2022 Hangtown Motocross Classic - Animated Track Map

Dunge Returns To Hangtown 6 Years Later

It all looked too normal. Ryan Dungey doesn’t look like he aged one bit. He looked as fit as usual. He was running all of his old logos and gear. His style looked the same on the bike, and, then, the clincher, is that he almost logged his same old results! When Dungey started to catch Eli Tomac for third in the first moto of the day at the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross opener at Fox Raceway, it was as if he had swapped his 2022 KTM 450SX-F for a damned time machine. There might not be a rider more notorious for podiums than Ryan Dungey. There he was, about to do it again, hitting 88 mph with a flux capacitor on the handlebars. This was a time machine. This was vintage Dungey.

In the end, he couldn’t quite hold onto that spot, as a determined Christian Craig came through and bested Dungey, as did Jason Anderson. He finished the first moto in fifth, and took fifth in moto two, as well. It wasn’t a podium, but no one is complaining. Dungey has not raced motocross in six years and retired completely in 2017. This is an insane performance after being off that long. Because it’s Dungey, and because he looked the same, it didn’t seem as shocking as the numbers suggest. But let’s take a step back and realize what this was. Shocking. Amazing. Incredible. This is an athlete coming back five years after retirement and performing within percentage points of his old level. This does not happen in any sport. Dungey made it look routine.

“It was nice to get on the track in practice just to honestly get the nerves out and get going,” Dungey summed up via a Red Bull KTM team statement. “I was just anticipating the day, waiting for it to come, and so it’s here. We had two good practices, chased the bike setup a little bit but we ended up coming to a good spot. Going into the first moto, I got off to a decent start actually, probably 5-6-7 in the pack, and for me it was just important to let it come to me. Don’t rush, don’t override, hit your marks and find good lines as the race goes on. I was able to make some passes and I was actually pretty happy with fifth at the end of that one.”

In the second moto, Dungey started with the leaders to further complete the throwback theme. Nothing looked weird or out of place. Heck, Dungey was even there with Ken Roczen, his old racing rival.

“I got a really good start in the second moto, almost holeshot, and that was nice because I got to run up there with Chase and Ken and get a feel of that pace that I need to work towards,” he explained. “I ended up fifth overall, so I’m not mad. I’m actually really happy with the day and the bike too. We made some changes going into the second moto and that really helped. For me, it’s the best outdoor bike I’ve ever ridden at KTM, so that’s really pleasing. The cool part is I see the areas I need to work on and that’s the challenge and the motivation, so moving forward.”

Yup. You can only imagine Dungey will get better from here, and the podium is close.

It is easy, in hindsight, to know it would go this way. Because it’s Ryan Dungey! We’ve probably all harbored the thought that he could just roll out of bed and get a podium anytime, anywhere. He didn’t quite land there at the end of the day, but this was far from an embarrassment or a tarnishing of his legacy. In fact, he did something athletes making comebacks hardly ever do: he actually enhanced his reputation! Ryan Dungey was already one of the legends of the sport, but in just one race, he already made this a legendary comeback.

World SX Grows!

Additional two World Supercross Championship teams announced

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Section: Competition Post: Alex Gobert

Craig Dack Racing and Rick Ware Racing the latest to be confirmed.

Image: Foremost Media.

Powerhouse Australian team Craig Dack Racing (CDR) and American-based NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA SportsCar owner Rick Ware Racing (RWR) have been announced as the latest organizations to secure team licenses for the FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX).

With MotoConcepts, Pipes Motorsports Group, Bud Racing and Team GSM already confirmed last week, CDR and RWR now make it six teams of the 10 that have been revealed ahead of the pilot series later this year.

As the factory Yamaha 450 team in Australian motocross and supercross, CDR has long been recognised as a world-class operation with an extensive list of championships in both disciplines. A former racer himself, Dack also spent time managing Yamaha of Troy in the US two decades ago and was instrumental in Chad Reed’s early career.

SX Global, the Australian company spearheading WSX, announced CDR together with American team RWR, which also has experience in operating a supercross program in the late 2000s. It currently competes in a range of top-tier motorsports series within North America.

“Aside from operating and competing at the highest levels of the sport, the addition of Dack’s Monster Energy Yamaha team expands the international relevance to our backyard where we have a storied history of popular supercross events in Australia,” said Adam Bailey, managing director – Motorsport of SX Global.

“While also bridging across the broader realm of prominent American auto racing through Rick Ware’s history in NASCAR and IndyCar racing. It’s incredible to see the intensive demand for these exclusive licenses with teams at the highest levels of competition, and with the sophistication and commitment to support and sustain a truly global championship.”

SX Global president Tony Cochrane commented: “Our ambitions and plans have faced incredible skepticism, but for those that have doubted us or continue to do so, we hope this line-up of credible, powerful teams and owners speaks volumes to our ability to bring this championship to fruition at the level necessary to give fans across the world a truly top-tier global supercross offering.

“What may be most valuable to us is the strength that each of these teams brings our series through their spirit of partnership – that shared vision and commitment to global success is extremely powerful and will drive us forward in the years to come.”

Over the coming weeks, the WSX four remaining licensed teams will be announced, completing the exclusive 10-team field. A schedule for the four-round pilot series due to drop the gates in September 2022 is yet to officially surface.

MAVTV releases statement on Fox Raceway problems

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Network actively working to improve MAVTV Plus for future events.

MAVTV has released a statement regarding its broadcast problems encountered during the opening round of the 2022 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, which saw major challenges with the newly-introduced MAVTV Plus streaming platform on Saturday.

Qualifying was placed on the MAVTV Facebook page, rather than the MAVTV Plus application and website that viewers had subscribed to in the lead-up, before all four motos were aired across both Facebook and the American Motocross YouTube account free of charge to ensure fans were able to tune in.

To make matters more complicated, those unscheduled streams were commercial-free, while the official coverage streamed for subscribers – once issues were rectified on the MAVTV Plus platform – included an extensive amount of ads during the motos in line with what is broadcast through the MAVTV Motorsports Network via television providers. The wide expectation is that paying subscribers should receive uninterrupted races without commercials.

“Saturday, the MAVTV Plus website was impacted in a manner unexpected to us which did not meet the quality standard we strove for,” a statement from MAVTV read. “This is not acceptable and we are actively working on solutions to remedy the situation and as we move toward future events. We know this did not provide the best user experience for our fans and we share in your frustration. We sincerely apologise.

“Our goal is to bring you only the best streaming service possible this season. We hear you! We are actively working on a commercial solution which will work best for both the fan experience and sponsor experience. We are true to our fans, the integrity of the racing and value our sponsors who make the sport we all love possible. Our company strives to bring quality products and services and we will continue to work towards bringing a solution to remedy all concerns. Thank you for your loyalty and support of MAVTV Plus.”

JOHNNY GIRROIR WINS HIGH VOLTAGE SPRINT ENDURO

Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir took the two-day overall win at this weekend’s US Sprint Enduro Series at the High Voltage Sprint Enduro in Dilliner, Pennsylvania. Girroir beat AmPro Yamaha’s Layne Michael by just six seconds to win the overall after the two riders split wins over the weekend, with Girroir taking Saturday’s win and Michael winning Sunday’s round.

GateDrop Catches Up With Hunter Lawrence

Interview: Hunter Lawrence – ‘the plan is to win an SX and outdoor title’

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Hunter Lawrence had a brilliant SX season, he might not have won the championship but it came down to the final round and the Aussie ended the season superbly well. The HRC Honda rider comes into the AMA Nationals with confidence and a good mindset which showed at the opening round. 

Despite picking up an illness on the build up to the event, Lawrence was still strong and finished 2-2 behind his brother in both moto’s in what would have been a special day for the family. 

Marco Kamper caught up with Lawrence after the opening AMA Nationals round to discuss his day and more. 

GateDrop: First of all, let’s start with the end of the Supercross season… it felt like you had the momentum at the end of the season, how did that feel? 

Lawrence: Really good. I was so close to winning four in a row. We won three in a row and won five of the last six race so it was good. To crash out of one of the rounds and to only finish ten points behind the championship winner was really cool. I am happy I was able to finish off Supercross in that way and bring the momentum to Motocross. 

GateDrop: It’s easy to forget but you weren’t even supposed to race the West Coast… how did all that go? 

Lawrence: Well, yeah, I had been training and everything around East Coast but then Jett had the crash. But they said, “hey, you’re ready. Let’s chuck you in”, so we did that and it went well. 

GateDrop: Before the Nationals, you and your Brother obviously train a lot… Speed wise has there been much of a difference in the training? 

Lawrence: It’s been good, I’ve been faster so it’s been good. But I’ve been sick this past week leading up to the race so I didn’t have the best build up for the race. I was feeling weak and stuff today but it was good… I can’t wait for the next one now. 

GateDrop: Honestly, today if you forget about the starts and look at the riding alone… you were maybe even the fastest guy…  

Lawrence: Thank you… yeah, I’d like to think so (laughs). 

GateDrop: You and your brother have a huge fan group, you had your own section of fans in the crowd… do you like that sort of thing? 

Lawrence: It’s cool. It’s kind of away that we get together with our sponsors and we can give back to all the people that support and follow us. It’s kind of cool for us to be able to do something special for them. 

GateDrop: Did you notice that whenever Jett joined the pro’s that upped the support? 

Lawrence: I think it did because when it’s just one guy it’s kind of okay but when it’s two brothers, it’s kind of like a thing. I think a lot of families can relate to that and get behind it. It’s cool, the American crowd and public have really embraced us and support us so it’s really awesome. We can’t thank them enough because it’s what we dreamed of as kids. 

GateDrop: You are still riding a 250cc at the moment… have you got any plans for next year yet? 

Lawrence: Next year it’s looking like I’ll be riding a 250cc again. The plan is to win a Supercross championship and an outdoor one. That’s the plan and then we will move up. 

GateDrop: You grew up in Australia to then go and race in Europe and now you’re in America… what transition do you think was harder to make? 

Lawrence: Europe. For us the culture difference, the living is different… Everything in Europe was so difficult for us to get used to. America is pretty similar to Australia so going from Europe to America was really easy for us.

Interview: Marco Kamper

Pics: Niek Kamper

Jonathan McCready and Andy McKinstry discuss the AMA opener, Honda’s performance, Dungey and Cairoli plus the MXGP in Spain with Renaux’s win and MX2 points leader changes plus Everts’ speed.

MXGP of Spain 2022

Ryan Dungey - "Will I Get There, that Pace Again? I Don't Know, but I Want to"

Cameron McAdoo's crash at Fox Raceway

2022 ProMX Rd4 | Gillman SA

 A weekend of firsts for CDR Yamaha's Aaron Tanti and Yamalube Yamaha Racing's Rhys Budd. Tanti broke through for his first MX1 moto win and also the round win, while Budd claimed his maiden MX2 podium with second overall.