Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey took his sixth win of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis in dominating fashion. The win sets Dungey up to clinch the title in two weeks when the series resumes in Houston after the Easter break. It was Dungey’s 20th career 450SX win, tying him with Jeff Ward on the all-time win list.
BTOSports.com’s Andrew Short pulled the holeshot, but crashed spectacularly into the Tuff Blocks at the end of the first straight, as Dungey charged to the lead. From there Dungey was never challenged, staying about six seconds in front of AutoTrader.com/Toyota/JGRMX Yamaha’s Weston Peick, then Rockstar Energy/Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jason Anderson, and finally GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac. Short walked away from the fender-snapping crash, wondering what happened to him.
Peick bravely tried to hold on to second place, but was passed by Anderson in a 180-degree turn after the split rhythm section at the midway point. Battling fitness issues following a series-interrupting foot injury, Peick eventually slipped to a fifth-place finish.
Anderson had two battles during the night with Tomac, with Anderson coming out on top early when he forced Tomac to miss a jump due to an unexpected retaliatory pass. However, on Lap 14, when Tomac and Anderson were battling for 2nd, Tomac used a quad to set himself up for the following split rhythm section to take the runner-up spot from Anderson. “That was a monkey off my back,” Anderson said. “I have been wanting to get back on the podium since the first race of the season. There are a lot of people behind me to help me get here, and I am going to come out swinging at the next race.”
Tomac suffered from a bad start, finding himself in seventh one lap into the race, while Anderson was in third after the first lap, behind Dungey and Peick. Anderson finished on the podium in third, his first podium visit since the opening round.
Team Honda HRC’s Cole Seely was also late to the first turn, putting him in ninth place after the first lap. He quietly worked his way up to fourth place, passing Peick for the spot on Lap 12. The fourth place finish broke Seely’s run of two consecutive podiums at Indianapolis and Detroit.
Poor starts outside of the Top 10 also hurt Discount Tire Kawasaki’s Chad Reed (12th) and Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Blake Baggett (11th), and they were the only riders to start outside of the Top 10, yet finish in the Top 10. Reed eventually worked his way up to eighth place, his worst finish since Round 7 in Arlington. Baggett finished 10th, putting him in a tie for sixth with Anderson in the season standings. Seely remains the top rookie, sitting fourth in the standings, 33 points ahead of the pair of fellow rookies Baggett and Anderson.
With Team Honda HRC’s Trey Canard out for the season, Tomac moves into second place in the standings, 80 points behind Dungey with four races remaining. If Tomac doesn’t score five more points than Dungey in Houston, Dungey will clinch the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Class Championship. Seely is the only other active rider still in the title hunt, though he will have to score 23 points more than Dungey next round to remain alive in the race.
Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Class Results: St. Louis
1. Ryan Dungey, KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition
2. Eli Tomac, Honda CRF450R
3. Jason Anderson, Husqvarna FC 450
4. Cole Seely, Honda CRF450R
5. Weston Peick, Yamaha YZ450F
6. Josh Grant, Kawasaki KX450F
7. Davi Millsaps, Kawasaki KX450F
8. Chad Reed, Kawasaki KX450F
9. Broc Tickle, Suzuki RM-Z450
10. Blake Baggett, Suzuki RM-Z450
Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Class Season Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, 296 points
2. Eli Tomac, 216
3. Trey Canard, 204
4. Cole Seely, 198
5. Chad Reed, 183
6. Jason Anderson, 165
7. Blake Baggett, 165
8. Ken Roczen, 156
9. Broc Tickle, 146
10. Andrew Short, 137
