Mike Brown Again Leads ROCKSTAR/Suzuki Team In AMA Nationals

ROCKSTAR/Suzuki’s Brown scores another top ten finish; Jason Lawrence injured in a Saturday practice crash, returns to race on Sunday despite pain
 
CORONA, Calif., (Aug. 21, 2006) – ROCKSTAR/Suzuki’s Mike Brown was again the top dog of the weekend for his team on the Toyota AMA Motocross Championship tour, this past Sunday at Broome-Tioga Sports Center scoring a solid 10th place overall finish – highlighted by a 7th in the second Motocross class moto.
 
With his second-straight top ten performance Brown moved up into the top 15 in overall points ahead of factory racer Michael Byrne.
 
“Things have been going well lately, for sure,” said Brown. “We’ve got Steel City up next, a place where I won the overall 125 championship (2001) and finish up at Glen Helen. My goal is to just continue to race the way I have been and move up a few more notches in the overall standings.”
 
ROCKSTAR/Suzuki’s Jason Lawrence was again the top Lites class finisher for the program, this past weekend overcoming a gnarly crash in practice on Saturday that earned him a trip to the local hospital (MRI came back negative). Lawrence high-sided in the whoops, at speed, and was in a great deal of pain come Sunday.
 
But the young emerging star battled back, winning his heat race (after only four laps of practice) and looking like he was good-to-go for the first moto. Unfortunately, a set of handlebars from a fallen rider would tear out the spokes and dislodge the brake line in Lawrence’s rear wheel during a pile up (something out of his control) and he had to settle for a DNF in the first moto.
 
In the second moto Lawrence battled back from a poor start (35th out of 40) and made it all the way up to 17th place, crashed, got back up and was able to battle back to 19th overall for that moto. The 23rd place finish on the afternoon did little to disrupt Lawrence’s hold on a top 15 overall Lites class spot on the season as he’ll look to close out the summer MX series with a couple solid finishes at Steel City and Glen Helen.
 
Also noteworthy from Binghamton, Ryan Mills (Clintondale, N.Y.) made his return and was able to make the Sunday program, even won his qualifier. Mills was going good in the first moto and was as high as 11th place before he and Byrne collided and Mills was forced from the race and, eventually, sidelined for the afternoon. Mills had not raced an Outdoor National since Round Seven (Thunder Valley, Colo.) due to an injury.
 
ROCKSTAR/Suzuki athletes – led by Brown, Lawrence, Mills and Sean Hamblin  - return to action for Round 11 of the 2006 Toyota AMA Motocross Championship at Steel City in Delmont, Pa. (Sept 3rd).