Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Alessi 2nd, Byrne 5th At Thunder Valley Night MX - Dirt Rider Magazine

Round 5 - AMA Motocross Series
Lakewood, Colorado
Thunder Valley Motocross Park
June 27 - 28, 2008
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Mike Alessi and Michael Byrne both celebrated impressiveAMA Motocross finishes at the Thunder Valley Motocross Park's night race in Lakewood, Colorado,Saturday evening. Alessi picked up two more holeshots (that makes six in a row) and two moresecond-place moto finishes for his fourth second-place overall result this season. Teammate Byrnebrought home fifth- and sixth-place moto finishes for a fifth-place overall result. This top-five finish isByrne's best result so far this season. Alessi remains in second place in the overall championshippoints and Byrne maintains his sixth-place position.In the Motocross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi captured his first podium of theseason with a third-place result, thanks to second- and fourth-place moto finishes. Teammate RyanDungey had a strong first moto with a third-place finish, but a high-speed get-off in the second motomeant Dungey wound up with an 11th-place overall result. In spite of this bad luck, Dungey is stillsecond overall in the championship points chase, while Izzi is in eighth place.Mike Alessi:
"I had a lot of fun racing at Thunder Valley this weekend. The night race was a little different for me.I have to say I like the original Outdoor schedule better, because I don't like sitting around all day andwaiting. I think the track could have been lit up a little better but the layout of the track wasawesome and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 worked great."Michael Byrne:
"It was a good night for us. Everything went well, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was awesomeand worked well with the altitude. I had to work on a few things, and fortunately for me, it workedout. It was fun to race at night, it was kind of Supercross style, but it was a little dark in some areasbut the course did a great job and made the best of what they had. It was good, it was somethingdifferent = maybe they'll have a few more lights for next year."Nico Izzi:
"It was good weekend. In the first moto, I got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250and followed the leader for a few laps, then we kind of checked out from everybody and I ended upwith second. I didn't get as good of a start in the second moto and I worked way up to fourth, andthen just stayed there. The lighting was not that good and I didn't feel like crashing, so I just did myrace and had fun and wasn't pushing it. That got me third overall, and I'm pretty pumped to get thatfirst podium."Ryan Dungey:
"I had a good first moto and finished in third place. Then I had a crash in the second moto, but I'mdoing fine and feeling well. I went and got checked out at the hospital after the races and the doctorssaid other than bruising and soreness that I was fine and healthy. That was great news after that highspeedget-off. I plan on riding this week in hopes of returning to Red Bud next weekend."AMA Motocross Top 10 (Moto Finishes)
1. James Stewart, Kawasaki, 1-1
2. Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 2-2
3. Davi Millsaps, Honda 4-3
4. Andrew Short, Honda, 3-4
5. Michael Byrne, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 5-6
6. Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki, 8-5
7. Sean Hamblin, Yamaha, 7-8
8. Sean Collier, Kawasaki, 6-9
9. Josh Hill, Yamaha, 13-7
10. Jeff Alessi, Honda, 9-12AMA Motocross Lites Top 10 (Moto Finishes):
1. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, 1-1
2. Josh Grant, Honda, 4-2
3. Nico Izzi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 2-4
4. Trey Canard, Honda, 5-3
5. Dan Reardon, Honda, 7-7
6. Matt Lemoine, Yamaha, 10-5
7. Matt Goerke, KTM, 6-10
8. Jake Weimer, Honda, 9-8
9. Mike Brown, Yamaha, 12-6
10. Ryan Sipes, KTM, 11-9