Press Release

Team Öhlins USA Saves Fuel at Unadilla Motocross National

Hendersonville,
North Carolina
: At Round Nine of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross
Series, taking place at Unadilla MX outside New Berlin, New York, the
highest ranked rider for Team Öhlins USA was Garret Toth slotting in at
the 44th fastest position of the 89 riders competing for a gate. Meanwhile, teammates Michael Clarke was 50th fastest and team points leader A.J. Catanzaro, who was under the heavy weather of a respiratory illness, managed to set the 51st fastest time of qualifying. Lessons learned, lives lived, all is good.

Garret
Toth said, “This past weekend wasn't the best for the team but we’re
recouping this week and heading down to the Öhlins USA shop to swap out
bikes so that we’re ready to race at Southwick. First practice was good.
I was in the B group so I had a lot more traffic to deal with. At the
end of that practice I was sitting at around 26th overall and was
feeling really good. The Second practice didn't go as smoothly. There
seemed to be a lot more traffic and I couldn't manage to get a good
time. Unadilla is my favorite track out of all the tracks but I just
couldn't manage to make it happen this weekend.”

A.J.
Catanzaro said, “Last Monday night I came down with some sort of flu or
virus. I was trying to fight it off all week but it didn't let up. The
doctors suspect it might be either mono or Lyme disease. 

“Saturday
was actually the first day that I walked all week. I had zero energy,
and my goal was just to see if I could make a few laps around the track
in practice. Riding turned out to be about as hard as I expected. With
my vision blurry, and my fatigue at such a high, there was no possible
way I was going to be racing. 

“There's
a weekend off before Southwick, so I’m going to use it to my advantage
to rest as much as possible and get rid of whatever I have. It's
frustrating, because I'm never sick, and it’s such bad timing. But
everything happens for a reason, and I have a positive outlook coming
into Southwick.” 

Michael
Clarke said, “I learned a lot this weekend and it’s really made me
determined to work on things and really improve myself. While walking
the track I was really pumped about the layout. It’s a very high-speed
track with many big jumps. The dirt looked good and we had no rain the
whole week, so the track was perfect for practice.
 
“I felt
really good in practice and was pushing myself. I got over all the jumps
right away so that when the green flag waved I could moto hard to put
in my best possible lap time. Being on the track was like being on a
highway. It’s very fast and probably the fastest track that’s been on
the circuit so far. I made very few mistakes and was sitting 44th after
1st practice. In Practice Two I set a faster lap time and was pushing
myself. I made little mistakes here and there but still felt really
good. The track was getting rougher but all the while getting that much
better. I didn’t make the Mains but it taught me a lot about what I need
to improve.
 
“I’m going back to the drawing board to work a lot
on corners and charging and definitely on how smooth I am. I had a good
time though and got the chance to watch the race up close, really
getting to study the top guys to work on applying what they do to
benefit myself.”

Team Öhlins USA’s manager, Stacey Berger, said, “This
was a tough weekend for the team. We had health issues come up early in
the week. The riders are all working hard so it’s tough to see them so
disappointed. Garret and Michael will be coming to North Carolina this
week for some testing to get ready for Southwick. A.J.’s seeing a doctor
to see what he needs to do to get well and be ready for the next round.
We’re still a young team and every week we learn something new.
Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s tough but we learn nevertheless.
This weekend was just another tough lesson.

The next round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Series is scheduled for August 27th
at Southwick, Massachusetts. All three Team Öhlins USA riders plan on
qualifying for the Southwick Mains. Would anything less make sense?

Team Öhlins USA is sponsored by: Triangle
Cycles of Danville, Virginia; Yamaha; GYTR; MX1 West; Acerbis; Ariete;
Yoshimura; Kenda Tire; No Toil; Shoei Helmets; Gaerne; Leatt; Langston
Racing Academy, which has been instrumental in providing top-level
training for the riders; HIT Center (High Intensity Training) of
Jacksonville. www.ohlinsusa.com

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