Press Release

YOSHIMURA-Backed Teams Dominate The Asphalt And Dirt – On Two Wheels And Four – Over Memorial Day Weekend


CHINO, CA (May 31, 2011) –
Yoshimura-backed teams once again showed the performance advantage of
their Yoshimura products and their dominance over Memorial Day
weekend during the 2011 AMA American Superbike Championship at Miller
Motorsports Park, the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at the Rockstar
Energy Freestone National and the Rock Run ATV GNCC in Patton, PA.
The Rockstar Makita Suzuki superbike, motocross and ATV teams put
their Yoshimura products to the test in a strong display of dominance
this past Memorial Day weekend.

Team Rockstar
Makita Suzuki celebrated in style at Miller Motorsports Park in
Tooele, UT. Blake Young piloted his Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki
GSX-R1000 to victory in what was arguably the most exciting AMA
Superbike race of the season. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy
Hayden was right there with Young, running up front and finishing in
an impressive third place to round out the podium.


Because the AMA Series was running in
tandem with the World Superbike Series at Miller, there was only one
AMA Superbike race instead of the usual two. The Rockstar Makita
Suzuki teammates certainly made the most of it. On race day, Young
and his Suzuki were running with the race leader almost immediately.
The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider firmly slotted his GSX-R into second
place and aggressively battled for the lead throughout all 16 laps.
He passed for the lead on several occasions but was unable to make it
stick until the final lap. At that point, Young made his move, got
out in front, put his head down and brought home the checkers.


“My Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000
was running great and I got up to the race leader pretty quick,”
said Young. “At first, I was just trying to settle into a
comfortable pace for me, but it seemed like every time I tried to
relax, Josh would get away a little bit. So I just put my head down
and did what I had to do. I wanted to put on a good show for the fans
and I think we did that. I’m happy to come out of here with a win
for my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, and now we have just a few days
until Road America in my home state. I’m looking forward to racing
on that track and it’ll be great to race in front of my friends and
family back home in Wisconsin.”


Meanwhile, Rockstar Makita Suzuki
teammate Hayden was right there in the hunt for the entire race. Like
Young, Hayden quickly got up to speed and into the top three on his
Suzuki GSX-R1000. In fact, he was less than a second behind his
teammate throughout the event. After charging hard and riding
flawlessly, Hayden brought home a solid third-place finish.


“Overall, I think the race went
well,” said Hayden. “I felt comfortable on the Rockstar Makita
Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I was able to get up front pretty quick. We’ve
been on the podium at every race this year and we’ve been
consistent, but I think we need to try and win a few more races. I’m
looking forward to Road America – I’m glad it’s right around
the corner. It’s one of my favorite tracks and hopefully we’ll
have a good result there.”


Team Rockstar
Makita Suzuki had a strong showing on their Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki
RM-Z450s in the second round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross
Championship at the Rockstar Energy Freestone National in Wortham,
TX. Conditions were tough as usual in Texas, with high temperatures
and humidity throughout the day, but the Suzuki riders were up for
the challenge. Ryan Dungey rode strong, scoring a convincing second
in the first moto, and led every lap of the second moto until a fuel
problem hit with just two laps to go, resulting in a DNF (did not
finish). Teammate Brett Metcalfe had a solid performance in the Texas
heat as well, scoring a fourth-place overall for the day.


Dungey started the day strong, claiming
the fastest time in the morning timed practices. The Rockstar Makita
Suzuki rider didn’t have the best of starts in the first moto, but
he rode strong and powered his RM-Z through the field to cross the
line for a convincing second-place finish. In moto two, Dungey
blasted out of the gate just behind his teammate and quickly moved
into the lead by the end of the first lap. Dungey led for the next 14
laps and built a 20-second plus lead until the extreme temperatures
caused the fuel in his RM-Z to boil. The unfortunate end result was
that fuel was expelled through the vent system, which depleted his
fuel supply, robbing him of the moto win and the overall victory.
Dungey was credited with a 25th-place finish in the second moto and
an eighth-place overall for the day.


"Overall, I felt awesome all day,”
said Dungey. “My Rockstar Makita Suzuki team worked really hard and
it’s just too bad we had the issue in the second moto. It’s a
bummer for the team and myself – for all of us together, as we’re
all in it together. I feel bad because we all work too hard for
something like this to happen. We just need to keep looking forward;
keep moving in the right direction and keep our heads down. We have a
lot of racing left, so we have a lot to be thankful for. We have a
weekend off and we’re gonna do a little testing and see if we can’t
improve on a few areas and be ready for High Point. It’s a great
track; it’s got some hills and elevation and the dirt’s awesome
there. It’s a fun track and I was able to get a win there last
year, so I’m really looking forward to it. ”


Teammate Brett Metcalfe started the day
with a solid practice aboard his Suzuki RM-Z450. The Rockstar Makita
Suzuki rider had a good start in the first moto but struggled a bit
and went down a couple times, which resulted in a ninth-place finish.
In moto two, the awesome power of his RM-Z blasted Metcalfe out of
the gate as he pulled the holeshot, just in front of Dungey. Metcalfe
rode solid until the end, crossing the line for a third-place finish.
His 9-3 moto finishes gave him a fourth-place overall for the day.


"I was feeling pretty good coming
into Texas after my fifth at Hangtown,” said Metcalfe. “I knew
the heat and humidity in Texas is always tough, so my main goal was
to get two good starts and put my Rockstar Makita Suzuki up front and
then if the heat was a factor, I could back it down from there. I was
able to achieve that and actually got the holeshot in the second moto
– My Yoshimura Suzuki crew put together a real good package for the
start today, so that was really good. I struggled in the first moto
and went down twice. And that was after I was up in the front early,
so that was a disappointment. I was able to rebound strong and have a
really strong second moto and got a third there and a fourth overall.
That was a good little boost for me and now I’m sitting fifth in
the points. I’m really thankful to the whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki
team today, as it was a really good day for us. I’m going to take
advantage of this off-week and go back to California and do some
testing and get ready for High Point. I like that track and last year
I was able to get a podium there, so I’m really looking forward to
it.”


Team Rockstar Energy Suzuki grabbed a
top-ten finish in Texas. Martin Davalos took advantage of the awesome
power of his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z250 to claim a sixth-place
overall finish in the 250 class.


Davalos started his day scoring tenth
fastest in the morning timed practice sessions. In the first moto, he
was caught up in a first turn pile-up and ended up starting from the
back. Davalos charged hard through the pack on his RM-Z and was able
to work his way up to cross the line in tenth. In moto two, Davalos
had a decent start and was ninth at the end of the first lap. By the
end, he was able to grab two more positions for seventh place, which
was good enough to score him a sixth-place overall result.


“My weekend in Texas was pretty
good,” said Davalos. “The first moto I had some bad luck and got
caught up in a first turn pile-up. I got up in about 38th and was
able to push really hard on my Suzuki and get a tenth. The second
moto was really hot and I got off around seventh or eighth and was
able to finish seventh, which gave me a sixth overall. I’m
definitely happy with that, especially with the problem in the first
moto. My Rockstar Energy Suzuki team did a great job and my Suzuki
RM-Z250 really worked awesome. We have a weekend off and I’m gonna
work on a few things and go to High Point and get up there with the
front guys. I just need to get better starts to put myself in a
better position.”


Rockstar Makita
Suzuki’s Chris Borich raced his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki QuadRacer
R450 to a hard-fought victory at this weekend’s Rock Run GNCC,
round six of the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country series, in
Patton, PA.


After getting
off the line in fifth place, Borich made the most of the fast and
rocky, 12.5-mile course, picking off the front-runners left and
right. By the halfway point of the two-hour race, he’d moved his
Suzuki QuadRacer into the lead. From there, the defending series
champion held off all challenges and captured his fourth win of the
year.


“It ended up
being a freight train, all of us running together, and it was pretty
hard to pass,” said Borich. “It’s always good to add to a
points lead and I was happy to accomplish that today. We’ve got a
little cushion now. The Suzuki worked awesome today, the power was
unbelievable and I can’t thank Yoshimura and the team enough.”


Borich, the
reigning ATV XC1 champion, now leads the 2011 ATV Grand National
Cross Country series championship by 28 points. With one more round
under his belt, Borich is already looking forward to the next race in
West Virginia where he’ll have another opportunity to further
increase his points lead.


“That will be an interesting race,”
said Borich. “That’s going to be a survival race and will boil
down to picking good lines.”


The Yoshimura-backed team’s next
events are the fourth round of the 2011 AMA American Superbike
Championship series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI on June 3-5,
2011, the third round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on
June 11th, at the Rockstar Energy High Point National in Mt. Morris,
PA and the seventh round of the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country
series in Snowshoe, WV on June 25th.


About Yoshimura R&D of America:
Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for
more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for
racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust
industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same
legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark
for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view
their wide variety of performance products, visit
www.yoshimura-rd.com.


Yoshimura products are designed,
manufactured, intended, and sold for use on vehicles that are
operated only on closed course racing circuits unless otherwise
noted.  Use of these products on public roads or lands is
strictly prohibited and may be a violation of local, state, or
federal laws. Products intended for use on vehicles operated on
public roads or lands are clearly so indicated.



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