Round 8 - AMA Supercross Series
Atlanta, GA
Georgia Dome
Feb. 23, 2008
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's David Vuillemin celebrated another strong AMASupercross result on Saturday night in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. The Frenchman's night began witha fifth-place finish in his eight-lap qualifying heat race and then ended with a ninth-place finish in the20-lap main. After battling injuries for the first two months of the season, this is the third weekend ina row that Vuillemin has brought home a top-10 result. Vuillemin's Supercross-class teammate MikeAlessi is still recovering after breaking his collarbone at the San Diego round and did not race.
In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi made his Pro debut bytaking the win in his six-lap heat race and then following that up with an impressive top-10 finish inthe 15-lap main. The young rookie got a decent start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 in themain event and worked his way up into fifth position. Unfortunately, he made a small mistake andwent down, but the young rider retained his composure and still brought home an impressive eighthplacefinish in his first Pro Supercross Lites race.
David Vuillemin:
"We're getting there, though there is still some room to improve. I think I could have had a seventhplacefinish tonight, if I'd had a little more speed and a little more fitness. I feel more comfortable onthe Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and the team has been working hard during the week withtesting. Now I just need to get a little better in the races. Tonight, the beginning of my race was nottoo bad but I got passed by some guys that I shouldn't have gotten passed by - but I'm runningfaster and I just need to get used to that pace."
Nico Izzi:
"The weekend started off pretty harsh. In the first practice I was riding pretty tight, I didn't have a lotof flow. Then, I was better in the second practice and I was pretty pumped after that. In my heatrace, I got a decent start and had worked my way up into second place and then I guess the leaderdid something to get disqualified so I got the win. Going into the main, I was pretty psyched to goout there and race and turn some fast laps on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. At the start, I hadthe jump and several of us were drag racing to the start and another rider went down in front of meand I got hung up on his bike so I had to work my way up, and I'd gotten up into fifth when I madea dumb mistake and crashed. Live and learn. My goal was to get a top-five finish so I'm disappointedbut now I'll just have to come back strong next week and redeem myself."Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana, onSaturday, March 1, 2008.
Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #800
DNR - Atlanta Supercross
10th Place - Overall Championship Points Standings
David Vuillemin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #12
9th Place - Atlanta Supercross
9th Place - Overall Championship Points Standings
Nico Izzi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z250, #341
8th Place - Atlanta Supercross Lites
8th Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings
AMA Supercross Top 10 Finishers:
1. Davi Millsaps, Honda
2. Kevin Windham, Honda
3. Andrew Short, Honda
4. Tim Ferry, Kawasaki
5. Nathan Ramsey, Yamaha
6. Chad Reed, Yamaha (Holeshot)
7. Charles Summey, Yamaha
8. Paul Carpenter, Honda
9. David Vuillemin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
10. Jason Thomas, Honda
AMA Supercross Lites Top 10 Finishers:
1. Trey Canard, Honda (Holeshot)
2. Martin Davalos, KTM
3. Ryan Sipes, KTM
4. Jake Moss, Yamaha
5. Tyler Bowers, Yamaha
6. Branden Jesseman, Kawasaki
7. Josh Grant, Honda
8. Nico Izzi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
9. Kyle Chisolm, Kawasaki
10. Ben Coisy, Honda