Rockstar Makita Suzuki Racing News
St. Louis, Missouri – April 18, 2010 – St. Louis always has good dirt and Saturday night’s race was no exception. That dirt gave excellent traction to the RM-Z450 of Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, enough to grab the win and extend his points lead in the AMA Supercross class.
Dungey 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 had enough of second and 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-place riders and started burning a pace into the soft St. Louis dirt on his RM-Z450. He managed to drop almost two seconds off of his heat race pace.
Midway through the race, Dungey and his RM-Z450 were being challenged for the lead spot as they carved their way through the track. “I knew at that point it would become a fitness issue, and I felt I had an advantage,” Dungey said after the race. He and another racer tangled in the heat of battle. “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. Dungey spent the next several laps building up a gap over the rest of the pack and cruised home with a huge win. The point gap, which was down to 12 points at the start of the race in St. Louis, has now ballooned up to 36 with only three rounds left in the series. Suzuki is also in first place in the Manufacturer Point 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,” DeCoster said. “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.”
Team sponsors: Rockstar, Makita, Yoshimura, Dunlop, Maxima, Tag Sprockets, Pro Taper, Alpinestars, ONE Industries, Mechanix Wear, Showa, Road Champs, CP Pistons, Hinson Clutch Components, Snap-On, Twin Air, D.I.D., Excel, NGK, Works Connection
About Suzuki: The Motorcycle/ATV Division of American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC), Brea, Calif., was founded in 1963 by Suzuki Motor Corporation. ASMC markets motorcycles and ATVs via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. ASMC’s parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, automobiles and marine engines. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, it has 120 distributors in 191 countries. www.suzukicycles.com
About Rockstar: ROCKSTAR is the world’s most powerful Energy Drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an incredible energy boost for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles – from athletes to rock stars. ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is available in fourteen amazing flavors: Original, Sugar Free, Zero Carb, Juiced Mango, Juiced Guava, Juiced Pomegranate, Tropical Punched, Punched Citrus, Energy Cola, Recovery Lemonade, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Latte, Roasted Light Vanilla, and Roasted Espresso. ROCKSTAR ENERGY SHOTS are available in Wild Berry and Tropical Punch flavors, and coming in 2010 – ROCKSTAR ENERGY GUM.
About Makita: Makita is a worldwide manufacturer of industrial quality power tools and offers a wide range of industrial accessories. Makita applies leading-edge technology and innovation to engineer tools that are more compact with less weight yet deliver industrial strength power and results. Makita innovation includes Makita LXT, the industry’s first 18V lithium-ion cordless lineup. For more information, visit makitatools.com. Follow Makita at facebook.com/makitatools and twitter.com/makitatools. Makita is Best in Class Engineering.
