At round 10 of the 2009 AMA Motocross Championship held at Budds Creek, Honda Red Bull Racing's Davi Millsaps rode to victory for the first time this season aboard his CRF450R, winning moto one and finishing the round second overall. Ivan Tedesco joined his teammate on the podium, finishing third overall.
Millsaps got off to a fast start in moto one despite muddy track conditions, pulling the holeshot and making the most of his opportunity out front. The Honda Red Rider pulled a substantial lead over the competition, only being challenged in the closing stages of the race. Millsaps' sixth place finish in moto two was good enough to put the Honda rider in second overall for the round.
"It feels awesome to win," said Millsaps. "It felt amazing to pull a big lead in the first race and hang onto that gap until the final few laps of the race. I had to ride strong if I wanted to win and that's what I did. This has been the first real chance I've had to be on top this season because I got injured at round two. It was important to me to show Honda and the fans how serious I am about racing and that I can rise up and push through."
Ivan Tedesco's five/three moto finishes gave him third overall at Budds Creek. Getting a slow start and having to fight his way back to finish in fifth place in moto one, Tedesco launched a solid attack in moto two, taking the lead early on. He ran into trouble mid-moto, and closed out the race in third.
"It feels good to be on the podium," said Tedesco. "It's been a rough few weeks personally for me and to be on the box this week is a good result. My overall goal after Budds Creek is to finish the championship in second place and I'm only a few points away in third right now. I want to finish the season out strong and I know I have another win in me with two rounds left to go."
With the championship winner decided at Budds Creek, all focus is now on the battle for second in the series. Andrew Short's seventh and tenth place moto finishes put him in eighth overall for the round, setting an exciting showdown between the Honda Red Bull teammates for second place in the championship. Tedesco's third place put him within eight points of his teammate with two rounds remaining.
Short holds on to second position with 330 points in the championship standings; Tedesco is third on 322 points and Millsaps is 12th with 141 points.