CARMICHAEL PODIUMS AS DUNGEY WINS
 A
record-breaking Atlanta crowd welcomed back Team Makita Suzuki
Racing's Ricky Carmichael to Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross on
Saturday night at the Georgia Dome where the 15-time AMA Champion
picked up a second-place finish.
Team mate Ivan Tedesco brought home another strong fourth-place
finish, while Supercross Lites rider Ryan Dungey won his first
Pro Supercross race ever.
"I felt good out there tonight and I can't thank Makita
Suzuki Team Manager Roger DeCoster enough for taking me under
this wing and putting me on a team with Ricky Carmichael and
Ivan Tedesco," said Dungey of his first Pro Supercross
victory. "It's been a great experience so far and I'm
looking forward to the rest of the season."
In the Supercross class Carmichael lined up for the first
heat race of the night and finished second after a few mishaps.
The 20-lap Supercross main saw Carmichael get a good start
and settle quickly into second position and maintain that
spot throughout the race.
"It was a good race," said 2006 Amp'd Mobile AMA
Supercross Champion Carmichael. "I got a good start on
my Makita Suzuki RM-Z450, though I wasn't where I wanted to
be. I was behind James Stewart and Chad Reed and I knew I
needed to get by them. Chad made a mistake and I got by him
and I tried to reel in James but he was riding really good.
Now I'm just looking forward to next weekend in St. Louis."
Tedesco had a strong showing in the evening's second heat
race with a third-place finish. In the Main, he got a good
start and battled for the third podium position for most of
the race. In the end, Tedesco finished a strong fourth place
and improved his overall championship points standings from
seventh to sixth position.
"These last two weeks have been better for me,"
said Tedesco of the Atlanta and San Diego races where he's
had his best results of the season. "After I got injured
at Toronto in December, I was in kind of a slump that just
snowballed in the wrong direction. I was struggling with everything.
But at San Diego, I had a new mindset and that paid off again
this weekend. I felt good, I felt comfortable on the Makita
Suzuki RM-Z450, and I feel like it's all working for me."
In the Supercross Lites class, newly-signed Dungey made his
East Coast Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross debut by winning his
first Pro Supercross Main Event. Prior to that Dungey also
carded the win in his heat race.
"It's great to start the East Coast rounds here in Atlanta,"
said Dungey after the heat win. "I've been chomping at
the bit and now I'm just looking forward to the Main. I just
hope to pull off a good finish - I hope it's close, I'm looking
forward to a good battle and putting on a good show for the
fans."
In the 15-lap Main, Dungey did indeed pull off a good finish.
He got a good start on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and took
the lead by the end of the first lap. He rode a smooth, consistent
race all the way to the flag.
"Getting this win tonight is definitely a big relief,"
said Dungey. "I wanted to come out tonight and get a
good finish and be consistent. I feel like I accomplished
those goals. This will definitely help my confidence going
into St. Louis next week. I felt like I rode a solid race,
though there are a few things we'll work on this week and
we'll come back even stronger next week."
Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return next week for round
nine of the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series at the Edward
Jones Dome in St. Louis.
Supercross Class Top 10 Finishers:
1 James Stewart (Kawasaki)
2 Ricky Carmichael (Team Makita Suzuki)
3 Chad Reed (Yamaha)
4 Ivan Tedesco (Team Makita Suzuki)
5 Kevin Windham (Honda)
6 Tim Ferry (Kawasaki)
7 Bryan Johnson (Honda)
8 David Vuillemin (Honda)
9 Heath Voss (Honda)
10 Jeff Gibson (Kawasaki)
Supercross Lites Class Top 10 Finishers:
1 Ryan Dungey (Team Makita Suzuki)
2 Darcy Lange (Kawasaki)
3 Matt Goerke (Yamaha)
4 Ryan Morais (Yamaha)
5 Branden Jesseman (Yamaha)
6 Justin Brayton (Yamaha)
7 Zach Osborne (KTM)
8 Matt Boni (Kawasaki)
9 Ryan Sipes (Honda)
10 Kelly Smith (Suzuki)
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