Ryan Dungey just missed taking the holeshot for Round 3 of the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross season filing in behind a resurgent Davi Millsaps before grabbing the lead on Lap 4 and cruising to his second win of the year on Saturday at Angel Stadium.
Dungey, the defending Champion, rode flawlessly through the evening taking his Heat race win to qualify first. Millsaps, a former MotoSport sponsored rider, who also won his Heat race, his first since Salt Lake City in 2013, showed solid speed the first couple of laps in the 450 Main but couldn't fend off Dungey, who failed once to pass on Lap 4, then made it stick a few turns later.
"It was a good night, to get another win is awesome," said Dungey who stood on the podium for the 19th straight time. "I know Chad (Reed) was going good today in practice, I knew he was going to be on fire."
Ryan Dungey is proving hard to beat so far this year
Indeed, Reed stayed hot for the second week in a row tailing Dungey after taking second-place from Millsaps on Lap 6. Reed wasn't able to make a legitimate run for the lead like he did in San Diego last week but kept pace and managed to fend off Eli Tomac who went for a pass at the start of the final lap only to slip out in a corner and drop to fourth-place.
"We're there (but) I wouldn't say we put the pressure on tonight. I feel like I need to be a little better," Reed said. "The bike is great. (After) having a couple of rough seasons and not being there consistently I feel that it's on me at this point. I just need to know that this is where I belong and go get it."
Chad Reed leads Eli Tomac
Tomac's mistake cost him his first podium of the year but gave the final spot to Ken Roczen who stepped on the box and finished inside the Top 5 for the first time this year. Roczen started ninth finishing his way into the third-spot. Tomac now has four straight fourth-place finishes and stays in fifth-place, just a point behind Cole Seely, who, after two straight third-place results, finished in sixth-place.
In the point standings, Reed jumps to second-place from fourth-place after Jason Anderson, who won the opening round at Anaheim two weeks ago finished in fifth-place again, and is now in third. Dungey boosts his lead to 13 over Reed, but Roczen, in sixth-place, is just seven points back from second-place. Millsaps finished seventh, his best result of the season and is in seventh place.
Jaosn Anderson, Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac
Trey Canard is lucky to escape Anaheim with just minor injuries after crashing in practice, then going down on the first lap of his Heat race and getting his hand cut open after another rider landed on him. He lined up for the Semi with a bloody hand and finished second but in the Main tangled with Justin Brayton on Lap 3 and ran into the tough blocks ending his night. He'll need stitches for the cut hand but is expected to defend his 2015 win in Oakland on Saturday.
Other notables include Weston Peick in his race back from suspension finishing 14th after starting fourth. He won his Semi and hung around in the top 5 before dropping back. Marvin Musquin got ninth place for the second straight week and Jake Weimer finished in the Top 10 for the second straight week.
Cooper Webb and Cam Newton had reason to celebrate this weekend
In the 250 class, Cooper Webb is turning his wins into must-watch excitement as he started fifth, was in ninth briefly and worked his way to the lead, banging bars and block passing with Christian Craig for a few laps before taking the lead on Lap 10 for good. Zach Osborne got into second-place with four laps remaining and Craig held on for third, his first career podium.
"It was really fun actually, I haven't had a battle like that in a long time," said Webb, who fussed with his bike settings all day before getting comfortable in the Main.
Craig, who returned to racing last summer after a two-year absence, got into the lead shortly after Jimmy Decotis grabbed the holeshot but got tight as the race wore on. Regardless, he was all smiles post-race never having been in the lead for so long, nine laps to be exact.
Supercross takes a brief respite from Southern California and heads to Oakland for Round 4 on Saturday. Canard won last year and Dungey and Reed finished 2-3. It was also the last time Webb didn't finish first where he settled on second before winning the final four rounds and the 2015 250SX West Championship.
Doors open at 5 p.m. with opening ceremonies at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. Buiyt tickets online or at the O.co Coliseum box office.
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Anaheim 2 Results
Anaheim 2 Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Ryan Dungey
- Chad Reed
- Ken Roczen
- Eli Tomac
- Jason Anderson
- Cole Seely
- Davi Millsaps
- Justin Brayton
- Marvin Musquin
- Jacob Weimer
Anaheim 2 Supercross 250SX Class Results
- Cooper Webb
- Zach Osborne
- Christian Craig
- Joey Savatgy
- Jimmy DeCotis
- Jordon Smith
- Kyle Cunningham
- Colt Nichols
- Mitchell Oldenburg
- Kyle Peters
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey (72)
- Chad Reed (59)
- Jason Anderson (57)
- Cole Seely (55)
- Eli Tomac (54)
- Ken Roczen (51)
- Davi Millsaps (36)
- Justin Brayton (35)
- Jake Weimer (33)
- Marvin Musquin (31)
250SX West Class Season Standings
- Cooper Webb (75)
- Zach Osborne (57)
- Joey Savatgy (53)
- Jordon Smith (51)
- Jimmy DeCotis (47)
- Colt Nichols (43)
- Christian Craig (42)
- Kyle Peters (36)
- Mitchell Oldenburg (30)
- Kyle Cunningham (28)
