The Rockstar/Makita Suzuki team was among the favorites for both titles in the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, but coming into the season, the two riders likely to challenge for the titles were Ryan Dungey in the 250cc class and Mike Alessi in the 450cc class.
That changed when Chad Reed put his hat into the ring for the outdoors, and also when Alessi injured, and then re-injured, his knee.
Reed got the holeshot in moto one before giving way to JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant early in the moto. Reed held tough, though, and challenged Grant before settling for second. Grant took the win in the moto, with Reed second, his teammate Michael Byrne third, Canidae/Motosport Kawasaki’s Tommy Hahn fourth, Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ivan Tedesco fifth, and then Andrew Short, Justin Brayton, Nick Wey, Matt Goerke (who fell in the first turn) and Josh Hill.
In moto two, it was Tedesco with the start, although Reed quickly worked his way through the front few riders to lead the charge by lap three. From there, Reed was never headed, as Grant was working his way forward from an early fall and Tedesco held tough in second. Behind them finished Davi Millsaps, Byrne, Short and the rest of the field.
Reed took the overall with a 2-1 score over Tedesco, Byrne, Grant and Short, and extended his points lead to 37 in the process.
450cc O/A:
1. Chad Reed (Suz)
2. Ivan Tedesco (Hon)
3. Michael Byrne (Suz)
4. Josh Grant (Yam)
5. Andrew Short (Hon)
6. Justin Brayton (KTM)
7. Tommy Hahn (Kaw)
8. Nick Wey (Yam)
9. Cody Cooper (Yam)
10. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
450cc Points Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds):
1. Chad Reed (287/2 wins)
2. Andrew Short (250)
3. Ivan Tedesco (238/1 win)
4. Josh Grant (234/1 win)
5. Michael Byrne (183)
6. Cody Cooper (157)
7. Tommy Hahn (149)
8. Mike Alessi (142/2 wins)
9. Ricky Dietrich (136)
10. Justin Brayton (127)
250cc
Ryan Dungey was the hands-down favorite for the 250cc outdoor title until the “Crafty Frenchman” Christophe Pourcel showed up.
Millville, though, is Dungey’s hometown race, and he got it started with a big holeshot in the first moto that eventually led to a 34-second lead at the finish over rival Pourcel, with GEICO Powersports Honda’s Justin Barcia third, his teammate Brett Metcalfe fourth, and Division 7/Star Racing Yamaha’s Broc Tickle fifth.
In moto two, Barcia got the start, but soon Dungey and Pourcel were on him, and once Dungey found a way by, so did Pourcel.
Pourcel kept the pressure on Dungey for most of the race until overcooking it into a corner and going down. From that point on, Dungey led to the finish, followed at a distance by Pourcel, then Barcia, Metcalfe (duplicating the top four from moto one) and Darryn Durham, who edged out his teammate Tickle for fifth in the moto.
Dungey scored his first 1-1 finish of the season over Pourcel, Barcia, Metcalfe and Tickle, and pulled to within three points of his title rival as they head into Washougal.
250cc O/A:
1. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
2. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw)
3. Justin Barcia (Hon)
4. Brett Metcalfe (Hon)
5. Broc Tickle (Yam)
6. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
7. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw)
8. Matt Lemoine (Yam)
9. Darryn Durham (Yam)
10. Tommy Searle (KTM)
250cc Points Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds):
1. Christophe Pourcel (299/2 wins)
2. Ryan Dungey (296/3 wins)
3. Brett Metcalfe (215)
4. Tommy Searle (213)
5. Justin Barcia (191)
6. Jake Weimer (182/2 wins)
7. Tyla Rattray (175)
8. Broc Tickle (172)
9. Blake Wharton (158)
10. Trey Canard (139)
That changed when Chad Reed put his hat into the ring for the outdoors, and also when Alessi injured, and then re-injured, his knee.
Reed got the holeshot in moto one before giving way to JGR/Toyota Yamaha’s Josh Grant early in the moto. Reed held tough, though, and challenged Grant before settling for second. Grant took the win in the moto, with Reed second, his teammate Michael Byrne third, Canidae/Motosport Kawasaki’s Tommy Hahn fourth, Honda Red Bull Racing’s Ivan Tedesco fifth, and then Andrew Short, Justin Brayton, Nick Wey, Matt Goerke (who fell in the first turn) and Josh Hill.
In moto two, it was Tedesco with the start, although Reed quickly worked his way through the front few riders to lead the charge by lap three. From there, Reed was never headed, as Grant was working his way forward from an early fall and Tedesco held tough in second. Behind them finished Davi Millsaps, Byrne, Short and the rest of the field.
Reed took the overall with a 2-1 score over Tedesco, Byrne, Grant and Short, and extended his points lead to 37 in the process.
450cc O/A:
1. Chad Reed (Suz)
2. Ivan Tedesco (Hon)
3. Michael Byrne (Suz)
4. Josh Grant (Yam)
5. Andrew Short (Hon)
6. Justin Brayton (KTM)
7. Tommy Hahn (Kaw)
8. Nick Wey (Yam)
9. Cody Cooper (Yam)
10. Davi Millsaps (Hon)
450cc Points Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds):
1. Chad Reed (287/2 wins)
2. Andrew Short (250)
3. Ivan Tedesco (238/1 win)
4. Josh Grant (234/1 win)
5. Michael Byrne (183)
6. Cody Cooper (157)
7. Tommy Hahn (149)
8. Mike Alessi (142/2 wins)
9. Ricky Dietrich (136)
10. Justin Brayton (127)
250cc
Ryan Dungey was the hands-down favorite for the 250cc outdoor title until the “Crafty Frenchman” Christophe Pourcel showed up.
Millville, though, is Dungey’s hometown race, and he got it started with a big holeshot in the first moto that eventually led to a 34-second lead at the finish over rival Pourcel, with GEICO Powersports Honda’s Justin Barcia third, his teammate Brett Metcalfe fourth, and Division 7/Star Racing Yamaha’s Broc Tickle fifth.
In moto two, Barcia got the start, but soon Dungey and Pourcel were on him, and once Dungey found a way by, so did Pourcel.
Pourcel kept the pressure on Dungey for most of the race until overcooking it into a corner and going down. From that point on, Dungey led to the finish, followed at a distance by Pourcel, then Barcia, Metcalfe (duplicating the top four from moto one) and Darryn Durham, who edged out his teammate Tickle for fifth in the moto.
Dungey scored his first 1-1 finish of the season over Pourcel, Barcia, Metcalfe and Tickle, and pulled to within three points of his title rival as they head into Washougal.
250cc O/A:
1. Ryan Dungey (Suz)
2. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw)
3. Justin Barcia (Hon)
4. Brett Metcalfe (Hon)
5. Broc Tickle (Yam)
6. Jake Weimer (Kaw)
7. Kyle Cunningham (Kaw)
8. Matt Lemoine (Yam)
9. Darryn Durham (Yam)
10. Tommy Searle (KTM)
250cc Points Standings (After 7 of 12 rounds):
1. Christophe Pourcel (299/2 wins)
2. Ryan Dungey (296/3 wins)
3. Brett Metcalfe (215)
4. Tommy Searle (213)
5. Justin Barcia (191)
6. Jake Weimer (182/2 wins)
7. Tyla Rattray (175)
8. Broc Tickle (172)
9. Blake Wharton (158)
10. Trey Canard (139)
