WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 53 ISSUE 5 FEBRUARY 9, 2016 P47
AS GOOD AS A WIN?
Ryan Dungey might have seen his
three-race win streak come to an
end in Arizona, but his second-
place finish was just as good as
a win, at least mentally, really. He
again showed to his rivals that
he doesn't have to always get a
good start to get on the podium
and that he is without question
the fastest rider on the track right
now, whether or not he's racing
up front all alone or in the middle
of the pack.
Dungey's ride in Arizona was
impressive, as he managed to
pass so many riders, including
Tomac, and finish just 4.5 sec-
onds behind Roczen, who had to
make just one pass all race long.
"I knew Kenny was out in front,
and there was Eli, too," said
Dungey. "I just wanted to give
myself a chance at the end for
possibly a first or second, and
we were able to do that. Second
place isn't bad [but I] had to work
for it. To start where we did and
finish second… for sure, tonight
was like a win.
"I was happy with it, overall,"
Dungey said of his race. "It wasn't
the greatest start and when you
find yourself in that position, but
that's what it is, and you've got to
go to work and that's what I tried
to do—make some good passes.
It's tougher in the pack because
you're surrounded by guys and
you've got to watch for them. I
tried to make the passes clean
and make them stick, and solid,
and keep moving forward.
"Ken is a good rider, he's going
to win races, and we have to be
there to capitalize when we can
and to put ourselves in a better
position, that was tonight. We
can't win them all."
Basically, Dungey's race was
decided in a split second, as the
starting gate dropped.
"I spun a little bit on the line
and then I just got edged out a
little bit," Dungey said of the first
critical moments of the race. "I
got a little bit nudged [going into
the first turn]; they had the upper
wheel on me and took the line
from me."
Ryan Dungey might not
have won but he might
have demoralized his
competitors by the way
he came up through
the pack after getting a
midpack start.
