“The Man”
Behind The Win
Some thought that Roger DeCoster took a big gamble when he
left a successful program at Suzuki to lead K TM’s effort in American Supercross and many thought
it was an even bigger gamble for
Ryan Dungey. However, DeCoster
has built many great programs in
the past, and it seems that KTM
will be no different.
“I’m so happy for my crew and for all the people
who have supported me in this deal,” said DeCoster.
“I have to say thanks to Pit [Beirer, K TM off-road
director] for convincing me to come to KTM, and Mr.
collarbone didn’t bother me at all, I had no problems with it at
all, but I over-jumped a jump and it kind stung my leg a bit. It’s
just something with the rod in there. It’s kind of always been
like that. No problems, I had it checked out and all is good.”
10 JUSTIN BRAYTON 14TH SX
Justin Brayton had a rough day in Phoenix, putting his Muscle Milk Honda into 14th after crashing twice. “It was tough
out there,” Brayton said. “I had a pretty good heat race and
finished second, but then I spun off the line in the main and
locked bars with James Stewart and that put me at the back.
It’s tough to work your way through the pack against a class
as deep as this, plus it doesn’t help to crash a couple of
times either. Phoenix always produces close racing which
makes it tough to move up anyway, so we’ll move on and get
ready for next week.”
15 DEAN WILSON 1ST SX LITES
Dean Wilson put Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki back
on top of the podium with an impressive win at Phoenix,
leading every lap en route to a 2.7-second win over Marvin
Musquin. “I got off to an okay start and got by the two lead
riders - they kind of stuffed each other and that’s all I needed
was a nice clean track,” said Wilson. “Once I got the lead, it
was good to just ride my own lines and ride my kind of race.
I am really pumped to get the win after last week. I really
want this title and I’m going to work hard to get it and this is
a good start. Last week just wasn’t me and it feels so good
to get this win.”
38 MARVIN MUSQUIN 2ND SX LITES
Marvin Musquin was the first bright spot for K TM on the evening, grabbing a runner-up finish in the Lites main. The two-
tools to make this possible. I think
it’s a big day for K TM; it’s the first
win in the main Supercross class
and it’s only our second event,
and I think it came even sooner
than any of us expected. I think
things went our way today, and it’s
not going to be an automatic win,
and we have to keep our feet on
the ground. But his lap times were
good and he had a good start. He
was able to ride a clean race and that’s what it takes.
There are over 100 people working at the factory that
supported this effort and I am so happy for all of them
and all of our sponsors. This is the happiest moment I
can remember.”
time MX2 World Champ from France kicked off the evening
with a fifth in his heat race. “Last year was a big bummer for
me, so I’ve been working real hard for this year,” said Mus-
quin. “Now I am ready and K TM has done a good just to give
me a good bike. I had a tough day, I fell in the last practice,
but second on the podium feels great and I am excited for
the rest of the year. I want to thank all the fans who are here
from France, it was a great help.”
28 TYLA RATTRAY 3RD SX LITES
Tyla Rattray grabbed the holeshot to start the Lites main, but
then gave way to teammate Dean Wilson on the opening lap.
“I got a great start, but I made a mistake and over-jumped the
triple and obviously Dean and Musquin got by me,” said Rattray. “I came close to Marvin there at the end, but I just ran
out of time.” Despite his disappointment of not catching the
K TM rider, Rattray was pleased to have taken over the series
points lead by a single point over last week’s winner Cole
Seely. “It’s still quite early in the year, but we’re in a good position right now. We just have to be in it the entire distance.”
34 COLE SEELY 5TH SX LITES
After his surprising win at Anaheim one week before, TLD’s
Cole Seely finished fifth in Phoenix after getting squeezed
out at the start. “I thought I was going to get the holeshot,
but I got pinched off by the guys on the outside,” said Seely.
“I started 10th or 12th and caught up to fourth and then me
and Eli [Tomac] were going back and forth, and I made a little
mistake and he got around me. I just wasn’t flowing today,
and I felt a little hesitant. I don’t know if it was the nerves or
what, but I just didn’t feel myself. I’ll just go home and train all
week and come back strong for Dodger Stadium.”
