With Ryan Dungey returning to racing this summer, we thought it would cool to salute him with a return to the front cover of Racer X Illustrated. Dungey last appeared on the cover in the summer of 2017 after he clinched his fourth AMA Supercross Championship and then announced his retirement from racing. His first cover came way back in May 2008 when he was in his second full season on the pro circuit, riding a Suzuki RM-Z250, wearing Answer gear, with #28 on the front of his bike. Here's a look at each of his many covers, most of which were shot by our man Simon Cudby.
May 2008 (Vol. 11, #5)
As mentioned above, Dungey's first cover came in his second full season, when he was just starting to realize the potential Roger De Coster saw in him when he signed him to professional contract in '06, plucking him right out of the B class.
June '09 (Vol. 12, #6)
By the following year Dungey was at the top of the 250 class, battling with his bitter rival Jason Lawrence in the 250SX West Region. Dungey had also switched gear companies, going from Answer to One Industries, but then quickly leaving One after they also signed J-Law. So Dungey signed on with Fox Racing after the first round of racing, and began a long and successful partnership for both the brand and the racer.
January 2010 (Vol. 13, #1)
After winning the AMA 250 Pro Motocross Championship, his first major title, Dungey volunteered to step up at the '09 FIM Motocross of Nations and ride a 450 for Team USA, as team manager De Coster was struggling to field a couple of competitive big-bike riders. Dungey ended up winning the MX1 overall and leading teammates Ivan Tedesco and Jake Weimer to a Team USA win, which in turn landed him on our cover again.
September 2010 (Vol. 13, #5)
Dungey really began coming into his own in 2010, winning both the AMA Supercross crown as well as the 450 Pro Motocross title. The cover asked the question "Is Ryan Dungey now the fastest man on the planet?" Based on his results, as well as another Motocross of Nations win, absolutely.
January 2012 (Vol. 15, #1)
After spending the first chapters of his career with Team Suzuki, Dungey decided to follow his old team manager De Coster and master technician Ian Harrison to Red Bull KTM at the end of the '11 season, after losing his two titles to the ascendent Ryan Villopoto. The two of them would, however, team up for the Motocross of Nations for another Team USA win—their seventh in a row. But that's the last time Team USA has won!
April 2012 (Vol. 15, #4)
This was the first of several covers that Dungey would share with his main competition, in this case Villopoto and James Stewart. Both RD and RV were wearing red plates as this was the third round of the '12 AMA Supercross Championship at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, and the rivals were tied for the points lead. RV would go on to claim the title, though but this point Dungey had become the first KTM rider to win a 450SX main event.
August 2012 (Vol. 15, #10)
Another cover shared with Stewart, this time as they began their battle for the 450 Pro Motocross title. (Ryan Villopoto had won the supercross title again but then injured his knee at the Seattle SX and would sit the summer out.) Stewart was now on a Suzuki and very fast, getting the early edge in the series. Then he crashed and hurt his wrist and Dungey would win the 450 MX crown, giving KTM that title for the very first time.
September 2013 (Vol. 16, #9)
By 2013 the two Ryans were deadlocked in a battle for superiority in both AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross. RV would win a third straight SX title as well as that summer's 450 Pro Motocross title. Dungey would finish third in SX and second outdoors.
June 2014 (Vol. 17, #6)
The year 2014 was a tough year for Dungey, as he lost the SX title again to Villopoto, giving RV four-straight titles. But then Villopoto announced a knee injury again at the end of SX, though it was actually more than that—he was inching his way towards early retirement and would never race another AMA SX/MX at the professional level again. Outdoors, Dungey would lose his #1 plate to Ken Roczen, who was just coming into his own.
May 2015 (Vol. 18, #5)
With Villopoto out of the picture the AMA Supercross crown was once again up for grabs, and three most likely to battle for it were Dungey, Roczen (#94) and Eli Tomac (#3), who was now on a GEICO Honda 450. Dungey would end up winning half of the events that year and give KTM its first AMA 450 Supercross crown ever.
October 2015 (Vol. 18, #10)
Another start shot cover, this time alongside Justin Barcia as they headed into the first turn at Hangtown. At this point it was Eli Tomac that everyone was chasing, as he won the first five motos of the series, but a big crash at Thunder Valley in Colorado left the door wide open for Dungey to once again begin asserting himself.
January 2016 (Vol. 19, #1)
Dungey's 2015 season was impressive enough that he was once again named Racer X Rider of the Year, which earned him yet another cover, this time solo. He closed out the '15 season with five-straight 450 National wins and a 100-point lead in the final standings.
July 2016 (Vol. 19, #7)
Dungey won his third AMA Supercross crown in 2016 and was then hoping to add yet another 450 title in motocross, but Ken Roczen was fast and ready to try to take the number one plate over to Suzuki. After Dungey won the second round at Glen Helen (Roczen had a suspension problem that day), he crashed hard at Thunder Valley and jammed his neck. Dungey finished the race second overall, but then found out that he fractured his neck, ending his season immediately.
January 2017 (Vol. 20, #1)
Fully healed from the previous summer's neck injury, Dungey went into the 2017 AMA Supercross season as something of an underdog to Roczen, who had now switched to Honda HRC after his dominant summer on the Suzuki. Roczen won the first two rounds but then crashed out of the season at Anaheim 2.
Dungey still had competition to hold at bay, though, from Eli Tomac, with Monster Energy Kawasaki. Tomac would win the lion's share of the events, but his bad races were really, really bad, leaving the door open for the ever-steady Dungey...
August 2017 (Vol. 20, #8)
And it all went down to the very last round in Las Vegas. Dungey had the upper hand going in, as Tomac had suffered a crash at the penultimate round, which Dungey won. In Las Vegas he survived the carnage while Tomac tried to get in his head, slowing down and blocking him where he could so that others might catch up. Ultimately, it didn't work. Dungey crossed the finish line in fourth, two spots behind Tomac, but good enough for a five-point cushion in the final standings. It was Dungey's fourth and final AMA Supercross Championship. The following week, he announced his retirement from professional racing at the age of 27.
September 2022 (Vol. 25, #9)
No one was more surprised than we were to find out that Ryan Dungey was coming back to race this summer, riding once again for Red Bull KTM and his old friends De Coster and Harrison. Having not ridden an outdoor national since the '16 Thunder Valley race, he was a little bit rusty, but he's been a steady top-five guy throughout, and very close to a podium. What happens after the '22 season remains to be seen. In the meantime, we're just grateful to have the unexpected chance to see Ryan Dungey back out there on the track again, for as long as it lasts. Thanks #5!
