Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Reed & Dungey Sweep Both Classes at Millville Motocross 1

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Byrne cards first 450 podium of season

Round 7 – AMA Motocross Series

Millville, Minnesota

Spring Creek Motocross Park

July 18, 2009

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Chad Reed captured his second AMA Motocross 450 class victory at Spring Creek Motocross Park in Millville, Minnesota, on Saturday afternoon. The two-time AMA Supercross Champion started the day by getting the holeshot in the first moto and finishing second. Then he completed the day by winning the second moto and taking the overall victory. Currently, Reed leads the overall championship points in AMA Motocross. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Michael Byrne also had a lot to celebrate at the Millville race. The Australian picked up his first 450 class podium of the season with an impressive third-place overall finish. To get there, Byrne brought home third- and fourth-place moto finishes and picked up his best finish of the year so far. Byrne is currently in fifth place in the overall championship points. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi is still recovering from injury and did not race. Alessi hopes to return to racing as soon as possible.

In the 250 class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey captured the overall victory in front of his home crowd on Saturday afternoon. The first 30-minute moto saw Dungey get the holeshot on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and lead all the laps to take the win by more than 30 seconds. In the second moto, Dungey again got a good start and ran in second for several laps before taking the lead and ultimately the win. With this victory, Dungey is just three points out of the championship points lead.

Chad Reed:

“In the first moto, I was super-happy with my start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. It seems like the starts are finally coming together for me. I did struggle a bit coming out of the whoops, and we made a few changes to the bike that really helped in the second moto. It’s good to get more points in the championship -- that’s the main thing, to keep those points coming in. What a perfect day, I love this track and I had a blast out there. The weather was cool, the track was nice and smooth, and we were just going for it. I felt real comfortable today and I want to thank all the Rockstar Makita Suzuki guys for working so hard. It’s great to get my first win at Millville.”

Michael Byrne:

“It’s been a rough day -- in the first moto I got hit right in the face with a rock that came off the back of the bike in front of me. It didn’t feel too good, and I’ve been feeling it all day. But I’m happy to get this result and I couldn’t have done it without the whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. They’ve been working really hard and they got the RM-Z450 working great for me this weekend. They made my job much easier. And I’m also happy with myself, because it’s been a struggle coming back from injury but I feel like I’m getting back to where I was last year and that’s where I belong.”

Ryan Dungey:

“Getting a good start on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 was super-important today and made all the difference. I felt great out there… it was a great day and it felt awesome to come back here, see all the fans and get to ride here. I really look forward to this race every year. I have to give it up for the whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki team and the fans. I was just trying to have a good time and put in the best laps that I could. I grew up here and the people from Minnesota are a great group of people and it’s great to have folks like that in your corner.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington, on Saturday, July 25, 2009.

AMA Motocross 450 Class Top 10 Overall Event Finishers:

1. Chad Reed, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

2. Ivan Tedesco, Honda

3. Michael Byrne, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

4. Josh Grant, Yamaha

5. Andrew Short, Honda

6. Justin Brayton, KTM

7. Thomas Hahn, Kawasaki

8. Nick Wey, Yamaha

9. Cody Cooper, Yamaha

10. Davi Millsaps, Honda

AMA Motocross 250 Class Top 10 Overall Event Finishers:

1. Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

2. Christophe Pourcel, Kawasaki

3. Justin Barcia, Honda

4. Brett Metcalfe, Honda

5. Broc Tickle, Yamaha

6. Jake Weimer, Kawasaki

7. Kyle Cunningham, Kawasaki

8. Matthew Lemoine, Yamaha

9. Darryn Durham, Yamaha

10. Tommy Searle, KTM