Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Reed Overcomes Muddy Conditions To Capture 2nd At Anaheim SX - Dirt Rider Magazine

Round 6 - AMA Supercross Series
Anaheim, California
Angel Stadium
Feb. 7, 2009Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Chad Reed carded his fifth-straight second-place finish this past Saturday night at round six of AMA Supercross at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. The two-time and defending AMA Supercross Champion battled the elements as well as the competition in the 20-lap Supercross main, thanks to rainy conditions, but still captured a podium finish and held on to the overall championship points lead. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Mike Alessi had a rough night, crashing in the mud and coming from last place to finish 11th. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Michael Byrne did not race, due to an injury sustained in the off-season. Byrne plans to return to racing at next week's round in San Diego.In the Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey overcame a bad start to bring home a fourth-place finish. Although the young rider won his heat race, the 15-lap main event saw him go down in a turn-one pile-up. In spite of this, he remounted his RM-Z250 in last place and worked his way through the field to bring home an impressive fourth-place result.Chad Reed:
"The third Anaheim race was good, although the track was extremely tough and you had to be real patient and not over-ride the track. I felt a lot better this week than I had in the past, we made some progress during the week with the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I felt really, really comfortable. I felt that my pace and speed were up overall. But it was a long, tough race and it was a difficult track to pass on, so I'm happy to have stayed on two wheels and finished on the podium."Mike Alessi:
"It was a rough day, for sure. Practice was really muddy, and I just tried to get through it safely and get into the night show. In my heat race, I was running second and then I went to hit the brake and I had mud packed up on my footpeg and couldn't hit the brake and missed the turn and crashed. When I got back up, I worked my way back up to eighth and, luckily, I qualified. In the main, I was running fourth on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 but in a slippery turn, I lost the front end and fell. I was really bummed because I was right there with the top guys and I felt like I could go with them. But I crashed and had to come from last place. I never gave up charging and I made it to 11th, but I felt like if I hadn't crashed, I could've been in fifth or sixth place. But that's how things go and we'll work hard this week and hope to do better next week at San Diego."Ryan Dungey:
"It was a tough day. I was able win my heat race and I felt really good on my Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 on the track and going into the main. But in the start, I was trying to sneak around on the inside and I must have lost my front end, I just made a mistake and I was on the ground. But overall, it was a great ride, it was pretty solid. We did some damage control and, overall, it wasn't too bad of a night - going from last to fourth."Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009.Chad Reed, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #1
2nd Place - Anaheim 3 Supercross
1st Place - Overall Championship Points Standings****Mike Alessi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z450, #800
11th Place - Anaheim 3 Supercross
9th Place - Overall Championship Points Standings****Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing RM-Z250, #10
4th Place - Anaheim 3 Supercross Lites
2nd Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings****AMA Supercross Top 10 Finishers:
1. James Stewart, Yamaha (Holeshot)
2. Chad Reed, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
3. Davi Millsaps, Honda
4. Ivan Tedesco, Honda
5. Josh Grant, Yamaha
6. Andrew Short, Honda
7. Kevin Windham, Honda
8. Josh Hill, Yamaha
9. Kyle Chisholm, Yamaha
10. Timmy Ferry, KawasakiAMA Supercross Lites Top 10 Finishers:
1. Jake Weimer, Kawasaki
2. Ryan Morais, Kawasaki
3. Justin Brayton, KTM (Holeshot)
4. Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
5. Jeff Alessi, Honda
6. Ryan Sipes, KTM
7. Dan Reardon, Honda
8. PJ Larsen, Kawasaki
9. Chris Blose, Honda
10. Eric McCrummen, Honda