DODGE/HART & HUNTINGTON NEWS
·
Dodge and Hart & Huntington are scheduled to field two riders in
New Orleans this weekend at the Superdome – Ivan Tedesco and Kyle Regal
are the riders. Josh Hansen is questionable pending his MRI results this
week on his injured left leg.
· Kyle Partridge remains sidelined due to injuries sustained in St. Louis and will miss the remainder for the season.
·
Ivan Tedesco will be making his first appearance since breaking his
right ring finger at the SX event in Los Angeles 10 weeks ago. Tedesco
led all Hart and Huntington riders last season with seven top 10s in 15
SX starts.
· Josh Hill remains sidelined after
sustaining an elbow injury in practice two weeks ago in Houston that
forced him to withdraw from the event.
· Hart and
Huntington riders have taken the gate in only 27 of 55 possible Main
Event starts this season due to injuries: Hansen 11, Partridge 9,
Tedesco 3, Regal 3 and Hill 1.
Ivan Tedesco
No. 9 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing
Birthdate: 08/12/1981
Hometown: Albuquerque, N.M. Mechanic: Tony Berluti
Highlights
· Injured in third race of season at Dodger Stadium
· Season best finish of 11th came at Phoenix (second race)
· Entering his fifth season in AMA Supercross competition
· Finished 11th in the 2011 rider standings
· Best 2011 finish came at Jacksonville – sixth
Kyle Regal
No. 36 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing
Birthdate: 5/14/91
Hometown: Howell, Mich. Mechanic: Sean Trihey
Highlights
· Season-best finish of 13th was at Daytona riding for H&H.
· First Supercross start was at Cowboys Stadium in 2010.
· Career best finish of seventh came at Qwest Field in 2011
· Has three top-10 finishes in 16 450-class starts
Josh Hansen
No.100 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing
Birthdate: 02/16/1984
Hometown: Simi Valley, Calif. Mechanic: Kenny Germaine
Highlights
· Made nine Main Events this season before injury
· Season averages: Avg. Start: 11.3 Avg. Finish: 11.4
· Season-best finish of fifth at San Diego and Arlington
· First year racing with Dodge/Hart & Huntington Racing
· Gold medal winner in Supercross (2008/09) in the ESPN X Games
KYLE REGAL (No. 36 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing
Kawasaki)
WHAT
ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO NEW ORLEANS THIS WEEKEND? “I’ve just
been trying to get more time on the bike. I rode yesterday and over the
weekend. We’ve had some rain, which has slowed the amount of time I’ve
been on the seat. For me, it’s really a matter of just getting more
time on the bike, getting more laps in and preparing for Saturday.”
YOU’RE
IN A PRECARIOUS POSITION HEADING INTO THE LAST FOUR RACES OF THE
SEASON. YOU WEREN’T PART OF THE ORIGINAL FOUR RIDERS ON THE HART AND
HUNTINGTON TEAM, YET YOU’RE NOW IN A POSITION TO RIDE SEVEN OF THE LAST
17 RACES FOR THEM. IT HAS TO BE AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY?
“Yeah,
it’s been amazing to ride for Carey (Hart) and his team. I’m very
thankful for everyone that’s given me the opportunity. I know that
there are a lot of eyes on me since I’ve been on the bike, but a lot of
people don’t know that I’m also coming off an injury and that’s kind of
hard to fight at the same time. Just like anybody else, when you come
back from an injury it’s not as easy as you expected. No excuses. It’s
a huge opportunity for me and I’m going out every week trying to give
it my all, get the best result that I can, try to get inside that top 10
and battle with those guys.”
IVAN TEDESCO (No. 9 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing
Kawasaki)
WHAT
ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT FINALLY GETTING BACK ON THE BIKE THIS WEEK AT
NEW ORLEANS? “I’m super excited to be back. I was off the bike for 11
weeks with that broken finger; it gave me a little bit more problems
than I was expecting. Once I got the pins taken out, I wasn’t able to
bend my finger for a couple of weeks and had to do a lot of therapy to
get the movement back. I still don’t have 100 percent movement in it,
but enough to hold the handle bars and go ride. I got on the bike this
week. I’m glad to be back.”
HOW MUCH
TRAINING HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO DO SINCE THE INJURY? “I’ve done what I
can off the bike to train and keep my cardio in good shape. There’s no
replacing being on the seat and riding a dirt bike. I’ve got some work
ahead heading into the weekend. I’m not 100 percent physically and that
will limit me a bit. I’m not going to be able to attack the track like
I normally do, but I feel great on the bike so far. We’ll see how
practice goes and go from there.”
WHAT
ARE THE REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS FOR YOU THIS WEEKEND? “I really don’t
have any because I’m not sure what to expect. I’m not sure where my
fitness is, but speed wise, I feel fast. Riding with the guys down on
the practice track showed that I was fast. It’s going to be a matter of
doing 20 laps and managing the race. I’m excited to get back and see
what I can do at these last four events.”
YOU’VE
BEEN ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN OVER THE LAST 11 WEEKS. ARE YOU AMAZED
AT HOW MUCH RIDER ATTRITION THERE HAS BEEN IN SX THIS YEAR? “Yeah, it’s
a shame. We were expecting to have the greatest Supercross season of
all time and guys were just dropping out from injuries every weekend.
It’s part of our sport. The competition is so fierce that guys ride so
hard and injuries are going to happen. Unfortunately, our team got hit
with the worst injury bug and it’s been hard on everyone.”
2012 AMA SX STAT CHECK
Starts Main Events Wins Top 3s Top 10s
Hansen 11 9 0 0 6
Tedesco 3 3 0 0 0
Partridge 9 7 0 0 0
Hill 1 0 0 0 0
Regal 3 3 0 0 0
4/11/2012 12:42pm
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