Rockstar Makita Suzuki Scores a Podium and a Top Ten at Atlanta
BREA, CA– Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey rode a strong race and put his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450 on the podium with a second-place finish last night during the eighth round of the 2011 AMA/FIM Supercross Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. Teammate Brett Metcalfe showed his strength and resilience by bringing home a tenth-place finish on his RM-Z in a thrilling 20-lap main event.
Dungey looked strong all day, starting off with the fastest time in the afternoon’s timed practices. After a tough start in his heat race, he pounded out eight strong laps to cross the line in sixth. In the main, Dungey’s Suzuki powered him out of the gate and he quickly found himself in fourth place in the extremely fast-paced race. Dungey rode a strong and consistent 20 laps and took advantage of a last lap incident by the leaders to grab second place.
“My Rockstar Makita Suzuki team really did a good job on the bike today,” said Dungey. “I ended up having the fastest time in practice, which was cool. I had a bad start in my heat race and that wasn’t all that good, but it’s the main that counts. I got off to a pretty good start, but I got shut off a little. I was sitting in fourth most of the time but then was able to move my way into second at the end of the race, which is good. I’m right below the top step of the podium and consistent. I just gotta keep my head down and keep plugging away. I’m looking forward to Daytona. I like Daytona; it’s always fun. It’s a tough track and it’s different – It’s supercross, but it’s a bit rougher and the layout is different. I’m going to get back home, work on the track, and get ready for Daytona.”
After his best practice sessions of the season, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Brett Metcalfe looked strong and was running third in his heat race when he crashed hard at the end of the whoops, resulting in a trip to the last chance qualifier (LCQ). A last lap pass for second in the LCQ put him and his RMZ through to the main event with the last gate pick. In the main, Metcalfe blasted out of the poor gate choice with a strong start and rode a heroic race to finish in tenth place.
“It was a long day,” said Metcalfe. “It had its really good points and its really low points. The whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki team worked really hard this week and got me feeling really comfortable so I was really looking forward to tonight. Practice went great – I hadn’t felt that good all year. Things were really looking up. In the heat race, I got a great start and was in third – Then I made a big mistake in the whoops and went down hard. I didn’t get up too quick from that one. Going into the LCQ, I was just trying to get out there and make it in and I was able to make a pass on the last lap and made it through. I wasn’t feeling well going into the main event. My goal was to just finish the 20 laps with no big mistakes and I was able to get tenth. I’m looking forward to Daytona. It’s an outdoor track; supercross style, but still an outdoor track. I always like going there to race.”
The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event is Saturday, March 5th, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. You can meet the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team riders on Friday, March 4th, from 5 to 6 PM at Deland Suzuki, 2610 S. Woodland Boulevard, Deland, FL.
Atlanta Supercross Class Results:
2. Ryan Dungey
3. Chad Reed
5. Trey Canard
6. Andrew Short
9. Ivan Tedesco
10. Brett Metcalfe
2011 Supercross Class Standings:
1. Ryan Villopoto – 171
2. James Stewart – 161
3. Chad Reed – 150
4. Trey Canard – 146
5. Ryan Dungey – 145
6. Andrew Short – 110
7. Brett Metcalfe – 104
8. Justin Brayton – 90
9. David Millsaps – 88
10. Ivan Tedesco – 78