LAKEWOOD — The thin mountain air is known for taking the wind out of people. Turns out, motocross bikes aren’t immune either.
As the only Rocky Mountain stop on the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship tour, riders are charged with preparing their bodies for the elevation change and making the right adjustments for their bikes to function at the mile- high altitude of Thunder Valley in Lakewood.
Ryan Dungey, who started the Thunder Valley round 28 points behind 450 series leader Chad Reed, took his first overall win of the season by way of a first-place finish in the second 450 moto, allowing him to break a tie with Ryan Villopoto.
The 20-year-old from Minnesota had success at Thunder Valley last year en route to a 10-win season and overall championship.
“Up here at elevation, you lose a lot of power,” Dungey said. “You have to make the right changes.”
Just 21 points separate Dungey (202), Villopoto (215) and Reed (223).
Villopoto encountered troubles with his bike after the practice round, which led his team to “tear down his entire bike,” replacing his motor and electrical system.
After winning the first moto, Villopoto couldn’t catch Dungey in the second moto.
“It seemed like he was a little faster on one side of the track and I was on the other. We played cat and mouse,” Villopoto said about his battle with Dungey. “I don’t know if I made a mistake or he turned it up, but that’s how it stayed.”
Even Villopoto’s 47 points weren’t enough to overtake the series lead from Reed, who has not vacated the top spot in 2011.
Reed, who has never won at Thunder Valley, struggled as he took third in both races to finish third overall. He was in second until the last laps of the first moto but fell behind early in the second moto, unable to make up ground.
“It’s a tough racetrack for me,” Reed said. “I was the third-best guy. I wasn’t comfortable going that fast in the ruts. It was OK for me not to be the hero today.”
Blake Baggett took his third overall win of the season in the 250 moto with first-place finishes in both races, despite losing his balance and dropping his bike in the next to last lap of the second moto. South Africa’s Tyla Rattray (206) finished fifth and lost his lead in the overall standings to Dean Wilson (214 points).
“Our bikes are super fast, and when you come up here, you’re like, ‘Man, what am I riding? This thing is slow.’ But, you figure it out,” Baggett said. “You have to go into everything a lot faster.”
Behind Baggett and Wilson, Cortez native Eli Tomac took third place overall with a pair of third-place finishes. He currently is fourth in the series standings (176).
Tomac wasn’t the only Colorado rider as 450 rider Andrew Short of Colorado Springs took fifth place overall, and WMX rider Lindsey Palmer, who attends Conifer High School, was sixth overall.
The WMX riders took to the track for the first time in nearly a month since the Freestone Race on May 28 in Texas. Jessica Patterson secured the overall win with victories in both motos, but Ashley Fiolek was able to maintain the series lead with a pair of second-place finishes.
The series continues next Saturday at Red Bud in Buchanan, Mich.
