Rockstar Makita Suzuki Phoenix Report

January 14, 2008, 6:57am

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Dungey Cards Podium Finish in Phoenix SX Lites Race

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Alessi Holeshots Phoenix SX Main

Round 2 – AMA Supercross Series
Phoenix, AZ
Chase Field
Jan. 12, 2008

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ryan Dungey brought home an impressive second-place finish in the exciting Supercross Lites race on Saturday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. After winning the season-opening Anaheim round last week, Dungey followed that up by winning his six lap qualifying race. In the Lites main, he got a great start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and led a number of the race’s 15 laps before finishing in second place. With this finish, 18-year-old Dungey continues to lead the Lites class championship points chase.

In the Supercross class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi got a great start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450, taking the holeshot in the main. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the 19-year-old rider hit a Tuffblock and rode several laps with a banner attached to his bike. In spite of this, Alessi continued to charge hard in the 20-lap main event, and brought home a sixth-place finish. Teammate David Vuillemin struggled a bit in the Supercross main but still managed to capture as many points as possible.

Ryan Dungey:
“I was happy with practice today, I was about a half-second faster than everybody else. I felt good in the races, too, though I had a hard time putting the track together. It got really slick, but I did my best to try and make it work. I made a couple of mistakes, and I think those kept me from winning. But I’m going to work on that and try to not make those mistakes again. The race itself was a great show and it was good to give the fans such an exciting race. It was a dogfight, we were back and forth and everybody was going at it. Overall, it was good to walk away with the points lead. Now, we’ll just take it one race at a time and come back stronger next week.”

Mike Alessi:
“The day started out pretty good -- the Suzuki RM-Z450 was working great, the Bridgestone tires were hooking up, I felt good and had a good flow. I was pretty happy with the first practice but in the second practice, I hit a hay bale and did a big endo, taking a handlebar to the thigh. It hurt pretty bad so then I just tried to survive the rest of the session. I had a good heat race, finishing fourth, but the main was awesome. I got the holeshot, and ended up running third for a few laps. Then, I hit that same Tuffblock I hit in practice and gave up a lot of spots. I ended up in seventh, made it into sixth and was just inching up on fifth, but couldn’t do it in time. Now, I’m just looking for a top-five finish next week or maybe a podium.”

David Vuillemin:
“This weekend’s race was OK. I felt strong in practice and the heat race wasn’t too bad, though we still have a few issues that we need to work on. I’m not really happy with my performance because I know that I can do better than this. So we just need to work on some of these areas and do better next weekend.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will return to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, next weekend on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008.

Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #800
6th Place – Phoenix Supercross
6th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

David Vuillemin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #12
15th Place – Phoenix Supercross
12th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z250, #28
2nd Place – Phoenix Supercross Lites
1st Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings

AMA Supercross Top 10 Finishers:
1. James Stewart, Kawasaki
2. Chad Reed, Yamaha
3. Kevin Windham, Honda
4. Andrew Short, Honda
5. Ivan Tedesco, Honda
6. Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing (Holeshot)
7. Nathan Ramsey, Yamaha
8. Josh Hansen, Yamaha
9. Charles Summey, Yamaha
10. Tim Ferry, Kawasaki

AMA Supercross Lites Top 10 Finishers:
1. Jake Weimer, Honda (Holeshot)
2. Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
3. Brett Metcalf, Kawasaki
4. Broc Hepler, Yamaha
5. Jason Lawrence, Yamaha
6. Justin Brayton, KTM
7. Will Hahn, Yamaha
8. Dan Reardon, Honda
9. Kyle Cunningham, Honda
10. Billy Laninovich, KTM