Bridgestone's Alessi Wins 2nd Straight AMA Pro Motocross Event

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 8, 2009) - Bridgestone rider Mike Alessi won his second straight Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship event Saturday at Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, Texas, and extended his Motocross championship lead in the process. Meanwhile, Ryan Dungey rode his Bridgestone-equipped Motocross Lites bike to the overall win, also building his advantage in the season points chase.

Alessi (Rockstar / Makita / Suzuki) won both 16-lap motos in the Motocross division to easily claim top honors. Chad Reed, Alessi's teammate, ran fifth and second in the motos to place third overall. Through three of the 12 events this season, Bridgestone riders hold the top three positions in the standings. Alessi leads with 142 points, Reed has 111 and Josh Grant (JGRMX / Toyota / Yamaha) has 94.

Dungey (Rockstar / Makita / Suzuki) ran 2-1 in the Motocross Lites motos Saturday to secure first place overall. Christophe Pourcel (Monster Energy / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki) won the opening moto and placed fourth in the second moto to take second place combined. Dungey (133 points) and Pourcel (127) are also running 1-2 in the Motocross Lites standings through three events.

The Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series moves east this weekend to High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pa. The 450cc Motocross finale will air live on NBC-TV at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday. It is the first of three Motocross events slated for live NBC coverage this summer. The others are July 4 at Red Bud in Buchanan, Mich., and Aug. 22 at Budds Creek, Md.

About Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. Reporting into the BATO business unit are the company's Latin American tire operations, the U.S. and Canadian consumer tire businesses and the U.S. and Canadian commercial tire businesses. BATO develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. The business unit is focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, motorcycle, agricultural and other tires to its customers in the Americas. In addition, through its Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions unit, retreading customers have access to industry-leading research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales expertise, providing them with a total tire solution.