TODAY’S BIRTHDAY BOY: THE GENTLEMAN OF MODERN AMERICAN MOTOCROSS

Ryan Dungey was born on December 4, 1989, and celebrates his 35th birthday this week.

Ryan Dungey won 35 premier AMA Supercross events, 7 AMA Championships between Supercross and the AMA Nationals. He won the Motocross des Nations three times. At one point in his career, Ryan stood on the podium for 31 consecutive Supercross events. From 2008 to 2017, Ryan finished in the top three in 18 of the 19 Championships he competed in. The one series which he didn’t make the top three in points was the 2016 AMA 450 National Motocross Championship after he suffered a fractured vertebra at the Colorado round. Although Dungey would recover from the injury to win the 2017 AMA Supercross Championship, he retired before the 2017 AMA 450 Nationals started.

But, came back to race the 2022 AMA 450 Nationals, just to see what he had left behind. Ryan was a consistent front-runner and finished the season 6th overall in the 450 class. He even got an offer from KTM to come back and race the full Supercross and National series in 2023—which he turned down because the 2022 adventure had satisfied his curiosity.

Ryan and mechanic Carlos Rivera.

Ryan and mentor Roger DeCoster.

Ryan Dungey.

Do you remember? Ryan Dungey “suicide shifting” his KTM 450SXF by hand at the 2012 Monster Cup.

Thanks to his parent’s upbringing, Minnesota roots and Roger Decoster’s guidance, Ryan conducted himself as the ultimate professional during his 11-year Pro career (2006-2017 plus 2022).