than RC period, its in the numbers.