Suzuki Report
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey raced back to the top of the victory podium at Saturday night’s St Louis Supercross and increased his lead in the AMA/ FIM World Supercross series.
Dungey was involved in a tangle with Ryan Villopoto on the lap nine of the 20-lap Main Event and both riders went momentarily, but the RM-Z450 rider retained his lead and took the flag as Villopoto crashed heavily in the second half.
He started the evening well, notching the second-fastest time in practice on the technical track and also grabbing the second spot in his heat race. In the Main Event, Dungey was determined to get a good jump out of the gate: He came out of the first turn in third, but in lap two Dungey passed the first- and second-placed riders and started burning a pace into the soft St. Louis dirt, dropping almost two seconds off of his heat-race pace.
Midway through, Dungey was challenged for the lead. He said “I knew at that point it would become a fitness issue, and I felt I had an advantage. After we fell, when I got my bike back up, it was like I had just done an interval. I knew I had to get busy and keep pushing. The track was really technical and rough and we were running like 50.3s; it was intense. But once we both got going I could see it affecting how he was riding, running a little ragged, and I started closing pretty quickly.”
Sure enough, Dungey’s RM-Z450 was hooking up and getting huge drives coming off the corners, which allowed him to take and keep the lead and he spent the next several laps building up a gap over the rest of the pack and cruised home with a huge win. The points gap, which was down to 12 points at the start of the race in St. Louis, has now ballooned to 36 with only three rounds left in the series. Suzuki is also in first place in the Manufacturer Standings with 324 points over second place’s 308.
Team Manager Roger DeCoster was justifiably proud of Dungey after the race. “I told Ryan that tonight was a big race for him and that he needed not to hold anything back. He rode very hard and up to his true potential. He was very fast and very aggressive and the results followed. It was a good night for Ryan and the team,” added DeCoster.
— Reed Report
Reed’s road to recovery continues at St Louis
Australian Chad Reed has continued his return to racing finishing fifth at the 2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship event in St Louis tonight.
Reeds confidence was buoyed with a convincing win in his heat race but that momentum was stalled going into the nights Main Event. A combination of uncharacteristic clutch issues and certain obstacles on the track becoming potentially dangerous when no track maintenance was undertaken before the main event saw Reed err on the side of caution.
Having already been sidelined for 12 weeks while he recovered from a hand injury Reed opted to ensure both he and his KX450F finish the race without injury or damage.
By the end of the 20 lap main event this strategy proved to be the smartest option by far. Reed took the chequered flag in a solid fifth place whilst team-mate and championship contender Ryan Villopoto and rival Ivan Tedesco fell victim to the unforgiving and unpredictable track.
“The track actually became quite dangerous as there was no maintenance done before the main,” Reed explained.
“The approaches to several jumps were rutted out leaving no margin for error. A number of riders including myself did voice our concerns regarding a number of different aspects of the circuit but unfortunately for the riders the much needed track maintenance was not carried out.
“It was a simple case of me riding the race focusing on ensuring no unnecessary risks were taken because although I am not in contention for the Supercross title my main priority is defending my motocross title.
The next round of the 2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross will be held on Saturday 24th April at Seattles Qwest Field.
| AMA SX Rnd 14 Results | AMA SX Championship Standings |
| 1.Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki 2.Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda 3.Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda 4.Nick Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki 5.Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Kawasaki 6.Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha 7.Michael Byrne, Park City, Utah, Yamaha 8.Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha 9.Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda 10.Tommy Hahn, Alvord, Texas, Suzuki | 1.Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 302 2.Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 266 3.Josh Hill, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha, 225 4.Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 223 5.Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 215 6.Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 191 7.Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 183 8.Nick Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 159 9.Tommy Hahn, Alvord, Texas, Suzuki, 139 10.Kyle Chisholm, Valrico, Fla., Yamaha, 136 |
| AMA SX Lites East Results | AMA SX Lites Championship Standings |
| 1. Justin Barcia, Honda 2. Dean Wilson, Kawasaki, 15.41 3. Brett Metcalfe, Honda, 19.14 4. Martin Davalos, Yamaha, 26.25 5. Blake Baggett, Suzuki, 34.05 6. Kyle Cunningham, Yamaha, 44.36 7. Michael Willard, Honda, 48.49 8. Matt Lemoine, Suzuki, 52.73 9. Steven Clarke, Suzuki, 58.58 10. Kyle Keylon, Suzuki, 1 Lap | 1. Chris Pourcel 160 2. Justin Barcia 147 3. Brett Metcalfe 133 4. Austin Stroupe 126 5. Blake Baggett 118 6. Dean Wilson 105 7. Ryan Sipes 93 8. Kyle Cunningham 84 9. Martin Davalos 83 10. Michael Willard 66 |
