DUNGEY SECOND AT PHOENIX
 Team
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey finished a close second
in an exciting Lites Final at Saturday night's second round
of the AMA/ FI M Supercross Championship at Chase Field, Phoenix,
Arizona.
The RM-Z250-mounted teenager started the 15-lap race in second
place behind race winner Jake Weimer but moved into the lead
on lap two followed by Broc Hepler and Bret Metcalf.
But with four laps remaining, Weimer worked his way back
into the lead, dropping Dungey to second. Dungey held tight
and was all over Weimer when the duo crossed the finish line.
With this finish, 18-year-old Dungey continues to lead the
Lites class championship points chase.
In the Supercross class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Mike Alessi
got a great start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450, taking
the holeshot in the main. Unfortunately, shortly after, the
19-year-old rider hit a Tuffblock and rode several laps with
a banner attached to his bike. In spite of this, Alessi continued
to charge hard in the 20-lap main event and brought home a
sixth-place finish.
Teammate David Vuillemin struggled a bit in the Supercross
main but still managed to capture as many points as possible.
Ryan Dungey:
"I was happy with practice today, I was about a half-second
faster than everybody else. I felt good in the races, too,
though I had a hard time putting the track together. It got
really slick, but I did my best to try and make it work. I
made a couple of mistakes, and I think those kept me from
winning. But I'm going to work on that and try to not make
those mistakes again. The race itself was a great show and
it was good to give the fans such an exciting race. It was
a dogfight, we were back and forth and everybody was going
at it. Overall, it was good to walk away with the points lead.
Now, we'll just take it one race at a time and come back stronger
next week."
Mike Alessi:
"The day started out pretty good -- the Suzuki RM-Z450
was working great, the Bridgestone tires were hooking up,
I felt good and had a good flow. I was pretty happy with the
first practice but in the second practice, I hit a hay bale
and did a big endo, taking a handlebar to the thigh. It hurt
pretty bad so then I just tried to survive the rest of the
session. I had a good heat race, finishing fourth, but the
main was awesome. I got the holeshot, and ended up running
third for a few laps. Then, I hit that same Tuffblock I hit
in practice and gave up a lot of spots. I ended up in seventh,
made it into sixth and was just inching up on fifth, but couldn't
do it in time. Now, I'm just looking for a top-five finish
next week or maybe a podium."
David Vuillemin:
"This weekend's race was OK. I felt strong in practice
and the heat race wasn't too bad, though we still have a few
issues that we need to work on. I'm not really happy with
my performance because I know that I can do better than this.
So we just need to work on some of these areas and do better
next weekend."
Supercross results: 1. James Stewart (Kawasaki),
2.Chad Reed (Yamaha), 3. Kevin Windham (Honda), 4. Andrew
Short (Honda), 5. Ivan Tedesco (Honda), 6. Mike Alessi (Rockstar
Makita Suzuki), 7. Nathan Ramsey (Yamaha), 8. Josh Hansen
(Yamaha), 9. Charles Summey (Yamaha), 10. Tim Ferry (Kawasaki).
15 David Vuillemin (Rockstar Makita Suzuki).
Lites results: 1. Jake Weimer (Honda) 2.
Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) , 3. Bret Metcalfe (Kawasaki),
4. Broc Hepler (Yamaha), 5. Jason Lawrence (Yamaha), 6. Justin
Brayton (KTM), 7. Wil Hahn (Yamaha), 8. Dan Reardon (Honda),
9. Kyle Cunningham (Honda), 10. Billy Laninovich (KTM).
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