TEAM FMF MAKITA SUZUKI’S Josh Strang Cards Podium Finish With Spectacular Last-Lap Pass At Mountain Ridge GNCC

SOMERSET, PA (September 26, 2011)
– FMF Makita Suzuki’s Josh Strang put in a truly impressive
performance at the Mountain Ridge GNCC, round 9 of the 2011 Grand
National Cross Country Series, on Sunday. The three-hour event saw
Strang finish up in a solid third place after making a dramatic
last-lap pass on his FMF Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. This result marks
Strang’s seventh podium finish of the year.

Sunday’s race started out positively
for the FMF Makita Suzuki rider, and he was trading the lead on his
Suzuki RM-Z450 early on. Unfortunately, midway through the race, a
rock jammed his rear brake caliper and Strang was forced to stop for
repairs. Despite the lost time, he put his head down and charged hard
to take the final spot on the podium at the checkers.

“It just
wasn’t my day today,” said Strang. “I’m happy to have gotten
third, because I think I was fifth at the start of the last lap. It
helped out a lot in the title chase to get on the podium and salvage
a few points. My FMF Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was running great, but on
the second to last lap, I hit a rock and my brakes stopped working
and I had to stop in the pits to get it fixed. I rode pretty hard
that last lap to work my way back up.”

With four races
remaining this year, the defending series champion is currently
second in the overall points chase. Strang wants to finish the 2011
season strong, however, and bring home another championship for the
FMF Makita Suzuki squad.

“I’ll have
to get it together these last four races,” said Strang. “I felt
good today and I was riding well, I just had a little bit of bad
luck. I’m happy with third, but I’m disappointed with what I
could have done.”

Despite his disappointment, Strang
knows that there’s still plenty of racing left. He and his FMF
Makita Suzuki crew are already focusing on the next round in Ohio in
two weeks.

“I’ll just have to work hard these
next two weeks and take care of business at the next race,” said
Strang. “I’m looking forward to putting the FMF Makita Suzuki
RM-Z450 back on top of the podium.”

The 2011 FMF Makita Suzuki team’s
next event is Sunday, Oct. 9, in St. Clairsville, OH, for the
Powerline Park GNCC, round 10 of the AMA Grand National Cross Country
Series. Follow team updates on SuzukiScoopFans on facebook and
SuzukiScoop on twitter.

Somerset
GNCC XC1 Class Results:

1. Charles Mullins

2. Paul Whibley

3. Josh Strang

4. Nathan Kanney

5. Kailub Russell

6. Mike Lafferty

7. Rory Mead

8. Jedediah Haines

9. Jesse Robinson

10. Eric Bailey

2011 GNCC XC-1 Class Standings:

1. Charles Mullins – 220

2. Josh Strang – 203

3. Paul Whibley – 195

4. Kailub Russell– 150

5. Nathan Kanney– 147

6. Cory Buttrick – 110

7. Christopher Bach – 96

8. Mike Lafferty – 91

9. Jimmy Jarrett – 83

10. Thaddeus Duvall – 75

About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor
Corporation (SMC) founded The Motorcycle and ATV Division of American
Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC), Brea, CA, in 1963. ASMC markets
motorcycles and ATVs via an extensive dealer network throughout 49
states. ASMC's parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation, 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. For more information, visit www.suzukicycles.com.
Follow Suzuki Scoop on facebook for exclusive team content
www.facebook.com/suzukiscoopfans.

About FMF: Owner and founder Don
Emler started FMF Racing in 1973. Don’s vision was to provide the
top level US racing equipment at the grass roots level. FMF was
formed in Don’s garage and is now located in Rancho Dominguez in a
90,000 sq ft state of the art manufacturing facility. FMF’s goal is
simple; design and manufacture the world’s best performance exhaust
100% in the USA under one roof. For more information visit
http://www.fmfracing.com.

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. The Makita Teal color is the trade
dress of Makita Corporation and is protected under common law and
registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Makita is Best
in Class Engineering. For more information visit www.makitatools.com.

Team FMF Makita Suzuki is grateful
for the support of their sponsors: FMF, Makita Industrial Power
Tools, Dunlop, Maxima, Renthal, Motion Pro, DP Brakes, Acerbis,
ProFilter, Trek, Hinson Clutch Components, RG3, Zip Ty, CTI, IMS, La
Piparosa, DID Dirt Star, Works Connection, Pro X, Tokyo Mods, T.M.
Designworks, TCR Hubs, Matrix Concepts, CV4, GPR Stabilizers, Posey,
N-Style and GoPro.