Davalos Earns First Podium of the Season

Buchanan, MI – MDK KTM Factory rider Martin Davalos earned his first podium of the season at the sixth round of the AMA National Motocross Series Championship at the Red Bud MX Park.

Davalos, who had a rough start to the season after overcoming a pre-season injury, has been steadily improving each round. His 6-3 scores at Red Bud finally gave him the podium position he’s been striving for since his return three rounds ago.

Davalos and his MDK KTM teammate Ryan Sipes led the way around the track in moto one of the Lites class after Sipes pulled the holeshot with Davalos right behind him. The two continued to battle up front the remainder of the moto. When the checkered flag dropped Sipes secured his best moto finish of the season coming around in 3rd while Davalos finished a few spots back in 6th. Their MDK KTM teammates Matt Goerke and Justin Brayton had to battle their way up from poor starts to finish 13th and 16th respectively.

In moto two, Davalos grabbed the holeshot with Sipes again close by. Unfortunately, Sipes crashed shortly after the start, remounted and then crashed once again before the end of the last lap. His two crashes sent him to the back of the pack. Brayton’s good jump off the start of the second moto was short-lived after another rider crashed into him injuring his ankle and causing him to pull off before the completion of the first turn. Goerke had a better start in the second moto but also collided with another rider which damaged his bike and forced him to pull off before the finish. Meanwhile, Davalos was still up front sitting safely in 3rd place. He would finish the moto in 3rd to earn the MDK KTM team their first podium finish of the season. Sipes worked his way up from near last to 20th to take 10th overall for the day.

In the Motocross class, MDK KTM Factory team rider, Nick Wey, was looking to impress his hometown crowd. He started within the top ten in moto one and moved his way up to finish 5th. In moto two, he almost grabbed the holeshot and was sitting in 2nd place when an unfortunate crash by Suzuki’s Mike Alessi resulted in a red flag of the moto. On the restart, he was again up front and held his position on the fast-paced course the remainder of the moto to earn another 5th place finish. His 5-5 results earned him 4th overall for the weekend; his best overall finish of the year.

Next Event: Round 7, Budds Creek MX Park – July 12-13, 2008

Overall Results – Motocross Lites:

1. R. Villopoto (1,1)

2. T. Canard (2,2)

3. M. Davalos (6,3)

4. J. Grant (5,4)

5. N. Izzi (4,5)

6. A. McFarlane (7,10)

7. K. Chisholm (11,7)

8. K. Cunningham (12,9)

9. B. Metcalfe (10,11)

10. R. Sipes (3,20)

Motocross Lites Overall Points:

1. R. Villopoto – 291

2. R. Dungey – 196

3. J. Weimer – 167

4. B. Metcalfe – 164

5. A. Stroupe – 152

6. T. Canard – 127

7. N. Izzi – 126

8. J. Lawrence – 120

9. D. Reardon – 116

10. R. Sipes – 101

Overall Results – Motocross Class:

1. J. Stewart (1,1)

2. A. Short (3,3)

3. M. Byrne (4,4)

4. N. Wey (5,5)

5. C. Summey (9,7)

6. J. Alessi (7,9)

7. J. Albertson (8,10)

8. T. Ferry (23,2)

9. M. Alessi (2,33)

10. C. Cooper (16,6)

Motocross Overall Points:

1. J. Stewart – 300

2. M. Alessi – 221

3. T. Ferry – 201

4. D. Millsaps – 188

5. A. Short – 181

6. M. Byrne – 166

7. N. Wey – 135

8. J. Alessi – 120

9. S. Hamblin – 113

10. C. Cooper - 102