Dungey wins thrilling final, Weimer controls
Anyone who had dared to say two weeks ago that Rookie Ryan Dungey would lead the championship was viewed askance. But nothing could be further from the truth, after his impressive performance last week in Anaheim, Dungey won his first SX of his career yesterday, and only in his second race in the SX class.
It was again not an ordinary evening in Phoeninx. In his heat race, Stewart changed track and ended up in the air and another rider landed on his back. Stewart immediately gave up in severe pain and it was unclear until the final seconds of the LCQ whether he would still ride. However, he did and was able to advance to the final.
Heat wins went to Dungey and Villopoto respectively, Reed came third in his heat.
In the final, Dungey took the holeshot, just like last week. He came first after 1 lap ahead of Villopoto and Stroupe and immediately opened a gap, a gap that no one would close again and which gave Dungey his first victory of his young career.
Stewart and Reed found themselves together in the belly of the starting field. Despite their position, they immediately clashed and on the fifth lap, Reed's attempted attack on Stewart failed, causing both of them to fall. Reed quickly got up but gave up for the second time in a row a lap later, reportedly suffering a broken hand. Stewart, for his part, had difficulty getting back on the bike but still finished the race, he did not get further than 15th place. After the race, an angry Stewart headed to the Kawasaki pits where he pushed Reed's bike off the mount and onto the ground. Kawasaki accused Bubba of this and he received a warning from the AMA. It is already clear that the relationship between the two has been on the verge of collapse from the start. A story that will undoubtedly be continued this season!
In the shadow of this crash, Villopoto finished second and Josh Hill finished third. Cyril Coulon was the only European (Aranda did not participate) to qualify for the final and finished 17th.
Results SX Class Phoenix :
1. Ryan Dungey
2. Ryan Villopoto
3. Josh Hill
4. Ivan Tedesco
5. Andrew Short
6. Kevin Windham
7. Austin Stroupe
8. Justin Brayton
9. Davi Millsaps
10. Thomas Hahn
11. R Gomez
12. K Chisholm
13. Nick Wey
14. J Thomas
15. James Stewart
16. C Blose
17. Coulon
18. Grant Langston
19. Chad Reed
20. Michael Byrne
Standings after two games:
1. Ryan Dungey 47
2. Ryan Villopoto 38
3. Josh Hill 35
4. Kevin Windham 35
5. Andrew Short 34
6. Ivan Tedesco 32
7. James Stewart 31
8. Justin Brayton 26
9. Davi Millsaps 24
10. Thomas Hahn 21
In the Lites class the victory once again went to Jake Weimer. However, it was his teammate Josh Hansen who took the fastest start, but he made a serious mistake on the first lap. Blake Wharton took the lead but had to let Ryan Morais and Weimer go in front on the twelfth lap. Weimer moved into first place moments later and recorded his second victory ahead of Morais and Wharton. Trey Canard, a title contender, only finished seventh. Searle was the best rider on the European side, the KTM rider finished eighth. Gautier Paulin finished 12th and Max Anstie finished 15th.
Results Lites Phoenix :
1. Jake Weimer
2. Ryan Morais
3. Blake Wharton
4. Wil Hahn
5. Broc Tickle
6. Cole Seely
7. Trey Canard
8. Tommy Searle
9. R Kiniry
10. P Nicoletti
11. T Baker
12. Gautier Paulin
13. Jeff Alessi
14. R Clark
15. Max Anstie
16. Borkenhagen
17. Ben Evans
18. C Gosselaar
19.Canada
20. Josh Hansen
Lites West standings after two games:
1. Jake Weimer 50
2. Ryan Morais 42
3. Blake Wharton 38
4. Trey Canard 36
5. Wil Hahn 34
6. Broc Tickle 31
7. Tommy Searle 27
8. Cole Seely 22
9. R Kiniry 20
10. J Alessi 19
Photos : Supercross.com
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