Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
As it has been for the past month or so, the beginning of each week is spent browsing through about 500 photos from the past weekend’s SX. With Saturday’s race taking place at the new and beautiful University of Phoenix Stadium, all of the photos from Frank Hoppen were great. With Ken Roczen and Christian Craig each grabbing their first wins of 2016, these two have certainly set the stage for some incredible racing this coming weekend in San Diego. Also in the mix, as he’s been since Anaheim 1, was the current fastest rider in the world, Ryan Dungey. For the past 365 days, Dungey has been as successful as anyone we’ve ever seen in this sport, and with his cool and calculating riding style, as well as his unmatched attention to detail, there’s no reason to think that his success will end anytime soon. Ryan Dungey is definitely in the zone, and without a doubt he’s perfected his racing craft.
As we also witnessed in Phoenix, the track was extremely challenging and very slippery. With long lap times and very difficult obstacles, one little mistake could lead to absolute disaster. Due to the floor layout of the new stadium, track builders decided to run a section of the track outside for a short, high speed section, and then back into the stadium to rejoin the main track. Although fans could only watch the action in this section on the big screen, it was pretty cool. It made for some great racing and some exciting action on television.
As you can see here, last weekend the riders in Phoenix had to incorporate a little old school technique in their riding. Photo by Frank Hoppen
As the riders headed down the straightaway towards the beginning of the outdoor section, they first had to negotiate a set of rollers, followed by small ski-type jump that launched them into the outdoors. Normally this type of section would be no issue, however, because of its nature and location, the riders had to hit the final jump very fast if they didn’t want to lose time. This ski jump also had on the face a few of the only ruts on the hard packed Phoenix track, and when you combined them with the raw speed the riders were carrying into this section, it really demanded the utmost concentration and the proper technique if you wanted to get through with any type of consistency.
In these two photos of Ryan Dungey you can really get a sense of just how fast he’s going and how aggressively he’s attacking the Phoenix track. Obviously, with the bad start he got in the main event, Dungey was in full charge mode as he tried to reel in the leaders. In photo one, you can also see just how deep the ruts were on the face of the final ski jump. Although we can’t see the beginning of the ruts, let’s assume that, as the night went on, they got more chewed up and more than likely developed some little kickers. This didn’t stop the top riders like Dungey from clicking into fourth gear and trying to jump as far as they possibly could. Also, because of the ruts in the face, scrubbing off this jump to stay low was not an option, so if the riders wanted to carry their speed, they had to use the old school style of trying to stay low and fast by stretching their body out and keeping their weight forward. Again in the first photo, you can see that although Dungey’s front end is very high, his head is forward, his feet are very light on the footpegs (one foot is actually not touching the footpeg), and judging by his throttle hand, he still has a little power on so his front end won’t want to drop. Remember, as soon as you chop the throttle, especially on a big 450, the front wheel wants to drop very quickly, so as Dungey is doing here, try to keep just a little throttle on so the back wheel keeps spinning fast.
Ryan Dungey is fully stretched out charging hard during the main event last weekend in Phoenix. Photo by Frank Hoppen
In the second photo, Dungey looks more like a ski jumper than a SX rider as he’s really launching himself through the air. His head is even more forward. By looking at his feet, his only real connection with his KTM is with his knees and hands. Like I said, he and his bike are flying through the air the same way a ski jumper does. With all of his weight well forward and his wheels spinning as fast as possible, Dungey is getting the maximum distance out of this jump, while remaining low and carrying as much speed as possible. It is little techniques like this that make riders like Ryan Dungey so good and why he’s well on his way to possibly his third SX title. But, with a little practice, you can use this same technique to improve your riding.
So next time you’re out practicing, pick a jump that is similar to this one in Phoenix, then try hitting it, stay low and go fast without any type of scrubbing. Then, keep building up your speed and try jumping further and further. Although this technique has been around since Steve McQueen jumped over the fence in The Great Escape, over the past few years it’s become a lost art. If this technique is good enough for the champ then it’s good enough for me. I can’t wait to practice once the snow melts, I hope you feel the same way!
There are many similarities between Ryan Dungey’s technique off this jump and a World class Ski Jumper.
