By Jason Weigandt and Chase Stallo
Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey’s podium streak has reached twenty-three, two shy of tying Chad Reed for the all-time record. His streak, which began at Round 2 in Phoenix last year, now includes a hard-fought second place finish to Ken Roczen in Arlington. Dungey, who has finished no worse than second this season, can tie Reed’s record in Daytona and break it the following week in Toronto. Reed set the record from February 22, 2003, through the end of 2004.
On Saturday, Dungey passed Roczen early in the race and was looking to set the pace, but Roczen sliced back, retaking a lead he would never relinquish. “Yeah, you know, I should have protected my inside for sure, but I didn’t and he came in and got me and I just thought we were going to be going fast enough to keep that outside going but I read it wrong and he came by,” Dungey told Race Day Live’s Jim Holley. “Early in the race it was important to be in front, that was really key, so we can work on that and be a little better there.“
As we point out below, Dungey and Roczen ran consistent lap times in the 51s before lap 16, when Roczen singled the triple. Roczen ran a 53.943 on the lap with Dungey running a 54.185.
“Yeah, just a couple mistakes in the middle [of the race] there,” Dungey told Holley. “We were gaining on him and right there to make something happen, and there was that one lap that got confusing—he singled a triple and I didn’t quite understand that, but you know I ended up doing it too, because I thought it was a red flag. But, hey, you know it was a good battle, good race. We put in a good, hard-fought charge and sometimes second is what you got to get.“
The win was Roczen’s second in the last three races. He now trails Dungey by twenty-three entering Atlanta.
Honda HRC’s Cole Seely appeared to have a second straight podium in his grasp, holding third for eleven laps (4-14), before losing the position to Jason Anderson. Anderson told us after the race that he thinks Seely made a mistake. “He just made a little bobble. It was really one of the easier passes that I’ve ever done. He rolled a whole section I think.”
In a team statement, Seely said that his shoulder, which he had surgery on last season, got tight. “I was third or fourth outside the box, which made me a little nervous, but I just really dug deep for that start. I came out fourth, passed for third and ran there for a good chunk of the race before my shoulder that I had surgery on last year got tight and Anderson closed in on me and make the pass.”
Frustrating night for HRC Honda’s Trey Canard, who got a bad start and then crashed while trying to come through. He finished ninth. “There were some good steps in the right direction, but obviously I’m disappointed,” he said in a team statement. “I just have to get better on the starts and I won’t be in trouble like I have been. We’ll keep working and come back next week.”
Team manager Dan Betley added. “It was a tough night for Trey. We struggled with the start in the main. He was fairly far outside but still managed to get a good jump out of the gate, but unfortunately he lost it after that, which put him in a bad position for the race. He was about 14th at the start and was trying to make his way forward when he went down and fell back again. We’ve made some positive changes with the bikes the past two weeks and the riders are happy so we just need to keep building.”
Justin Brayton and Chad Reed’s streak of consecutive top tens to begin the season ended in Arlington, as they finished eleventh and twelfth, respectively. Only five riders—Dungey, Roczen, Seely, Anderson and Eli Tomac—have finished inside the top ten at every round this year.
BTOSports.com KTM’s Davi Millsaps told us on Saturday that he injured his thumb last week and didn’t know how things would go in Texas. He ended up riding well by taking a solid seventh, but the injury will be something to keep an eye on as the season moves forward.
450SX Class
Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
1 | 1 | 50.625 | 3 | 51.488 | Ken Roczen |
2 | 2 | 50.754 | 5 | 51.581 | Ryan Dungey |
3 | 4 | 51.014 | 5 | 52.568 | Cole Seely |
4 | 5 | 51.176 | 7 | 52.689 | Eli Tomac |
5 | 3 | 51.259 | 7 | 52.388 | Jason Anderson |
6 | 6 | 51.634 | 10 | 52.407 | Marvin Musquin |
7 | 7 | 52.174 | 4 | 53.195 | Davi Millsaps |
8 | 8 | 52.253 | 4 | 53.119 | Christophe Pourcel |
9 | 9 | 52.370 | 4 | 53.662 | Trey Canard |
10 | 16 | 52.404 | 2 | 54.217 | Mike Alessi |
11 | 10 | 52.408 | 6 | 53.811 | Jake Weimer |
12 | 18 | 52.418 | 5 | 54.819 | Justin Bogle |
13 | 12 | 52.466 | 16 | 53.143 | Chad Reed |
14 | 17 | 52.478 | 2 | 53.389 | Vince Friese |
15 | 21 | 52.576 | 3 | 55.362 | Weston Peick |
16 | 14 | 52.733 | 6 | 54.147 | Wil Hahn |
17 | 13 | 52.914 | 4 | 54.229 | Andrew Short |
18 | 11 | 53.115 | 13 | 53.988 | Justin Brayton |
19 | 15 | 53.256 | 8 | 54.336 | Phil Nicoletti |
20 | 19 | 54.639 | 4 | 56.793 | Nick Schmidt |
21 | 22 | 55.198 | 3 | 56.767 | Alex Ray |
22 | 20 | 55.630 | 5 | 59.209 | Deven Raper |
It doesn’t get much closer than this Roczen/Dungey matchup. Above you can see their best laps were only about a tenth apart. Here are each of their laps side by side:
Lap | Ken Roczen | Ryan Dungey |
2 | 51.088 | 51.94 |
3 | 50.625 | 51.477 |
4 | 51.084 | 51.153 |
5 | 51.119 | 50.754 |
6 | 51.31 | 51.449 |
7 | 50.966 | 50.931 |
8 | 51.268 | 51.951 |
9 | 51.115 | 50.814 |
10 | 51.333 | 51.252 |
11 | 51.728 | 51.204 |
12 | 51.338 | 51.244 |
13 | 51.586 | 51.512 |
14 | 51.415 | 51.316 |
15 | 51.905 | 51.518 |
16 | 53.943 | 54.185 |
17 | 51.575 | 52.351 |
18 | 51.701 | 51.444 |
19 | 51.693 | 51.469 |
20 | 51.483 | 52.081 |
Now let’s look at the segment times, specifically segment four, the final stretch before the finish. The final rhythm section was tricky. In practice, riders started figuring out how to go double-over a-table, then quad-over-table, then double. But that required nailing that first double over the table perfectly. When riders started rushing things during the actual races, they couldn’t get that first jump right every time. “A couple of little mistakes I think for both of us,” said Roczen. “We didn’t hit the quad a few times.”
Late in the race Dungey was making a real run at Roczen and got close, but he wasn’t as consistent through that rhythm lane, and that helped bail Roczen out. Here are their times through that final segment for the last four laps:
Segment 4, last four laps:
Lap | Roczen | Dungey |
17 | 17.5 | 18.1 |
18 | 17.6 | 17.6 |
19 | 17.5 | 17.8 |
20 | 17.6 | 18.2 |
Conversely, Dungey was quicker through the first segment of the track, including the sweeper after the finish.
Segment 1, last four laps:
Lap | Roczen | Dungey |
17 | 6.2 | 6.1 |
18 | 6.2 | 6 |
19 | 6.2 | 6 |
20 | 6.2 | 6.2 |
That first segment helped Dungey get close. The final segment helped Roczen hold him at bay.
250SX West Region
Lap Rank | Finish | Best Lap | In Lap | Avg Lap Time | Rider |
1 | 2 | 51.705 | 4 | 52.698 | Christian Craig |
2 | 1 | 51.875 | 4 | 52.529 | Cooper Webb |
3 | 3 | 52.064 | 6 | 52.932 | Zach Osborne |
4 | 10 | 52.218 | 3 | 53.360 | Joey Savatgy |
5 | 4 | 52.420 | 7 | 53.011 | Colt Nichols |
6 | 5 | 52.820 | 5 | 53.669 | Mitchell Oldenburg |
7 | 7 | 52.862 | 6 | 53.991 | Jimmy Decotis |
8 | 6 | 52.874 | 5 | 54.108 | Alex Martin |
9 | 16 | 53.216 | 8 | 55.268 | Kyle Cunningham |
10 | 8 | 53.283 | 4 | 54.128 | Chris Alldredge |
11 | 9 | 53.339 | 4 | 54.385 | Kyle Peters |
12 | 17 | 53.491 | 4 | 55.771 | Cole Thompson |
13 | 11 | 53.560 | 7 | 54.440 | Michael Leib |
14 | 12 | 53.634 | 5 | 54.474 | Fredrik Noren |
15 | 14 | 53.674 | 5 | 54.663 | Hayden Mellross |
16 | 13 | 53.741 | 7 | 54.515 | Cole Martinez |
17 | 15 | 54.103 | 6 | 54.700 | Mitchell Harrison |
18 | 19 | 54.511 | 4 | 55.918 | Trevor Reis |
19 | 18 | 54.582 | 5 | 55.751 | Scott Champion |
20 | 21 | 55.559 | 5 | 56.030 | Noah McConahy |
21 | 20 | 55.639 | 3 | 57.783 | Chris Howell |
22 | 22 | 56.144 | 2 | *56.144 | Austin Politelli |
*Politelli completed just one timed lap.
More News and Notes
We’ve spoken with Christian Craig and Joey Savatgy regarding the crash that shook the 250SX West Region. Each offered their side of the story and our own Jason Thomas weighed in on it as well, but the biggest benefactor from it all was Cooper Webb, who took his first win since Round 3 in Anaheim and reclaimed sole possession of the points lead.
“It was shaping up to be a freaking awesome battle, but unfortunately Joey [Savatgy] went down,” Webb told Race Day Live’s Jim Holley. “Christian [Craig] was riding awesome and put in some solid laps. I charged late and made it stick.”
With the 250SX West Region heading into break, Webb is actually taking some time off, telling Holley, “I’m actually headed on a cruise ship here in 24 hours.” Remember, Webb’s off-season was jam packed with races in Europe, Australia and Japan. He’s earned the break!
A quiet third went to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne, his first podium since a second at Anaheim II. It wasn’t an expected result, as Osborne had a big crash in practice and wasn’t sure how he would perform in the main event. “I had a pretty big crash in the second practice,” said Osborne in a team statement, “so I was a little nervous going into the night, especially because I hadn’t ridden all week. I got a great start in my heat race and won so that turned things around for me. I ended up on the podium in the main and was right in the mix. It’s definitely a good way to go into the break. I’m going to focus on getting my ribs healthy and then I’ll be back for more.”
Since turning pro in 2013, consistency has always been the problem for Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Mitchell Oldenburg. Through three rounds, it was much of the same, as he forced the issue and finished 9-15-9. He talked to us about it a few weeks back. “The first three rounds didn’t go the greatest for me. I had a bunch of speed, but not enough brains in my head. I felt like I had to win it right then and there. I ended up putting myself on the ground the first three races. I was not riding smart. So I took a step back and slowed myself down a little bit. I’m now taking it turn-by-turn and lap-by-lap. Things are clicking for me lately and I’ve been working hard, which is finally starting to show.”
Since Round 3, Oldenburg has turned the corner, averaging a 4.75 finish over the last four rounds. Saturday was a homecoming of sorts, as Oldenburg’s parents own and operate Oak Hill Raceway in nearby Alvord, Texas, a little over an hour away from Arlington. Oldenburg, originally from Minnesota, finished fifth on the night, his third top five in the last four rounds. “I’m looking forward to some time off after seven straight races,” said Oldenburg in a statement. “I feel pretty good overall but I am not going to quit trying for that podium. We’ll try and get it when we come back in Santa Clara.”