Championship Kicks Off Consecutive Weekends in Atlanta
Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, will make its first of back-to-back Saturday night visits to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome this weekend for the eighth stop of the 17-race season. The annual visit to the south will also signify the halfway point in the championship once the checkered flag falls.
Red Bull KTM rider and current 450SX Class points leader Ryan Dungey’s second win of the season last weekend in Arlington, Texas, has given the 2010 champion his largest points lead of thus far, sitting at 12 points ahead of RCH Soaring Eagle/Jimmy John’s Factory Suzuki’s Ken Roczen. The former teammates will renew their rivalry this weekend in Atlanta, while third title contender Trey Canard looks to keep pace with the lead duo aboard his Team Honda HRC machine. In the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin looks to add to his dominant start to the season, extending his points lead moving to 2-0 on the season.
On hand for tomorrow night’s Monster Energy Supercross race will be a host of celebrities and athletes taking in what is expected to another epic night of racing.
- Nash and Hayes Grier (YouTube/Vine Sensations)
- Kroy Biermann (Atlanta Falcons)
- Kenny Rogers (Singer/Songwriter)
- Cory Wire (Former Atlanta Falcons Player)
- Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions/UGA)
- Robert McClain (Atlanta Falcons)
- Jerious Norwood (Atlanta Falcons)
- Desmond Trufant (Atlanta Falcons)
- Julio Jones (Atlanta Falcons)
PROGRAM ALERT
**FOX Sports 1 will air the Atlanta race live at 7 p.m. EST/ 4 p.m. PST**
**Coverage from Atlanta will also be available on the authenticated FOX Sports GO app**
450SX Class
Red Bull KTM
#5 Ryan Dungey
Current Championship Position: 1st
Arlington Start: 1st
Arlington Finish: 1st (+/-0)
2015 Average Finish: 2.3
Dungey’s podium streak now sits at six races, with his worst result of the season being fourth at the opening race in Anaheim.
Photo Credit: Brown Dog Wilson
“I’m really excited to get another win,” stated Dungey. “It feels great to see the hard work pay off and I’m excited to increase the point lead on the championship. I’d also like to congratulate my teammate [Marvin Musquin] on his [250SX Class] win. It’s always a good night when the team can sweep both races. I think it speaks a lot for our team and the bikes that we ride.”
RCH Soaring Eagle/ Jimmy John’s Factory Suzuki
#94 Ken Roczen
Current Championship Position: 2nd (-12 points behind leader)
Arlington Start: 4th
Arlington Finish: 2nd (+2)
2015 Average Finish: 3.9
Roczen is the defending race winner in Atlanta, which was the site of his second career victory.
“I need to work on my starts,” explained Roczen. “I’ve been working hard on trying to be better, I just have to get out front. Ryan [Dungey] was pretty much gone after two laps and I made one big mistake after the finish line, but overall it was a decent race. We got second again and we’ll definitely take the podium.
“It’s still a long season but I have to work on my starts so I can be out front. Ryan is a really good starter. I just need to get holeshots. Third and fourth out of the gate isn’t going to be good enough. We need to win races and can’t make mistakes. Obviously, there are enough guys who can win. You just have to go in the Main, get that holeshot and ride smart. You have to win.”
Team Honda HRC
#41 Trey Canard
Current Championship Position: 3rd (-23 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 5th
Arlington Finish: 3rd (+2)
2015 Average Finish: 4.6
Canard sits 11 points behind Roczen for second in the championship.
“Overall, I’m happy with my ride [in Arlington],” said Canard. “I was giving it my all and you could tell that both those guys [fellow podium finishers Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey] were really feeling good. I didn’t feel especially great all day so to come away with a third was a nice feeling. I think the nights you’re not feeling your best are the ones you need to capitalize on and get a podium for the points. I mean I’m still a little disappointed because you always want to win, especially when the guys who beat you are ahead of you in points, but it’s a long series. I just need to keep my head down and keep moving forward.”
#14 Cole Seely
Current Championship Position: 6th (-59 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 13th
Arlington Finish: 10th (+3)
2015 Average Finish: 8.1
Seely’s 10th-place finish was his worst since the second race in Anaheim, the third race of the season.
“It was a long and rough night for me [in Arlington],” said Seely. “I didn’t get the best start in my Heat Race, so I was trying to work my way forward when there were four of us riders neck-and-neck trying to fight for two transfer spots. Unfortunately, I got shuffled back and missed transferring. I was running second in the Semi and was going for the lead when my front end washed out in a turn. It seemed like the track went from having pretty good traction one lap, to ice the next lap. I had to go to the LCQ, which is every rider’s nightmare. I got a good start, rode a clean race and just was focused on making it into the Main Event. The Main was also pretty tough. I actually got a pretty good start considering I was third from the very outside and was running around seventh when I washed the front end out again. I got shuffled back to 16th and had to spend the rest of the race pushing forward to 10th.”
GEICO Honda
#3 Eli Tomac
Current Championship Position: 4th (-38 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 9th
Arlington Finish: 7th (+2)
2015 Average Finish: 6.1
Arlington was Tomac’s first finish outside the top five since he won in Phoenix, the second race of the championship.
“The fall [in the Main Event] didn’t cost me positions, but it cost me enough time that it pretty much assured me of not having a chance at the podium,” Tomac said. “I’m never one to make excuses but I was just down on power [in Arlington], to be honest. I think I might have overdone it a bit in practice and maybe having to travel east hurt. I’m not sure. I just didn’t have anything in the tank.”
“I’ll definitely rest a bit more this week and recharge my batteries. We’re switching from our place in California to home [in Cortez, Colorado], so that will lessen the travel. I need to do whatever I can to get back on the podium every race.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory racing
#21 Jason Anderson
Current Championship Position: 5th(-52 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 11th
Arlington Finish: 6th (+5)
2015 Average Finish: 7.1
Anderson and Dungey remain the only two riders in the championship to finish in the top 10 at every race this season.
“My weekend was decent,” said Anderson. “I’m climbing my way back up again and I ended up with a 6th in Arlington. The lines on the track were a little bit sketchy and some of the ruts were down to the concrete. I’m not too bummed on the night with the 6th and I’m just going to keep working from there and doing my deal. Need to stay solid and keep this top-10 streak alive.”
Yoshimura Suzuki
#4 Blake Baggett
Current Championship Position: 7th (-66 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 3rd
Arlington Finish: 4th (-1)
2015 Average Finish: 8.9
Baggett’s fourth was the best finish of his 450SX Class career.
“Like me, the team is just plugging away making improvements on the bike every week,” said Baggett. “The bike is coming around. [In the Main Event] I jumped in tow with [Trey] Canard and tried to stay behind him. I was with him until Lap 15 when I made another mistake and lost the train a little bit, but I had a steady ride to fourth and we’re making progress. We’re just a few seconds from being on the box [podium] and I’m just going to keep plugging away and try to keep my momentum going in Atlanta.”
Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports
#22 Chad Reed
Current Championship Position: 8th (-67 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 7th
Arlington Finish: 11th (-4)
2015 Average Finish: 9.4 (six races)
Reed still remains a solid eighth in the championship despite earning no points as a result of the black flag he received at the second race in Anaheim.
BTO Sports KTM
#29 Andrew Short
Current Championship Position: 9th (-70 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 6th
Arlington Finish: 5th (+1)
2015 Average Finish: 9.4
Short’s fifth-place finish in Arlington duplicated his season-best result from the opening race in Anaheim.
Autotrader.com/Toyota/Yamaha
#51 Justin Barcia
Current Championship Position: 10th (-81 behind leader)
Arlington Start: DNS
Arlington Finish: DNS
2015 Average Finish: 7.0 (five races)
No word yet on whether or not Barcia will miss his third consecutive race with a small hip fracture.
Eastern Regional 250SX Class
Red Bull KTM
#25 Marvin Musquin
Current Championship Position: 1st
Arlington Start: 1st
Arlington Finish: 1st (+/-0)
2015 Average Finish: 1.0
Musquin earned the fifth Main Event win of his career in Arlington.
“It feels so great to get a win,” stated Musquin. “Myself and the team have been working so hard in the offseason to get where we need to be to run up front. I have had a lot of injuries in the past few seasons, particularly in the supercross season, and I am happy to finally be completely healthy at the start of the season. I am so happy and very thankful to my team.”
Photo Credit: Brown Dog Wilson
GEICO Honda
#1 Justin Bogle
Current Championship Position: 2nd (-3 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 2nd
Arlington Finish: 2nd (+/-0)
2015 Average Finish: 2.0
Bogle is the defending Eastern Regional 250SX Class Champion.
“It’s nice to get out of Arlington with a lot of points and bunch of knowledge,” said Bogle. “I learned a lot. I know where I was a little off, so I’ll go back and do some work this week to get ready for the next one. I fully believe I’m capable of winning; there are just a few things I need to clean up and I’ll be good.
#80 RJ Hampshire
Current Championship Position: 7th (-11 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 6th
Arlington Finish: 7th (-1)
2015 Average Finish: 7.0
Hampshire made his Monster Energy Supercross debut in Arlington after completing Ricky Carmichael’s Road to Supercross in AMSOIL Arenacross last season.
“My speed seemed good,” said Hampshire. “I can improve, for sure, but I’m where I should be probably at this point. I think there are some things I can work on in practice that will make it better for me next week. I need better starts and I need to avoid trouble. One of my main goals is to race every lap of every Main Event this year.”
Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
#37 Joey Savatgy
Current Championship Position: 3rd (-5 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 5th
Arlington Finish: 3rd (+2)
2015 Average Finish: 3.0
Savatgy earned his first career podium in his first start with the Pro Circuit Kawasaki team.
“Getting on the podium last week was good, and now I know what I need to do to get my first win,” said Savatgy. “It has been tough watching the West Coast guys race, but now that I am racing it is exciting. I’ve had a good week of riding and I’m going to be looking to be back on the podium again.”
#200 Arnaud Tonus
Current Championship Position: 8th (-12 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 19th
Arlington Finish: 8th (+11)
2015 Average Finish: 8.0
Tonus, a veteran rider from Switzerland, made his first career Monster Energy Supercross start in Arlington.
“Getting that first race out of the way is great. Now I have a better idea of what to expect and I know how fast all of the competition is,” said Tonus. “Every race is new to me so running back-to-back in Atlanta could be helpful. I know I need to get better starts and I will be fighting for the podium.”
Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha
#6 Jeremy Martin
Current Championship Position: 4th (-7 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 7th
Arlington Finish: 4th (+3)
2015 Average Finish: 4.0
Martin failed to qualify for the Main Event in the opening race of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class Championship for the past two seasons.
“My thoughts on the first East Coast round in Arlington are positive,” said Martin. “Not qualifying for the past two years and being able to walk away from Texas with a fourth and 18 points after feeling off all day was a good result. I came from nearly dead last to almost getting a spot on the podium. My expectations for Atlanta are to get the track dialed in right away and put myself in a position to win the Main Event come Saturday night.”
JAB Motorsports
# 43 Matthew Lemoine
Current Championship Position: 5th (-9 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 4th
Arlington Finish: 5th (-1)
2015 Average Finish: 5.0
Smartop MotoConcepts Racing
#45 Vince Friese
Current Championship Position: 6th (-10 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 9th
Arlington Finish: 6th (+3)
2015 Average Finish: 6.0
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
#47 Martin Davalos
Current Championship Position: 9th (-13 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 18th
Arlington Finish: 9th (+9)
2015 Average Finish: 9.0
Davalos crashed on the opening lap of the Main Event in Arlington while battling for second.
“The track was pretty tricky [in Arlington]. It had a lot of traction in some spots and none in other areas. It was also really mellow though and had nothing to separate people. I had a great start and just got taken out in the second corner. I couldn’t find a flow to get going, then we had a restart. It was tough to pass, everybody was taking inside lines everywhere. I tried to take some outsides but it really wasn’t working for me and I ended up 9th.”
Gurrnaid Energy Drink/AG Motorsports
#55 Kyle Peters
Current Championship Position: 10th (-14 behind leader)
Arlington Start: 15th
Arlington Finish: 10th (+5)
2015 Average Finish: 10.0
Headlining the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross television package will be the first-ever live FOX network broadcast from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday, April 25 at 3pm E.T. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast 12 races live and FOX Sports 2 will broadcast 3 races live. Each race will include a next-day re-air on FOX Sports 1. In addition, the authenticated FOX Sports Go app will live stream each race.
As a precursor to the live television, don’t forget to catch all of the pre-race coverage with Supercross Race Day Live, which will stream on www.SupercrossLive.comfrom 12:50 – 4:30 p.m. local race time each Saturday during the season. Practice, qualifying, behind the scenes features, and key rider interviews will all be highlighted on the Supercross Race Day Live webcast.
