Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Dungey Wins First MX Lites Race at Washougal

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Byrne Podiums in MX race

Round 9 – AMA Motocross Series

Washougal, Washington

Washougal Motocross Park

July 26 – 27, 2008

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ryan Dungey celebrated his first-ever AMA Motocross LItes victory on Sunday afternoon at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington. The young Minnesota rider carded second- and first-place moto finishes to take the overall victory. Although Dungey had already captured five podiums this year, this result marks not only Dungey’s first overall victory but his first moto win as well. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Nico Izzi had a strong showing, with the rookie taking two seventh-place moto finishes for a seventh-place overall result. Currently, Dungey is in second place overall in the championship, while Izzi is in fifth place

In the Motocross class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Michael Byrne enjoyed another podium finish, thanks to a third-place result at Washougal on Sunday. Byrne raced his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 to two third-place finishes for an overall third-place result. This is the Australian’s third podium this year. Byrne is currently in fourth place overall in the championship standings. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi is currently recovering from a recent crash at Red Bud and did not race.

Ryan Dungey:

“Washougal was a great race, obviously, with it being my first win in AMA Motocross LItes – my first moto win as well as my first overall too. I’m really pumped on the whole experience and the whole weekend. Things were going well for us right from the start. Practice on Saturday was great, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 was running great and handling great too, and that carried on into Sunday. It was great because it all came together for us in the end.”


Michael Byrne:

“My races at Washougal were good. I got great starts again, that’s been normal for the last four or five races because the Rockstar Makita Suzuki MR-Z450 has been working so good. In the first moto, I was in a pretty good battle for the first few laps but then the guy in second place held about five seconds on me and I finished third. That was pretty much it, it was kind of an uneventful first moto. I got an identical start in the second moto… I couldn’t make anything happen at first, then at the halfway point, I tried to be patient and I got into third place. I was starting to catch second in the end but there weren’t enough laps for that. But everything was good this weekend. I rode strong during the race, and the bike and the team were great – I have no complaints.”


Nico Izzi:

“It really wasn’t the best weekend for me all around. The track was really difficult. It seems like the veteran riders really seemed to shine there a lot more than the rookies. It was definitely a tough place to race. In the first moto, I didn’t get a good start but was able to work my way up. The second moto, I had a good start but I faded a bit. All I can do now is go home and work a little harder and take advantage of the two-week break and get ready for Millville.”

AMA Motocross Top 10 (Moto Finishes)

1. James Stewart, Kawasaki, 1-1

2. Andrew Short, Honda, 2-2

3. Michael Byrne, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 3-3

4. Cody Cooper, Suzuki, 4-4

5. Josh Hill, Yamaha, 5-5

6. Jimmy Albertson, Honda, 6-7

7. Jeff Alessi, Honda, 7-9

8. Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, 11-6

9. Antonio Balbi, Honda, 13-10

10. Billy Laninovich, KTM, 10-14


AMA Motocross Lites Top 10 (Moto Finishes):

1. Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 2-1

2. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, 1-2

3. Josh Grant, Honda, 3-4

4. Brett Metcalfe, Kawasaki, 5-3

5. Ryan Sipes, KTM, 4-5

6. Jake Weimer, Honda, 6-6

7. Nico Izzi, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing, 7-7

8. Robert Kiniry, Honda, 9-10

9. Matt Goerke, KTM, 12-8

10. Kyle Chisolm, Kawasaki, 11-9