Ryan Dungey has captured his third Monster Energy AMA World Supercross championship inside New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium with a fourth place finish in the main event, locking away the title with one round to spare.
RCH Suzuki’s Ken Roczen took command of the main event as soon as the gate dropped by grabbing the holeshot and leading every lap to finish 11s clear of Eli Tomac.
HRC Honda’s Cole Seely made a welcome return to the podium in third place, denying Dungey his 32nd consecutive podium.
Dungey ‘s fourth place ensured the title with a maximum of 25 points left for the 2016 championship. He has a 35-point margin over Roczen.
“Winning this championship truly is the height of our sport and I couldn’t have done it without the whole Red Bull KTM Team, my beautiful wife and all of the support system behind me,” Dungey said.
When asked what’s next in his career, the 26-year-old said he has no intentions of slowing down.
“There’s a lot left in my career that I want to accomplish. Our better days are still ahead I believe and as long as I’m still competitive, I’ll continue to go after these (championships).:”
Behind Dungey finished BTO Sports KTM’s Justin Brayton, followed by Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson in sixth and Marvin Musquin in seventh.
Trey Canard, Chad Reed and Justin Bogle completed the top ten.
In the 250 East Coast championship, Geico Honda’s Malcolm Stewart claimed his second main event win of 2016, and pushed his championship lead to 14 heading into the final round at Las Vegas next weekend.
Second place went to last week’s winner Martin Davalos, followed by Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin in third.
TLD KTM’s Shane Mcelrath claimed fourth, whilst championship contender Aaron Plessinger experienced a poor start, and finished in fifth place by races end.
The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki duo of Tyler Bowers and Gannon Audette finished in sixth and seventh, whilst KTM privateer Dakota Alix put in a fantastic performance to finish eighth.
Luke Renzland and Cedric Soubeyras completed the top ten.
Malcolm Stewart leads the 250 East championship with 160 points, followed by Plessinger with 146 and Jeremy Martin with 141.
The 17th and final round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross will take place at Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, next weekend as both 250 championships are yet to be decided with Cooper Webb leading the West, and Malcolm Stewart leading the East.