Determination, smart riding, and a little luck was on his side for Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s, Ryan Dungey, who made Supercross history this weekend in Seattle. Dungey is now the youngest rider to ever win a championship in his rookie year.
Only one other rider in the history of Supercross has been able to pull off what Dungey accomplished this year, and that is the King of Supercross, Jeremy McGrath, who did it in 1993 at the age of 22.
We talked to MC prior to Seattle and get his forecast on Dungey.
“Ryan will now more than likely join me as the next rookie to win the SX title in his first premier year. He will be joining me as one of only two guys to have done this, which is pretty prestigious in its own right.”
The door opened for the Dungey at San Francisco. San Manuel Yamaha’s, James Stewart, joined Monster Energy Kawasaki’s, Chad Reed, on the bench for the 2010 AMA Supercross Series. Current points leader at the time, Ryan Dungey, crashed and ended up with a 4th. This crash caused Monster Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto to podium for first; consequently there was only 13 points between the two.
When the series headed east, the chaos and lappers of the Indianapolis round resulted in Dungey and RV having a tie for the 2010 Supercross Championship Title. Fans and followers were hyped on what was labeled as the ‘Battle of the Ryans,’ for the next few rounds.
Fast forward to the wild night at St. Louis. The third former Champion to sustain an injury was Ryan Villopoto. Unfortunately, this title chaser went down hard trying to triple out of a rhythm section. The crash left RV with a broken leg and out of the 2010 Supercross Championship chase. Meanwhile, Dungey crashed and had to fight his way back up to beat out GEICO Powersports Honda’s Kevin Windham for the first place finish giving him the much needed points lead.
Seattle is where it all became official. Before the track was built, Dungey had to only finish sixth in order to clinch the title. Ryan had some difficulties in the ruts and couldn’t find his rhythm. However, he ended up 4th, clinched his title, and became the youngest rider in his rookie season to win a championship in the premier class.
Congratulations to Ryan and the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team!
