Makita Suzuki's Tedesco Finishes Eighth in Second Anaheim Supercross as Carmichael's Retirement Kick

Round 3 – Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series 
Anaheim, CA

Angel Stadium

Jan. 20, 2007

Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ivan Tedesco continues to chip away at the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Championship, finishing in eighth position at the second Anaheim, Calif., round at Angel Stadium on Saturday night. Teammate Ricky Carmichael was noticeably absent, with this race being the first that the 2006 AMA Supercross Champion will miss as his retirement begins.

“There’s a little more pressure without Ricky racing,” said Tedesco, who raced with an injured left hand. “But the Makita Suzuki team has been great and they know my situation. It’s tough, you know, I feel bad for them because they’re used to having somebody out front. It’s going to take me a little while, but I’m confident I’ll get there sometime in the season. Hopefully, I can keep working away at it and be up there battling for the lead, get on the podium and give the team what they deserve.”

Tedesco’s eight-lap heat race was an exciting one, with the Makita Suzuki rider battling for the lead and picking up a second-place finish. “I felt kind of off in practice,” admitted Tedesco. “This weekend didn’t start out the way I wanted it to. My heat race was a lot better, though, because we figured out a few things and made some adjustments to the bike and I got second.”

In the 20-lap main event, Tedesco again got a good start on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. Running up front, Tedesco was battling for third place. Unfortunately, a mid-race get-off caused the former AMA Supercross Lites Champion to lose several positions.

“In the main, I was running in fourth for a while,” he said. “Then, about halfway through the race I made a mistake in the tabletop section and went over the bars. Luckily, it didn’t hurt me too bad. I got back on my bike and it took a couple of laps to get situated… I’m on my way to being able to practice more and to keep on moving forward. Once I get some time on the bike and get some testing done, I’ll be in there for the hunt.”

Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return next week for round four of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA, on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007.

Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #9

8th Place – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series

9th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #4 

DNR – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series

Supercross Class Top 10 Finishers:

1. James Stewart, Kawasaki
2. Chad Reed, Yamaha
3. Nick Wey, Honda (holeshot)
4. Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki
5. Michael Byrne, Suzuki
   
6. Kevin Windham, Honda
7. Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki
8. Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
   
9. Josh Summey, Honda
10. Nathan Ramsey, Yamaha

Supercross Lites Class Top 10 Finishers:

1. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
2. Jason Lawrence, Yamaha
3. Josh Hill, Yamaha
4. Josh Grant, Honda
5. Christopher Gosselaar, Kawasaki
6. Jake Weimer, Honda
7. Steve Boniface, Kawasaki (holeshot)
8. Troy Adams, Kawasaki
9. Kyle Partridge, Honda
10. Martin Davalos, KTM