Hear from the stars of the show following round 13 of the AMA Monster Energy Supercross season.
Ryan Dungey: (1st in 450SX) “It was definitely tough. You know, with a track like this, and then obviously being in first and having the pressure on you from Kenny, and then the track obviously was very soft this weekend and rutted and it was easy to force, you know, to push too hard. So I think riding the track within the limits and not overly over-riding the track–it was easy, if you over-rode the track, it was easy for something to reach out and bite you and make a mistake. I think being smart with throttle control and everything and our line choice and, you know, finessing everything, but yeah, it was an incredible race, 1-2 right there the whole time for twenty laps. I think it’s definitely thrilling for us and a lot going on, a lot of excitement–for the fans too, so that’s awesome–but one of the most challenging tracks I think we’ve ever ridden, just because the dirt conditions really.”
Ken Roczen: (2nd in 450SX) “Yeah, it was fun! It was an amazing ride the whole way. I’m pretty bummed that I messed up on that dragons back, but we’ve been riding really good and strong—that’s what counts, you know. I kept him on his toes the whole way, actually made the pass happen and made the mistake right after. That pretty much cost me the win. Overall, the bike has been working amazing. We’ve done a few changes, and it keeps getting better and better. I think that shows too. My start wasn’t the greatest, but I made some moves happen and overall I’m happy with how I rode. I’m obviously bummed about the second place, but it is what it is.”
Jason Anderson: (3rd in 450SX) “Indy was good for me. I had some good practices. The track was very rutted, but I still felt like I was riding well and I ended up qualifying fourth. I got into the lead in the heat race and was able to hold off Dungey for the win. I felt like I had a good start going into the first corner of the main, but then I just got shuffled back really quick. It was chaos for a little bit, but I managed and came out with a third.”
Blake Baggett: (5th in 450SX) “Fifth-place for the night, definitely my best race of the year,” Baggett smiled. “We’re coming along, plugging away and going in the right direction, definitely improving. We’re just going to build on it from here. I’m excited.”
Christophe Pourcel: (7th in 450SX) “I got the fastest time in practice so that’s good. I want to show the team that I can be in front, but my neck is still a little sore. I just stalled the bike in the heat and went over the bars pretty hard. I had a lot of pain in my ribs so I had to get it checked out after that happened. I had a good start in the main. If you believe in yourself and think you’re going to do well you can get a start from anywhere. It feels good to finally start in the front. I had a couple good laps with the guys up front, then decided to take it easy because the track is rough and I was pretty beat up. I’m mad because I crashed, but I just wanted to stay on two wheels and take it easy because it was my first race back. I’m happy to finish seventh.”
Eli Tomac: (9th in 450SX) “You always have to expect the soft dirt and ruts in Indy,” said Tomac. “My heat race went well, as I qualified straight into the Main Event. I got off to a great start in the main and had second for a bit until I settled into third. With just a few laps to go I came up on a couple lapped riders and had to check up before a double and ended up crashing.”
Justin Bogle: (13th in 450SX) “Gnarliest Supercross track I’ve raced on in a long time, I definitely couldn’t get comfortable at all out there. I drug my foot pegs up the face of the finish line jump in practice, and the case was so hard not even OJ Simpson’s team coulda helped out! It was a hard case! The track was super difficult and I’m not the only one who struggled so it is what it is. Heat race was good, I holeshoted that and ended up third. The main event was really disappointing, just a very poor performance from me. Ended up 13th and wanting much, much more from myself for the rest of the season.”
Aaron Plessinger: (1st in 250SX) “The start was good. I think I came out like third or something and then passed into first going over the finish line. And then after that, I knew Mookie was right behind me, so I had to push hard, and he stayed right behind me for quite awhile. Some lappers got in my way and he caught right up. Then something happened to him in the rhythm section and he dropped off, but it was a really, really good race. I started to have some fun at the end and started to roll some jumps, but it was really rutted, really rough, and I’m just glad I won here.”
Malcolm Stewart: (2nd in 250SX) “Had a good day in Indy. Qualified first in practice and was feeling good on the bike all day. Finished second in my heat. In the main I got a decent start and worked my way up to second. It’s all about gaining points. I saw [Jeremy] Martin go down, and I hope he’s okay. You never want to see a guy go down and lead it like that. I’m happy that I’m still the points leader and we just want to click off points. There’s only four rounds left. You can’t win them all. Overall, for how brutal this racer track was, I’m happy with a second. I wanted to get on the box and try to do my best to keep Martin behind me, and it worked out. Now I got A.P. [Aaron Plessinger] on my butt (laughs). Hats off to that guy, though. He was the better man today.”
Gannon Audette: (3rd in 250SX) “Today was awesome,” said Audette. “The track was really fun tonight and I finished seventh in my Heat Race. I ended up starting pretty far outside of the gate but my Kawasaki hooked up great and I ended up getting the holeshot. I put in 15 solid laps and ended up with a podium. It was an awesome weekend. [On the feeling of his first podium] A lot of different emotions. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet, I’ve been really busy since it happened. It just feels amazing! I can’t thank the Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki guys enough. My mechanic and everyone that’s given me this opportunity. To come onto the podium for them is just awesome.”
Martin Davalos: (5th in 250SX) “The track was really demanding tonight. I had three pretty big crashes. I’m just glad I’m ok. I definitely had to stay on my toes. I had a good heat race, but lappers got in my way in the main. I’ll just go back to work on Monday and focus on St. Louis.”
RJ Hampshire: (6th in 250SX) “Decent weekend. Felt good in practice, and was right where I needed to be. Had a pretty good heat going and ate it in the whoops, hit my head and chest pretty good. That sent me to my first LCQ of the season. Won that but had a terrible gate pick on the outside for the main. Ended up coming out of the gate pretty good, rounded he first turn around the top five then got tangled up in the first couple turns and believe I fell back to around 15th. I had a massive case around half way because of a lapper, which hurt me pretty bad. Put my head down and came back to sixth. Not what we want but we will keep building and not dawn on the downs!”
