LOS ANGELES, California – Red Bull/KTM Factory rider Ryan Dungey turned in another impressive finish with a 2nd place result at the third round of the AMA Supercross Series held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA which allows him to maintain the points lead heading to the next round.

Threats of rain throughout the early afternoon caused the track crew to keep the course covered until 4:00 pm. The crew did a great job of protecting the track, and once the cover was removed, riders were presented with a nearly dry track. Each practice group was given only one practice session before the night show.  

Dungey qualified third fastest from the practice session to earn a top spot in heat number two. When the gate dropped for the heat race Dungey jumped to a 5th place start and was pushed back to 7th on the second corner. He quickly moved back into the top five and was able to finish 4th in his heat. 

He had a decent gate pick for the main event and was able to leap off to a great start pulling the holeshot around the first corner. He and Ryan Villopoto quickly found each other and began a battle for the lead. Unfortunately, Trey Canard and Ryan Morais were involved in a bad crash on the first lap that caused the race to be red flagged. All the riders were removed from the course while medics assisted the injured riders. 

On the restart, Dungey pulled off another fine start and rounded the first corner in 4th place. He remained in that position for the first seven laps in a four-way battle for the lead with Jake Weimer, James Stewart and Chad Reed. On the seventh lap, Reed jumped into the lead while Stewart put an aggressive block pass on Weimer which caused Weimer to crash and gave Stewart the position. Dungey was able to avoid the downed rider and moved into 3rd. Dungey and Stewart began to battle for 2nd place for the next four laps until Stewart crashed on his own and handed the position to Dungey. 

Once in 2nd, Dungey maintained his pace and held on to the position to finish 2nd for the night. His third podium finish of the season makes him the only rider to have finished on the podium at each of the first three rounds. His consistency also pays off in the championship chase as he will retain the red number plate and the series points lead heading to the fourth event. 

Now three rounds into the series, Dungey holds a 4-point lead over Ryan Villopoto and Chad Reed who are tied for 2nd place. “It feels great to hold the red number plate as we head into the fourth round,” remarked Dungey after the race. “It’s still early in the series, but it is definitely off to a good start for the Red Bull/KTM Team. I can’t thank everybody on the team enough. They have put in so many hours and we have made so much progress on the new 450. The bike is running amazing.” 

Next Race: Oakland/CA – January 28, 2012 

Results Supercross Los Angeles

1. Chad Reed (USA), Honda, 18:45.084 min (20 laps)
2. Ryan Dungey (USA), KTM, +2.968 sec 
3. James Stewart (USA), Yamaha, +8.503
4. Ryan Villopoto (USA), Kawasaki, +9.113
5. Brett Metcalfe (USA), Suzuki, +22.881

Supercross Standings after 3 of 17 rounds

1. Dungey, 67 points 
2. Reed, 63
3. Villopoto, 63
4. Jake Weimer (USA), Kawasaki, 48 
5. Stewart, 43

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Ryan Dungey (USA), series leader and red number plate holder.

Dungey on his new KTM 450 SX-F.

Gate drop to the Supercross class race.

Dungey really happy with his performance in Los Angeles.

Supercross class podium L.A. (from left): James Stewart, Chad Reed and Ryan Dungey