Dungey Wins at Budds Creek National Motocross

Jul. 14, 2014 By Josh Burns, Photos by Rich Shepherd
Ryan Dungey (right) leads Trey Canard (middle) and Ken Roczen (left) over a jump at Budds Creek.

The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship headed to the nation's capitol this past weekend, as racers battled in Southern Maryland at Budds Creek MX Park for the seventh of 12 races in the summer racing series. Ryan Dungey edged his Red Bull KTM teammate Ken Roczen in the 450 class, earning his third straight win for the third straight season at Budds Creek. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Blake Baggett also earned his third consecutive win at Budds Creek in the 250 class, which was subsequently third victory of the summer in the very competitive class.


450 Class
Justin Brayton got off to a great start in the opening 450 moto, the Toyota Yamaha JGRMX's racer snagging his first Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season, though he had a large group right on his tail that included Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard and Dungey. Brayton maintained the lead on the opening lap while Canard and Dungey fighting for second, with Canard taking the edge early on.

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Canard soon made his move for the lead toward the end of the opening lap, extending his lead over the field while Dungey lost third place to his teammate Roczen while trying to overtake Brayton for second. Roczen then worked to track down Canard and was able to overtake the lead a few laps into the race. Dungey worked to recover his earlier bobble and was able to pass Brayton to move into the top three.

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Ryan Dungey has reached the top of the podium in three straight years at Budds Creek, keeping the point race between he and Red Bull KTM teammate Ken Roczen tight.

Dungey was able to overtake Canard to move into the second, putting the KTM duo out front as they have been so many times this season. Canard then found himself in a battle with GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac for the remainder of the race. Up front, Dungey was able to stay close to Roczen but was unable to overtake him the for win. Roczen took first, Dungey second, and Canard fended off Tomac for third. Team Yoshimura Suzuki's James Stewart finished in fifth.

Dungey kicked off the second moto with a bang, claiming the holeshot and then using the clear air to open up a comfortable lead. Meanwhile, Roczen was able to pass Toyota Yamaha JGRMX's Josh Grant for second and looked to track down his teammate.

Unfortunately for Roczen, Dungey was untouchable and earned the wire-to-wire victory in moto two to earn the overall win. Roczen earned a valuable second-place finish by fending off Tomac in the final laps.

"It was tough after that first moto, but I got back, cooled down and was feeling good," said Dungey, who moved into third on the all-time total career wins list. "I thought this [the second moto] was my moment. I got a good start, which that was way, way key and just allowed me to ride my laps. It's good to get this win; it's been since round one. This is a good step."

Ken Roczen may have missed out on the win, but he kept his podium streak alive at the seventh race of the year with his second-place finish.

"We all have our days. I'm just happy to finish second and keep the points lead the same," Roczen said. "That's all I can ask for. I just wasn't feeling it in that second moto and it's time to put that behind me. It's all about preparation during the week, so I'm going to go back and get stronger."

Tomac's great charge at the end of the second moto helped him earn third overall (4-3) from Canard, who posted an identical 3-4 moto score. Soaring Eagle/RCH Racing Suzuki's Weston Peick finished fifth 6-5 finishes.

Jason Anderson earned his first career win in the opening moto, giving him a strong chance at the overall win at Budds Creek.

250 Class
To kick off the first 250 moto of the day, GEICO Honda's Justin Bogle nabbed the Motosport.com Holeshot Award after edging out Valli Motorsports Yamaha's Christophe Pourcel. While the duo battled out front, Rockstar Energy Racing's Jason Anderson worked to make his move on the top spot after passing Pourcel. It only took until the second lap for Anderson to slide past Bogle and put a gap on the field.

Anderson’s solid race out front made it a battle for second, with Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha rider Jeremy Martin getting into the mix with Bogle and Pourcel. Martin overtook both racers in the proceeding laps. Further back in the pack, Blake Baggett fought his way up from a bad start to move past Bogle and move into third place.

Both Baggett and Martin battled hard for second, with the battle resulting in the two posting faster lap time that cut into Anderson’s solid lead out front. Although it was a tight battle on the white-flag lap, Anderson was able to hold his lines and maintain the lead to record his first career moto win. Martin finished in second while Baggett settled for third. Bogle finished in fourth place, while Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha's Cooper Webb recovered from a bad start to earn fifth.

To start the second moto, 250 point leader Martin looked strong early on by jumping out to earn the Motosport.com Holeshot Award. Behind Martin was Pourcel in second and Anderson third. Not far behind the lead trio was Bagget, who had a better start than the first moto that kept him near the front. Baggett first picked off Anderson to overtake third. Martin looked to pull away from the field out front, while Baggeett set his sites on Pourcel, finally overtaking the second-place spot after a hotly contested battle that lasted a number of laps.

While Baggett had moved into second, Martin held a sizeable lead that was as much as 5 seconds at one point. Baggett worked to cut down the lead to a few bike lengths, but late in the race Baggett was able to make his pass stick and pull away from Martin to secure the moto win and overall victory at Budds Creek.

Blake Baggett (center) earned the win in the 250cc class, while class points leader Jeremy Martin finished (left), and rounding out the podium was Jason Anderson earning a hard-fought third place overall.

"I definitely hope we can keep chipping away towards this championship," said Baggett, whose third straight win at Budds Creek was also the ninth consecutive for Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki at the track. "All that matters is that I have the points lead at the end of the season, even If we have to wait all the way to the last moto then that's what we're going to do. We're not going to stop fighting until then."

Baggett's 3-1 finishes were just enough to edge out Martin (2-2) for the overall win. Anderson's first moto win was enough to land him on the podium in third (1-7), while Pourcel finished fourth (6-3) and Webb in fifth (5-4).

"I got off to a great start [in the second moto] and tried to put on a charge there for a little while and got away a bit," Martin said. "But then we hit some lappers and I could see Baggett was right there closing in on me. He was riding really good and congrats to him today. I'm just having fun and trying to win as many races as I can. I'm getting to do what I've always dreamed of doing."

Although he finished in second, Martin only lost one point of his lead in the 250 Class standings, with Baggett moving into second and trailing him by 27 points. Webb is in third place 33 points behind Martin.

The 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship will return next weekend for the Spring Creek National, which will be held at the Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota.

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Results
GEICO Motorcycle Budds Creek National
Budds Creek MX Park - Mechanicsville, Maryland
July 12, 2014
Round 7 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (2-1)
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM (1-2)
3. Eli Tomac, Cortez, Colo., Honda (4-3)
4. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda (3-4)
5. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki (6-5)
6. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha (9-6)
7. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (8-7)
8. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Kawasaki (7-11)
9. Phil Nicoletti, Bethel, N.Y., Yamaha (12-8)
10. Matt Goerke, Sun City, Calif., KTM (11-10)

450 Class Championship Standings
1. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM, 327
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM, 301
3. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 264
4. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 212
5. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Kawasaki, 192
6. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 186
7. Weston Peick, Wildomar, Calif., Suzuki, 162
8. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM, 161
9. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki, 132
10. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki, 128

250 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki (3-1)
2. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (2-2)
3. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., KTM (1-7)
4. Christophe Pourcel, France, Yamaha (6-3)
5. Cooper Webb, Morehead City, N.C., Yamaha (5-4)
6. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda (4-5)
7. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki (13-6)
8. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (10-9)
9. Anthony Rodriguez, Venezuela, Yamaha (9-10)
10. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM (8-14)

250 Class Championship Standings
1. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha, 294
2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki, 267
3. Cooper Webb, Morehead City, N.C., Yamaha, 261
4. Justin Bogle, Cushing, Okla., Honda, 225
5. Christophe Pourcel, France, Yamaha, 211
6. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., KTM, 206
7. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 201
8. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda, 166
9. Justin Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Kawasaki, 150
10. Jessy Nelson, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 144


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