Oh what could have been for Ryan Dungey at Washougal last Saturday! The Red Bull KTM rider nabbed a holeshot in the first moto and was running in second place before developing a mysterious bike issue that curbed his motor’s enthusiasm. But, like the true professional and classy veteran he is, Dungey washed out the sour taste, put his discontent behind him, and came back swinging in the second moto to earn fourth. Our Kellen Brauer caught up with Dungey afterward to get some insight on the mercurial day.
Racer X: First moto aside, second moto was great. Speed looked good all day. You’ve got to be pretty happy about it overall.
Ryan Dungey: I am happy with it. First practice is always tough. It’s just kind of, the track is still sloppy. Second practice, my fastest times come from there. We made some progress this week with the bike and it translated into the weekend, which was always nice. The race I feel like is the true test. This track does favor me a little bit, for sure, just as far as my riding style and stuff. But man, I got a good start in the first moto, got the holeshot. Chase quickly got by me. I just tried to hook onto his wheel and for about two or three laps I just stayed right there. That was nice. Eli was right there behind as well. I think for me, I really wanted to just go the distance with those guys. Physically it was going to be tough, but then we had a little bit of a bike malfunction. Nobody’s fault, it’s racing, we had a little electrical issue. The guys redid the whole bike, made sure everything electronic [was good]. So, the second moto, I didn’t have a great gate pick so I was way inside. I even kind of butchered the start a little bit, too. I think I came around 13th. But the good thing was, I feel like turning the negative into a positive, I felt good on the bike. I was able to ride the bike hard. The bike was working good, too. From there. I just started picking guys off. So, I got to fourth and was making a run in on third. So, overall, not the overall [score] we wanted due to a bike malfunction, but it was still a good day.
In that first moto, we talked last week about early moto intensity. You were kind of trying to figure that out. Were you satisfied then with how you felt on those first three laps? You kind of settled in pretty quick with them.
I was, honestly. That’s the speed part I’ve been working on. The track, you can’t over-ride it, either. You kind of have to be patient. So, maybe that kind of suited me a little bit. It was good. I was like, "All right, Chase got away a little bit. We’re making a run back on him." Who knows? Shoulda, coulda, woulda. What it could have been. It was fun. We’ll try to do it again here in a couple weeks.
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Align Media ![Dungey going to the inside of the whoops section before the finish line.]()
Dungey going to the inside of the whoops section before the finish line. Align Media ![Dungey on the water truck lane after his bike suffered a mechanical issue in the first moto.]()
Dungey on the water truck lane after his bike suffered a mechanical issue in the first moto. Align Media ![Dungey off to the side of the track.]()
Dungey off to the side of the track. Align Media
In that second moto, do you feel maybe that was your best ride of the year, too? You had to come through a lot of pretty fast guys you’ve been battling all year, and you just kind of went through them and passed a lot of them.
I did. I honestly felt like it was a good ride. Obviously, track positioning being that far back, and then when I got into fourth, Jason was pretty far up there. I was like, "All right." I knew Christian was on my rear, I could hear the Yamaha behind with the way the thing sounds. I’m like, "I’m going to put my head down and forget about that. Just charge and try to catch Jason." Then just ran out of time.
Coming up on the break, what are some of the things that you feel like you’re still trying to fine tune or work on to get ready for these last four?
If you had asked me last week, I’d say try to get the bike better. Obviously, work on speed. But, we had a great week of testing last week, so now I’ll probably take a little bit of a break. We’ve got three weeks. Just kind of let the body heal and absorb what we’ve been doing the last couple of months. Then spend the next two weeks getting ready for Unadilla and build back up for the last four.
Obviously now, you’re much older than you were back racing in your prime, so how does it actually feel eight rounds win, fitness-wise? Is it actually a little bit more wear and tear than you expected?
I think at this point, and the races have been hot, although this today wasn’t too bad at all. But, I think it’s been five or six years, so putting your body through that physical… It’s adapting, but it’s adding up. So, I think just having a down week, to not shut it down completely, maybe do one day or do some bike ride and gym stuff, but kind of take a little breather from the dirt bike. Don’t completely shut it down, but just keep the blood flowing and maybe have a down, easy week.
This track, you’ve been very successful at before. But even the last four rounds, you’ve had some success at many of those tracks as well. So, what is the one round that’s coming up that you’re like, "I can’t wait to get to that one. That one’s going to feel good"?
You’ve got Budds and Crawfordsville [Ironman]. Those two are both really good tracks. The dirt is good. Unadilla is good, too. I know it gets rutty. It’s probably not my favorite conditions, and now they made some track changes that I actually think will be a little bit better, if they’re going to leave them like that. We know Fox Raceway. So, if you ask me, I would say Budds Creek and Crawfordsville. Those two I’m probably excited for. The other two are good, too.
