Round 6 - AMA Supercross Series
San Diego, CA
Qualcomm Stadium
Feb. 9, 2008
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's David Vuillemin celebrated his best result of the 2008 AMA Supercross season with a seventh-place finish at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego on Saturday night. The Frenchman got a good start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and charged hard through the 20-lap main to bring home a top-10 finish. Vuillemin's Supercross-class teammate Mike Alessi, unfortunately, experienced a nasty crash and broke his collarbone on the right side during practice and was unable to race.
In the Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey is preparing for the last few rounds of the West Coast events. On Saturday night, the young rider was again blisteringly fast in his heat race and took the win. He had some bad luck in the main, however, and fell a few timesand had to work his way up from the back of the pack on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. In spite of this, Dungey still finished in sixth position.
David Vuillemin:
"We have been working on bike set-up at the track and making the bike better in practice. I did pretty well in practice and that really helped my confidence. I didn't do quite as well in my heat race because I got a bad start and couldn't pass anyone. But I got a much better start in the main, and I felt like I rode 20 strong laps, and my lap times on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 were reallygood. I ended up seventh, which is the best I've done all year. And it felt really good to get that result, especially after all the injuries and bad luck of the last two months. I'm looking at this as a good stepping stone to better results for the rest of the season."
Ryan Dungey:
"This is the third week in a row where things haven't really gone our way. At the same time, I've been riding fast, I've been riding strong and I've been riding consistent, but I've been making some small mistakes here and there in the main and that's costing me. I just need to relax and stay focused on riding smart in these last few rounds. We're only a few points behind in the championship and that's the goal that we're working toward."
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Texas Reliant Stadium in Houston on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008.
Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #800
DNR - San Diego Supercross
7th Place - Overall Championship Points Standings
David Vuillemin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #12
7th Place - San Diego Supercross
11th Place - Overall Championship Points Standings
Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z250, #28
6thth Place - San Diego Supercross Lites
2nd Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings
AMA Supercross Top 10 Finishers:
1. Chad Reed, Yamaha
2. Tim Ferry, Kawasaki
3. Davi Millsaps, Honda (Holeshot)
4. Andrew Short, Honda
5. Kevin Windham, Honda
6. Josh Hill, Yamaha
7. David Vuillemin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
8. Nathan Ramsey, Yamaha
9. Nick Wey, KTM
10. Jason Thomas, Honda
AMA Supercross Lites Top 10 Finishers:
1. Jason Lawrence, Yamaha (Holeshot)
2. Thomas Hahn, Kawasaki
3. Robert Kiniry, Honda
4. Brett Metcalfe, Kawasaki
5. Justin Brayton, KTM
6. Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
7. Austin Stroupe, Kawasaki
8. Wil Hahn, Yamaha
9. Michael LaPaglia, Suzuki
10. Billy Laninovich, KTM
Media Contact:
Wendy Black
The Creative Works
714/864-7969
wendy@thecreativeworks.com