Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Thunder Valley Report

June 30, 2008, 1:30pm

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Izzi gets first MX Lites podium of year

Round 5 – AMA Motocross Series
Lakewood, Colorado
Thunder Valley Motocross Park
June 27 - 28, 2008

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Mike Alessi and Michael Byrne both celebrated impressive AMA Motocross finishes at the Thunder Valley Motocross Park’s night race in Lakewood, Colorado, Saturday evening. Alessi picked up two more holeshots (that makes six in a row) and two more second-place moto finishes for his fourth second-place overall result this season. Teammate Byrne brought home fifth- and sixth-place moto finishes for a fifth-place overall result. This top-five finish is Byrne’s best result so far this season. Alessi remains in second place in the overall championship points and Byrne maintains his sixth-place position.

In the Motocross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi captured his first podium of the season with a third-place result, thanks to second- and fourth-place moto finishes. Teammate Ryan Dungey had a strong first moto with a third-place finish, but a high-speed get-off in the second moto meant Dungey wound up with an 11th-place overall result. In spite of this bad luck, Dungey is still second overall in the championship points chase, while Izzi is in eighth place.

Mike Alessi:
“I had a lot of fun racing at Thunder Valley this weekend. The night race was a little different for me. I have to say I like the original Outdoor schedule better, because I don’t like sitting around all day and waiting. I think the track could have been lit up a little better but the layout of the track was awesome and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 worked great.”

Michael Byrne:
“It was a good night for us. Everything went well, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was awesome and worked well with the altitude. I had to work on a few things, and fortunately for me, it worked out. It was fun to race at night, it was kind of Supercross style, but it was a little dark in some areas but the course did a great job and made the best of what they had. It was good, it was something different = maybe they’ll have a few more lights for next year.”

Nico Izzi:
“It was good weekend. In the first moto, I got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and followed the leader for a few laps, then we kind of checked out from everybody and I ended up with second. I didn’t get as good of a start in the second moto and I worked way up to fourth, and then just stayed there. The lighting was not that good and I didn’t feel like crashing, so I just did my race and had fun and wasn’t pushing it. That got me third overall, and I’m pretty pumped to get that first podium.”

Ryan Dungey:
“I had a good first moto and finished in third place. Then I had a crash in the second moto, but I’m doing fine and feeling well. I went and got checked out at the hospital after the races and the doctors said other than bruising and soreness that I was fine and healthy. That was great news after that high-speed get-off. I plan on riding this week in hopes of returning to Red Bud next weekend.”

AMA Motocross Top 10 (Moto Finishes)
1.     James Stewart, Kawasaki, 1-1
2.     Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 2-2
3.     Davi Millsaps, Honda 4-3
4.     Andrew Short, Honda, 3-4
5.     Michael Byrne, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 5-6
6.     Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki, 8-5
7.     Sean Hamblin, Yamaha, 7-8
8.     Sean Collier, Kawasaki, 6-9
9.     Josh Hill, Yamaha, 13-7
10. Jeff Alessi, Honda, 9-12

AMA Motocross Lites Top 10 (Moto Finishes):
1.     Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, 1-1
2.     Josh Grant, Honda, 4-2
3.     Nico Izzi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 2-4
4.     Trey Canard, Honda, 5-3
5.     Dan Reardon, Honda, 7-7
6.     Matt Lemoine, Yamaha, 10-5
7.     Matt Goerke, KTM, 6-10
8.     Jake Weimer, Honda, 9-8
9.     Mike Brown, Yamaha, 12-6
10. Ryan Sipes, KTM, 11-9