Makita Suzuki Atlanta Report

February 26, 2007, 8:00am

Makita Suzuki’s Carmichael Podiums, Tedesco is 4th & Dungey Wins Lites Class at Atlanta SX

Round 8 – Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
Atlanta, GA
Georgia Dome
Feb. 23, 2007

A record-breaking Atlanta crowd welcomed back Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael to Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome where the 15-time AMA Champion picked up a second-place finish. Teammate Ivan Tedesco brought home another strong fourth-place finish, while Supercross Lites rider Ryan Dungey won his first Pro Supercross race ever.

“I felt good out there tonight and I can’t thank Makita Suzuki Team Manager Roger DeCoster enough for taking me under this wing and putting me on a team with Ricky Carmichael and Ivan Tedesco,” said Dungey of his first Pro Supercross victory. “It’s been a great experience so far and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

In the Supercross class, Carmichael lined up for the first heat race of the night and finished second after a few mishaps. The 20-lap Supercross main saw Carmichael get a good start and settle quickly into second position and maintain that spot throughout the race.

“It was a good race,” said 2006 Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Champion Carmichael. “I got a good start on my Makita Suzuki RM-Z450, though I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I was behind James (Stewart) and Chad (Reed) and I knew I needed to get by them. Chad made a mistake and I got by him and I tried to reel in James but he was riding really good. Now I’m just looking forward to next weekend in St. Louis.”

Teammate Tedesco had a strong showing in the evening’s second heat race, with a third-place finish. In the main, he got a good start on Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and battled for the third podium position for most of the race. In the end, Tedesco finished a strong fourth place and improved his overall championship points standings from seventh to sixth position.

“These last two weeks have been better for me,” said Tedesco of the Atlanta and San Diego races where he’s had his best results of the season. “After I got injured at Toronto in December, I was in kind of a slump that just snowballed in the wrong direction. I was struggling with everything. But at San Diego, I had a new mindset and that paid off again this weekend. I felt good, I felt comfortable on the Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I feel like it’s all working for me.”

In the Supercross Lites class, newly signed Dungey made his East Coast Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross debut by winning his first Pro Supercross main event. Prior to that Dungey also carded the win in his heat race.

“It’s great to start the East Coast rounds here in Atlanta,” said Dungey after the heat win. “I’ve been chomping at the bit and now I’m just looking forward to the main event. I just hope to pull off a good finish -- I hope it’s close, I’m looking forward to a good battle and putting on a good show for the fans.”

In the 15-lap main, Dungey did indeed pull off a good finish. He got a good start on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and took the lead by the end of the first lap. He rode a smooth, consistent race all the way to the checkered flag.

“Getting this win tonight is definitely a big relief,” said Dungey. “I wanted to come out tonight and get a good finish on the Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and be consistent. I feel like I accomplished those goals. This will definitely help my confidence going into St. Louis next week. I felt like I rode a solid race, though there are a few things we’ll work on this week and we’ll come back even stronger next week.”

Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return next week for round nine of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday, March 3, 2007.

Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #9
4th Place – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
6th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #4
2nd Place – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series

Ryan Dungey, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z250, #62
1st Place – Supercross Lites East, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
1st Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Supercross Class Top 10 Finishers:

1. James Stewart, Kawasaki
2. Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
3. Chad Reed, Yamaha (holeshot)
4. Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
5. Kevin Windham, Honda
6. Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki
7. Bryan Johnson, Honda
8. David Vuillemin, Honda
9. Heath Voss, Honda
10. Jeff Gibson, Kawasaki

Supercross Lites Class Top 10 Finishers:

1. Ryan Dungey, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
2. Darcy Lange, Kawasaki
3. Matt Goerke, Yamaha
4. Ryan Morais, Yamaha
5. Branden Jesseman, Yamaha
6. Justin Brayton, Yamaha
7. Zach Osborne, KTM
8. Matt Boni, Kawasaki
9.Ryan Sipes, Honda
10. Kelly Smith, Suzuki
*Mike Alessi, KTM (holeshot)