Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey Scores a Top-Five at Seattle

April 18, 2011, 11:00am

SEATTLE, WA – Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey rode a strong and persistent race aboard his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450 and scored a fifth-place finish at the 15th round of the 2011 AMA/FIM Supercross Championship at Quest Field in Seattle, WA. Dungey and his Suzuki battled the competition and the toughest track conditions of the season in front of a crowd of nearly 53,000 during the 20-lap main event. Teammate, Brett Metcalfe, did not race and will return for the opening round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championship series.

A week of rain made for a heavily rutted, highly technical track in Seattle, but Dungey and his RM-Z adapted well and were strong all day. After scoring the third fastest time in the shortened afternoon practice, Dungey pulled the holeshot in his heat but fell back a bit to finish third. A decent start in the main put the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider up to sixth, but a tip-over on the first lap put him near the back and he ended up finishing the first lap in 14th place. Dungey’s RM-Z450 powered him through the tough conditions as he steadily progressed up to fifth place by lap ten. A bobble in the whoops on lap 11 put the reigning champion back to sixth, but Dungey was able to get the position back within two laps. Dungey pushed hard for the remaining six laps and ended up crossing the line in fifth.

"All in all, it was a pretty good night,” said Dungey. “I got off to a good start in my heat and ended up finishing third. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki team did a good job all day adapting the bike to the conditions. We made a few changes to my Suzuki before the main; – nothing too crazy –, just a few suspension adjustments to adapt to the ruts. The track was really gnarly tonight. It kinda wanted to just come up and bite you, – especially by the end of the 20 laps. I got off to a decent start, but I fell down in the first lap and I think I was near last. But at that point, I just put my head down and tried to pick off as many guys as I could and was able to move up and finish fifth. Everyone did a great job today. My RM-Z450 ran great and my team adapted it well to this track. Going forward, we have a two-week break and then we’ll get into Salt Lake and will be ready to give it a hard push for the last two rounds."

Dungey now stands third in championship points, one point out of second and seven points out of first. 2011 will be a season for the record books, as there are four riders within nine points at the top of the standings with just two rounds to go. After 15 straight rounds, the series takes a week off and will pick back up at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT, on Saturday April 30^th.

Seattle Supercross Class Results:

1. James Stewart

2. Kevin Windham

3. Chad Reed

4. Ryan Villopoto

5. Ryan Dungey

6. Mike Alessi

7. Kyle Regal

8. David Millsaps

9. Thomas Hahn

10. Andrew Short

2011 Supercross Class Standings: