Ryan Dungey won another one in Atlanta on Saturday. He enjoys a 30-point lead over second-place rider Trey Canard. For the points leader to win a race is not that far-fetched, but it was more in the manner that he won that was so impressive.
At many races this year, an argument could be made that Dungey was not the “fastest” rider. Even in the races he won, often times there was someone faster, but Dungey would make fewer mistakes or put himself in a better position to win. That was not the case this past weekend. When Dungey passed into the lead on lap six, both Trey Canard and Eli Tomac were both in position to challenge the points leader. The stage was set to see who had the most speed and who would emerge victorious.
At this point, I was very unsure as to who would win. Tomac had been so incredibly fast in timed qualifying and finally had decent track position. Canard has been deadly anytime he has been near the lead and was arguably the fastest rider one week prior. Weston Peick was in the mix as well, but with limited time on the bike after his knee and foot injuries, I knew he would be unable to hold that pace for much longer. I would have to think that Dungey, Canard, and Tomac all felt that they were going to win on about lap five. As we know, there can only be one winner and Ryan Dungey rose to the occasion.
When Dungey got into the lead and both Trey and Eli moved into second and third, it was all about who could put in the fastest lap times. They each had room to work so it was just who could go the fastest and most consistently. Looking at the times, Dungey was able to keep his time in the low fifty-five-second range while both Eli and Trey were in the mid-to-high fifty-fives. While that may not seem like much, when it is consistent, that time adds up. Ten laps at a half-second advantage equal a nice five-second gap. Five seconds is an eternity in supercross to overcome, and as the race wound down you could see Dungey just creeping away further and further. At the checkers, he had nearly a six-second lead but visually it was even more impressive. Trey and Eli both had their chance to take points back and make a statement, but on this night Ryan Dungey was simply too fast and too strong.
There are eight races left in this championship, so we are basically halfway home. By now, we can draw some fairly accurate conclusions. Roczen’s early season fire seems to have fizzled a bit, and now he is dealing with an ankle injury, which can only make things worse. Tomac can win on any given night and may have the most raw speed of anyone, but his untimely crashes and inexperience have shown through thus far, virtually eliminating him from title contention. Trey has been the best overall supercross version of himself in 2015, but he hasn’t been able to match the high watermark that Dungey has set. Dungey’s average finish this season is a 2.1, which may not be that shocking, but when you compare it to Canard with a 4.2, Roczen with a 5.8, and Tomac with a 7.2, it seems very clear that consistency has helped him build that thirty-point lead.
It’s consistency, yes, but it’s more. Ryan is winning when he has the opportunity, and has been on the podium every round except Anaheim 1. He is doing what Dungey has always done in that manner, but his speed has perhaps been underrated or overlooked. Even when you get the opportunity to win, the win doesn’t come automatically—you’ve got to be fast enough to make it happen. If this continues, he’ll be holding another championship trophy sooner than later.
