With San Diego hosting two rounds for the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross season it was a good bet defending Champion Ryan Dungey would end his winless streak in America's Finest City.
He didn't waste much time.
No surprise, Dungey didn't grab the holeshot (he doesn't very often, nor does he need it apparently) instead started fourth and took less than a minute to get into the lead and once he did - never looked back. Dungey got his first win of the year, his first ever (if you can believe it) in San Diego and extended his podium streak to 18. The win also put him into first place in the point standings.
"The track was very tacky (during the Heat race) and by the Main event the moisture started coming up and it started to get hard and sticky," Dungey said. "I got a good start and I had to make my way through and I got into the lead. I was able to put down good laps."
Ryan Dungey led much of Round 2 to capture his first win of the 2016 season and in San Diego
Tailing Dungey the entire race was Chad Reed who was unable to extend his record wins at San Diego but instead settled on second for his first podium of the year and first since last year at Atlanta 1 in February when he won. The 33 year old moved into fourth-place in the standings and dismissed all the talk about his age.
"I get it, I don't like it, but I get it," he said. "I'm a stubborn old guy. I love being out here, I want to be here and I'm ready to work hard to earn my spot."
Chad Reed finished second at Round 2
Indeed Reed proved what legendary quarterback Dan Marino once said, "Age is just a number" and kept Dungey close, under two seconds for much of the race, and easily grabbed the runner-up spot. Reed also grabbed the holeshot giving him an additional $1,500.
"I'm not here for the show. I want to work hard and be on the podium," said Reed who was more or less without a ride until the week leading up to the start of the season.
Last week's winner Jason Anderson briefly finished third for his second straight podium but it was determined he jumped when the red cross flags came out so he got docked two positions giving third-place to Cole Seely, his second straight third-place finish. Reed's performance moves him from sixth to fourth, Seely remains in third and Anderson is knocked into second but six points back from Dungey rather than two.
It was hoped James Stewart would be racing after his knock-out concussion sustained last week at Anaheim and though he had no issue with testing Mike Webb, team manager for the Yoshimura Suzuki team said the decision was left up to Stewart who ultimately decided he wasn't comfortable in a race setting.
It was also revealed that Justin Barcia rode with a torn ligament in his thumb which contributed to the arm pump he suffered last week. Barcia had another rough outing in San Diego, starting out strong only to fall out of the Top 10. It was announced on Sunday he'll have surgery and he's out of racing indefinitely. He sustained the injury prior to the start of the season.
Eli Tomac and Trey Canard battle
Elsewhere, Eli Tomac took fourth again and Trey Canard took seventh for the second straight week. Ken Roczen placed sixth, where he also sits in the standings. Marvin Musquin, took ninth, his first Top 10 in the 450 class. Vince Friese, the loser (or winner depending on how you look at it) of the Peick/Friese Lightweight showdown at last week's opener, finished 17th while Weston Peick served his one-race suspension. Friese led the field for about half a second before falling back out of the top 15.
Another week, another win for Cooper Webb
In the 250 West class, Cooper Webb claimed the top spot for the second week in a row and seventh straight time stretching back to last year. It was also his ninth straight podium and eighth win in nine races. Webb started eighth where he stayed for two laps but passed Jordan Smith, who led the first five laps, on the inside on Lap 8 for second place and with four laps remaining got past Zach Osborne, who finished third at A1 and became Webb's primary competitor after Jessy Nelson (second-place at A1) crashed last week in practice and did not race.
Osborne lost traction coming out of a turn with two laps left and dropped back to sixth. Webb easily won finishing more than three seconds ahead of Joey Savatgy. Smith held on to third, Christian Craig took fourth.
Webb now holds a commanding 14 point lead over Smith who moved into second-place from fifth. Savatgy moves from eighth to third and Nelson drops from second to ninth.
Supercross Round 3 returns to Anaheim on Saturday. Practice and qualifying start at 12 p.m. with the Main event at 7 p.m. Buy tickets online or at the Angel Stadium box office.
2016 Monster Energy Supercross San Diego 1 Results
San Diego 1 Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Ryan Dungey
- Chad Reed
- Cole Seely
- Eli Tomac
- Jason Anderson
- Ken Roczen
- Trey Canard
- Jake Weimer
- Marvin Musquin
- Justin Brayton
San Diego 1 Supercross 250SX Class Results
- Cooper Webb
- Joey Savatgy
- Jordon Smith
- Christian Craig
- Colt Nichols
- Zach Osborne
- Kyle Peters
- Jimmy DeCotis
- Kyle Cunningham
- Chris Alldredge
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey (47)
- Jason Anderson (41)
- Cole Seely (40)
- Chad Reed (37)
- Eli Tomac (36)
- Ken Roczen (31)
- Trey Canard (28)
- Jake Weimer (22)
- Davi Millsaps (22)
- Justin Brayton (22)
250SX West Class Season Standings
- Cooper Webb (50)
- Jordon Smith (36)
- Joey Savatgy (35)
- Zach Osborne (35)
- Jimmy DeCotis (31)
- Colt Nichols (30)
- Alex Martin (25)
- Kyle Peters (25)
- Jessy Nelson (22)
- Christian Craig (22)
