SWITCH CONFIRMED | Bikesportnz

Just as we revealed on BikesportNZ.com three weeks ago, American motocross hero Ryan Dungey has now confirmed his jump from Suzuki to the KTM camp.

KTM announced the addition of Dungey to the US Red Bull KTM Factory Race Team for the 2012 and 2013 AMA Pro Supercross and Motocross Championship Series.

In recent seasons, KTM has made a major investment in resources and effort to be a dominant force in the MX World Championships and has been rewarded with a string of titles, including the prestigious MX1 and MX2 world titles in both 2010 and 2011.

The two-year contract signing of a rider of the calibre of Dungey to KTM underlines the importance KTM places on the elite US competitions and the company’s determination to achieve similar rates of success in the USA.

Dungey’s first official race with the Red Bull/KTM Factory Team will be the opening round of the AMA Pro Supercross Championship Series at Angel Stadium on January 7, 2012 where he will race aboard the KTM 450 SX-F in the premier Supercross class.

KTM first expressed its desire to strengthen its motocross efforts in the USA in 2010 when it released the new generation SX model line of motorcycles and hired the legendary Motocross management personality Roger DeCoster to run the US factory team. KTM’s determination to push ahead in the segment has been underlined by the signing of 250cc riders Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin for the US competition. With Dungey, and the two talented and already crowned MX2 World Champions Roczen and Musquin all riding the latest generation of 2012 offroad bikes ‘made in Austria’, KTM is ‘Ready to Race’ with top bikes and top riders in the major US SX and MX competitions.

“I am really happy to have Ryan Dungey join our team. He and I have worked together for several years so we know each other well. Our past should help us get the best out of each other and put us in position to be legit championship contenders in the big bike class,” commented Red Bull/KTM Team manager DeCoster. “Everyone at the factory and here on the US side is very excited to start working with Ryan and see where the future will take us.”

At only 21 years of age, the Minnesota native has already accomplished almost every goal he has set for himself.

In 2009 he won the AMA Supercross Lites Western Regional Title and followed that up with the AMA Pro Motocross Championship 250cc class crown.

That same year he competed in the 2009 Motocross des Nations where he was one of three members aboard the winning U.S. Team. In 2010, he became the first rider in history to win both the AMA Supercross and AMA Pro Motocross Championship in his rookie year. He again went on to lead the 2010 Motocross des Nations team to victory on US soil in Lakewood, Colorado.

Most recently, just a fortnight ago, he added one more win to his belt as he and the US team captured yet another Motocross des Nations victory in France.

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