Makita Suzuki Las Vegas Report
Makita Suzuki’s Dungey Wins Las Vegas ites Finale & Tedesco Brings Home Fourth in Supercross
Round 16 – Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
Las Vegas, NV
Sam Boyd Stadium
May 5, 2007
Team Makita Suzuki Racing finished off the 2007 Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross season with style at Las Vegas’ Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday night. Supercross Lites rider Ryan Dungey won the Dave Coombs East/West AMA Supercross Lites Shootout after leading the entire event, while Supercross-class teammate Ivan Tedesco brought home an impressive fourth-place finish.
“It was unbelievable,” said Dungey from the podium. “I’d hoped to get a good start on my Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 but it was unimaginable to lead the whole 15 laps like that. I’m happy to have my whole family here and I’d like to thank Makita Suzuki for giving me this opportunity.”
Dungey’s evening started strong with a third-place finish in his heat race and just got better with the main. The 17-year-old rider got a great start, taking over the lead just after the first turn on lap one. Dungey went on to lead all 15 laps to the finish.
“I crossed the finish line and I couldn’t believe it, I’d just won the shoot-out,” said Dungey afterward. “I guess the hard work paid off. Just last year, before I turned Pro, I was watching this race from the stands. We’ve come a long way in a year, and I was so pumped to be up on the podium. I owe this to my Makita Suzuki team and my family, who have supported me all year. This was a great crowd -- I could hear them every lap, screaming and cheering.”
In the Supercross class, Tedesco was heading toward a second-place finish in his heat race when a get-off resulted in his going to the Last Chance Qualifier. Ever the professional, Tedesco holeshot and won the LCQ and advanced to the main.
“Today’s first practice didn’t feel great,” said Tedesco. “I was kind of off the pace so we made a few changes to the Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and second practice felt better. In my heat race, I was riding really well but I lost the front end right before the finish line... I had to go to the LCQ, which turned out to be pretty good because we tested a front tire in the LCQ and that’s what I ended up running in the main. It was a plus in the end.”
The 20-lap main event saw the Makita Suzuki rider get a good start and settle into fourth position. Although he moved into fifth place for a portion of the race, he regained the lost position and brought home his fourth fourth-place finish of the season.
“In the main event, I was all the way on the outside but I made something happen on the start,” said Tedesco. “I felt like I rode well tonight. I just wanted to stay off the ground because I’ve been crashing a lot. My goal was just to finish where I needed to finish and not crash.”
Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return for round one of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship at Hangtown Raceway in Sacramento, Calif., on May 19-20, 2007
Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #9
4th Place – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
5th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings
Ryan Dungey, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z250, #62
1st – Supercross Lites East, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
5th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings
Supercross Class Top 10 Finishers:
1. James Stewart, Kawasaki (holeshot)
2. Chad Reed, Yamaha
3. Kevin Windham, Honda
4. Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
5. Andrew Short, Honda
6. Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki
7. David Vuillemin, Honda
8. Josh Summey, Honda
9. Heath Voss, Honda
10. Michael Byrne, Suzuki
Supercross Lites Class Top 10 Finishers:
1. Ryan Dungey, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
2. Jake Weimer, Honda
3. Martin Davalos, KTM
4. Jason Lawrence, Yamaha
5. Thomas Hahn, Honda
6. Josh Grant, Honda
7. Christopher Gosselaar, Kawasaki
8. Ryan Morais, Yamaha
9. Darcy Lange, Kawasaki
10. Justin Brayton, Yamaha
* Ben Townley, Kawasaki (holeshot)