Ken Roczen has a message for Ryan Dungey: Just wait till Outdoors.
Roczen not only kept Dungey from wrapping up his second consecutive title but made the defending champion look rather pedestrian on Saturday for Round 15 of the 2016 Monster Energy Supercross season at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA.
Dungey just needed a win to hoist the trophy, something he'd done the previous three rounds, but Roczen, runner-up in those rounds, was having none of it. Even in the Heat race, Roczen laid it all out passing Dungey, then passing him again after the red flag restart. He said pre-race he'd made Dungey's life too easy this season and wanted to make a statement.
He certainly did. In the Main, Dungey grabbed the holeshot but his lead evaporated shortly before the start of Lap 2 as Roczen looked over his shoulder at Dungey after the pass and then checked out. Roczen looked like, well, Dungey.
After finishing second to Ryan Dungey for three straight Weeks, Ken Roczen made the pass stick
"Track was really tough out there, it was really slippery in some spots. You're almost riding so you don't make a mistake," said Roczen, who finished 25 seconds ahead of Dungey. "It was challenging tonight but I felt awesome. I'm super stoked to come away with the first win tonight in Boston, we'll focus on next weekend."
The track, which got a lot of pre-race rain, resembled one from Motocross much like Daytona earlier this year. Deep ruts throughout and often slick. Dungey fish-tailed heading into the straight-away at one point and nearly hit the dirt when Jason Anderson passed him on a turn.
Dungey also had nothing in the tank for Eli Tomac who made the pass for second on Lap 4 and finished 16 seconds ahead of Dungey. It was Tomac's first podium since his win at Daytona and third of the year. The finish puts extra distance between him and Chad Reed for fourth-place in the standings.
Eli Tomac took advantage of a rough track and grabbed second in Foxborough
"This is a big improvement for us with the way things have been going," said Tomac who finished outside the Top 4 in the last five rounds. "I was good early, kind of had some troubles in the second practice, (but) came together in the Main."
Dungey entered the race having led 59 of the previous 60 laps and got credit for leading none at Supercross' debut at Gillette Stadium. Dungey's podium streak also nearly came to an end when Anderson passed him for third on Lap 12 but Dungey got back into podium contention on Lap 15 thanks to some dominate riding in the whoops. He's now got 31 straight stops on the box and ties Ricky Carmichael for best all-time percentage.
"Got off to a good start and tried to really put the hammer down," Dungey said. "Ken and Eli were hanging it out tonight and I had nothing for them. It was just one of those races. They all can't go your way."
Ryan Dungey managed to keep his podium streak alive but could not keep up with Ken Roczen or Eli Tomac
Despite the result, Dungey's 43 point lead over Roczen puts him solidly in line to win the Championship on Saturday at MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Jets, in East Rutherford, NJ. Assuming a Roczen win, Dungey would only need to finish 14th to secure the Championship with a round remaining.
Elsewhere, Trey Canard got his fourth straight Top 5, taking fifth, which moved him into a tie for eighth-place in the standings with Justin Brayton. Cole Seely returned after a three-race absence thanks to a chipped vertebra and took seventh, a respectable finish considering he went down on the first turn in his Semi and needed the LCQ, which he won, to qualify. Chad Reed finished ninth for his fifth-straight Top 10 and MotoSport rider Nick Wey finished second in the LCQ and took 15th in the Main.
Martin Davalos celebrates his first win since the season opener for the 250SX East class in Atlanta
The never-boring 250SX East class got its second two-time winner as Martin Davalos, who won the opener in Atlanta, passed Malcolm Stewart on Lap 9 in the whoops rebounding from a 15th last week after getting caught in a first-turn pile-up. It might be too little too late though as Davalos is 27 points behind Stewart in the Championship standings.
"My main goal every race is just to attack each race and not worry about anything else," said Davalos, who lost the points lead after sitting out the Toronto round because of what is believed to be passport issues. "I'm really happy and proud of myself."
Stewart looked to check-out after grabbing the lead from Shane McElrath on Lap 1 but began to fade and after losing the lead to Davalos dropped to third on the next lap after Jeremy Martin, who got his second win of the season last week, block passed him. Martin was in sixth-place at the start and probably would have caught Davalos if given enough time.
Malcolm Stewart, Jeremy Martin and Shane McElrath kept it close the whole race
"I just made a few mistakes right there at the end and that unfortunately cost me. I'm pretty disappointed," he said. "I felt like I had a win in me tonight. It was just a bar banging race. I really wish I would have came out on top. I really wanted to win, I was hungry for it."
Indeed the bar-banging was intense as Davalos, Martin, Stewart and McElrath, who finished fourth, were all less than two seconds of one another at one point more than halfway through the race. Aaron Plessinger entered the round a point from first place in the standings but lost some momentum finishing fifth, his lowest since Toronto, and is now five points back of Stewart. Martin is nine behind Plessinger and 14 from first.
Supercross Round 16 is Saturday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Practice starts at 12 p.m. (EST), opening ceremonies start at 6:30 p.m. (EST) with racing at 7 p.m. (EST) on Saturday. Buy tickets online or at the box office. Television coverage is on FOX Sports 1.
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Foxborough Results
Foxborough Supercross 450SX Class Results
- Ken Roczen
- Eli Tomac
- Ryan Dungey
- Jason Anderson
- Trey Canard
- Justin Bogle
- Cole Seely
- Weston Peick
- Chad Reed
- Marvin Musquin
Foxborough Supercross 250SX East Class Results
- Martin Davalos
- Jeremy Martin
- Malcolm Stewart
- Shane McElrath
- Aaron Plessinger
- Tyler Bowers
- Gannon Audette
- RJ Hampshire
- Anthony Rodriguez
- Luke Renzland
2016 Monster Energy Supercross Season Standings
450SX Class Season Standings
- Ryan Dungey (348)
- Ken Roczen (305)
- Jason Anderson (278)
- Eli Tomac (248)
- Chad Reed (220)
- Marvin Musquin (199)
- Cole Seely (187)
- Trey Canard (170)
- Justin Brayton (170)
- Weston Peick (115)
250SX East Class Season Standings
- Malcolm Stewart (135)
- Aaron Plessinger (130)
- Jeremy Martin (121)
- Martin Davalos (108)
- Tyler Bowers (93)
- Shane McElrath (91)
- Gannon Audette (91)
- RJ Hampshire (90)
- Anthony Rodriguez (70)
- Justin Hill (63)
