DUNGEY INCREASES SUPERCROSS LEAD
 Team
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey increased his lead in
the AMA Supercross Championship by winning Saturday night's
third round at Anaheim in California - his second victory
in three races.
RM-Z250-mounted Dungey now leads the West Coast series by
23 points from former Suzuki rider Broc Hepler (Yamaha).
He said: "I was just trying to be consistent. The track
was really choppy and I made a couple of mistakes, but I just
tried to not make the same mistake twice. We are just doing
our program and trying to be as consistent as we can be."
In the Supercross class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Mike Alessi
captured his second consecutive holeshot of the season in
the 20-lap main event. Alessi charged hard on his Rockstar
Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and brought home a fourth-place finish.
This is Alessi's best result of the season so far and he moved
into third place in the series.
Team mate David Vuillemin won the Last Chance Qualifier and
then had a bit of bad luck in the main when he stalled his
bike. Even so, his 11th-place finish improved his overall
standings in the championship points race.
Ryan Dungey:
"The first couple of practices were decent today. The
whole team and I were working on getting the bike better for
the heat and we definitely got it set up the right way. We
won the heat race, taking the lead on the last lap, and it
was great to get that win but the main is what counts. In
the main, I got a good start and was in second for about five
laps. Then I got in first… It was tough,
though, I was struggling a little, but I dug deep and worked
through it. The RM-Z250 worked great and the whole Rockstar
Makita Suzuki team did a great job."
Mike Alessi:
"It was a good race, partly because I've been trying
to improve a little every weekend. Two sixths and now a fourth
- I'm just gradually getting better every week. In the heat
race I got a good start and was riding well and had a good
flow and came in second. In the main, I got a killer jump
and a big holeshot. Then I was in second for a few laps and
then third, but I could tell the rider behind me was catching
me. I tried to fight back but I couldn't get him. I started
to push it a little toward the end and made a little mistake.
So I thought, I'm riding good here in fourth, nobody's behind
me so I put it on cruise control and kept being consistent.
The RM-Z450 is running great and my mechanic and everybody
on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team are doing a great job,
as always."
David Vuillemin:
"Practice was OK today, though I had a tough time getting
used to the retro track. I was not happy with the heat race
as I didn't ride very well. I was following other guys and
had to go to the Last Chance Qualifier where I got a good
start and won the race. For the main, I was all the way on
the outside of the gate, but I got a decent start. I got up
into ninth and then stalled the bike - my mistake - and a
few guys passed me and I ended up 11th. Actually, the bike
started easily on the second kick. I have to say that we've
made a lot of progress in our testing and the RM-Z450 was
really good tonight."
Supercross results: 1. Chad Reed (Yamaha),
2. Josh Hill (Yamaha), 3. Kevin Windham (Honda), 4. Mike Alessi
(Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 5. Ivan Tedesco (Honda), 6. Tim
Ferry (Kawasaki), 7. Nathan Ramsey (Yamaha), 8. Josh Hansen
(Yamaha), 9. Andrew Short (Honda), 10. James Summey (Yamaha).
11 David Vuillemin (Rockstar Makita Suzuki).
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