BYRNE GRABS 1ST PODIUM AT RED BUD
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Michael Byrne picked
up his first podium of the 2008 AMA Motocross season at Red
Bud Track & Trail in Buchanan, Michigan, on Sunday afternoon.
The Australian rider put in two strong motos, bringing home
two fourth-place finishes to take the overall third-place
result.
Team mate Mike Alessi had a great first moto, getting the
holeshot on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and finishing
in second place. Unfortunately, Alessi crashed hard in the
second moto and was unable to finish the race. He suffered
two broken scapulas, a broken rib and a bruised lung.
In the Motocross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico
Izzi finished in the top five after two strong motos. The
young rider raced his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 to fourth
and fifth-place moto finishes for an overall fifth-placed
result.
Team mate Ryan Dungey had a spate of bad luck in that the
young rider had a crash in the first moto and finished 13th,
and then suffered a mechanical problem in the second moto
and didn't finish the race. In spite of this, Dungey is still
second overall in the championship points chase while Izzi
is in seventh place.
Roger DeCoster - Team Manager:
"We were pretty concerned after seeing Mike's crash.
It happened in a very fast section and he ended up coming
to rest on a blind part of the track and was then hit by several
riders. Due to the nature and severity of his injuries, it
is not likely that we'll see Mike back in action this season.
It's unfortunate as Mike has done an exceptional job all season
with capturing nearly all of the holeshots and sitting in
a strong second place in championship points. In fact, in
the first moto of this weekend, Mike got the holeshot once
again and finished in second place over 30 seconds ahead of
his nearest competitor. He has shown a lot of heart this year
and we'll be anxious to get him back healthy again."
Michael Byrne:
"This weekend started off good. I was happy with my
lap times in practice on Saturday and I felt really comfortable
on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. I qualified the best
I have all year as far as a gate pick goes. In the first moto,
I got a really good start - Mike Alessi and I were one/ two,
which shows that our bikes are really fast and working really
good. In the second moto, I got a good start and then Mike
fell and got hurt, they threw a red flag and restarted the
race. In the restart I didn't get as good of a start and I
knew I had to put my head down and catch up to the guys in
front of me to get the overall podium finish, so I tried to
be patient and keep the pressure on."
Nico Izzi:
"This was a good race weekend. In the first moto, I
got a pretty good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250
- I was maybe sixth or seventh, and then worked my way up
into third. I stayed there for about six laps and then I started
to get tired and faded back to fourth and held that position.
In the second moto, I got a pretty bad start but worked my
way up and into fifth. I'm just pumped on having two solid
motos, that were consistent, and now I need to work a little
harder and get back up on that box."
Ryan Dungey:
"It was kind of a tough weekend, but that's racing.
Right now I'm just focusing on my training this week and getting
ready for next weekend's race at Budds Creek."
AMA Motocross Top 10: 1. James Stewart (Kawasaki)
1-1 2. Andrew Short (Honda) 3-3 3. Michael Byrne (Rockstar
Makita Suzuki) 4-4 4. Nick Wey (KTM) 5-5 5. Charles Summey
(Yamaha) 9-7 6. Jeff Alessi (Honda) 7-9 7. Jimmy Albertson
(Honda) 8-10 8. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki) 23-2 9. Mike Alessi
(Rockstar Makita Suzuki) 2-33 10. Cody Cooper (Suzuki) 16-6.
AMA Motocross Lites Top 10: 1. Ryan Villopoto
(Kawasaki) 1-1 2. Trey Canard (Honda) 2-2 3. Martin Davalos
(KTM) 6-3 4. Josh Grant (Honda) 5-4 5. Nico Izzi (Rockstar
Makita Suzuki) 4-5 6. Andrew McFarlane (Kawasaki) 7-10 7.
Kyle Chisholm (Kawasaki) 11-7 8. Kyle Cunningham (Honda) 12-9
9. Brett Metcalfe (Kawasaki) 10-11 10. Ryan Sipes (KTM) 3-20.
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