Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey Maintains Points Lead in AMA SX Series

San Diego, Calif. - February, 8, 2010 -
The fifth round of the AMA/FIM Supercross Championship got under way
with a serious threat of rain over San Diego. The Dirt Wurx crew had
secured the
track at Qualcomm Stadium under plastic as the rain poured down most of
the day.


Rockstar Makita Suzuki's rookie star Ryan Dungey started off early
grabbing the fastest time in practice by almost a second. The gauntlet
was thrown down and the other riders were left trying to figure out how
to make up eight tenths of a
second.


Dungey lined up for heat two with a slick track and deep ruts
facing him. At the start, it was Dungey into the first turn, but coming
out Kevin Windham cut inside him for the lead exiting turn one. Dungey
had to settle into second for lap
one. The track was really tricky and both Windham and Dungey were being
a little careful. Dungey applied pressure the whole race and passed
Windham on the next to last lap and rode to the win.


"I was being patient," explained Dungey. "Kevin was riding really good,
and I waited for a mistake. He lost traction coming up to the triple
and that gave me the momentum to pass."


The rain was off and on and by the time the main event rolled
around. The riders had to be very precise as the ruts were deep, and
cross-rutting was a distinct possibility. A little track maintenance
was done before the start of the Main
and the surface was responding well. A downpour swept through the
stadium ten minutes before the start of the race just to add some
drama, but by the Main, it was a pretty good track. The San Diego fans
would be rewarded for their
dedication.


Before the start, the track crew scraped the start, and moved some
dirt around in an effort to improve conditions. At the start Dungey's
Suzuki RM-Z450 charged out in the lead snagging the holeshot but
quickly fell going into the first
turn.


Team manager Roger DeCoster explained the incident: "In the Main, Ryan
got the start but in the first turn he hit a slick spot... the track
crew had moved some dirt around and Ryan hit a slick spot with loose
dirt on top of hard dirt...
both wheels let loose at once and he went down."


Uninjured, Dungey picked up his bike and got going. He started out
after the crash almost dead last. More importantly, his radiator had
been "holed" in the mishap causing coolant to rapidly pour form the
damaged component. Ryan now had to
charge forward and try to pass roughly 17 riders. Before the first lap
was over, another challenge faced Dungey. Trying to make a pass, he
fell over in a corner, losing even more valuable ground.


Once back up and running, Ryan put his head down and started picking
off riders one by one. With steam coming from his injured motorcycle,
Ryan never gave up and by the mid way point he had passed his way up to
tenth place, but there was
still a long way to go, and his bike was now rapidly running out of
coolant.


By the checkers Ryan had passed his way all the way up to 6th place!
What made the accomplishment even more memorable was the fact that
there was no coolant in his bike at all for the last half of the race.
The bike steadily lost power as
it was grossly overheated, but somehow finished; a testament to the
durability of the Suzuki RM-Z450 engine.


Roger Decoster was philosophical about the finish, "We have the points
lead and it's a long season. Ryan is clearly fast, and there is still a
long way to go".


"That was a difficult race!" Dungey said after the main event. "I
was feeling good and was excited for the Main, but after I fell down it
was a lot of work to get towards the front. It's a long season though
and we did a good job
minimizing the damage. It's good to leave San Diego with the points
lead still in hand, and I look forward to Anaheim Three."


Supercross Top Ten San Diego



1. 18 Davi Millsaps


2. 75 Josh Hill


3. 9 Ivan Tedesco


4. 2 Ryan Villopoto


5. 23 Justin Brayton

6. 5 Ryan Dungey


7. 10 Tommy Hahn


8. 8 Grant Langston


9. 27 Nick Wey


10. 55 Kyle Chisholm



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Ryan Dungey flying high at Qualcomm Stadium




Dungey making up ground in the Main







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Team sponsors:Rockstar, Makita, Yoshimura,
Dunlop, Maxima, Tag Sprockets, Pro Taper, Alpinestars, ONE Industries,
Mechanix Wear, Showa, Road Champs, CP Pistons, Hinson Clutch
Components, Snap-On, Twin Air, D.I.D.,
Excel, NGK, Works Connection


About Suzuki: The Motorcycle/ATV Division of American Suzuki
Motor Corporation (ASMC), Brea, Calif., was founded in 1963 by Suzuki
Motor Corporation. ASMC markets motorcycles and ATVs via an extensive
dealer network throughout 49
states. ASMC's parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in
Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of
motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, automobiles and marine engines. Founded in
1909 and incorporated in 1920, it
has 120 distributors in 191 countries.
www.suzukicycles.com


About Rockstar: ROCKSTAR is the world's most powerful Energy
Drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo,
Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an
incredible energy boost for those who lead
active and exhausting lifestyles - from athletes to rock stars.
ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is available in fourteen amazing flavors:
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Pomegranate, Tropical Punched, Punched
Citrus, Energy Cola, Recovery Lemonade, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Latte,
Roasted Light Vanilla, and Roasted Espresso. ROCKSTAR ENERGY SHOTS are
available in Wild Berry and Tropical Punch flavors, and coming in 2010
- ROCKSTAR ENERGY GUM.

About Makita: Makita is a worldwide manufacturer of industrial
quality power tools and offers a wide range of industrial accessories.
Makita applies leading-edge technology and innovation to engineer tools
that are more compact with
less weight yet deliver industrial strength power and results. Makita
innovation includes Makita LXT, the industry's first 18V lithium-ion
cordless lineup. For more information, visit
makitatools.com. Follow Makita at
facebook.com/makitatools and
twitter.com/makitatools. Makita is Best in Class Engineering.