YOSHIMURA-Backed Teams Dominate In The Dirt On Two And Four Wheels!

CHINO, CA (September
12, 2011) – Yoshimura-backed teams showed their
dominance in the dirt on both two wheels and four at the final round
of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Pala, CA and at round
10 of the 2011 Grand National Cross Country Series at the Unadilla
ATV GNCC in New Berlin, NY on Saturday. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki,
Rockstar Energy Suzuki and Honda Racing teams showed their dominance
and the performance advantage of their Yoshimura products while
taking on the competition at Pala and Unadilla.

Team Rockstar
Makita Suzuki finished off the motocross season strong at Pala. 2010
AMA Pro Motocross Champion Ryan Dungey and teammate Brett Metcalfe
powered their Yoshimura-equipped Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450s to a
first- and fourth-place finish overall, respectively.

In the first moto, Dungey got pushed
out a bit on the start and had to work his way up from 10th at the
first lap. He quickly worked his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 up to
third by lap six and pushed hard until the end, passing for second on
the 13th lap, and ended up crossing the line in second. After another
tough start in moto two, Dungey again worked his way up to third by
the halfway point. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider put his head down
and used the awesome power of his RM-Z to chase down the leader and
make the pass in the closing stages to take the checkers for the moto
win and the overall win for the day. The 2010 AMA Pro Motocross
Champion finished off the season a close second to the top in
championship points, amassing a total of six moto wins, 16 podiums
and four overall wins.

“It was a good day here at Pala,”
said Dungey. “I was able to go two-one for the overall win today on
the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and that was good. I had a tough
start in the first moto and finished second, but we were able to
battle back and manage to get through the pack in the second to take
the win and get the first overall. It was a tough battle – It was
really cool that the championship came down to this last race.
Although we didn’t win, we did a great job getting through the
season despite all the adversity we had to overcome. I’m really
happy with the way my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team stepped up. It’s
nice to be able to walk away knowing we did everything we could. It
was a lot of fun and there are a lot of great memories. I want to
thank the man above, my whole team and crew, my family, all the fans,
and everybody in Japan that makes this happen. I’m really looking
forward to Motocross Des Nations next week. It’s great to go there
and represent your country. It’s really something special.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Metcalfe
also put on an impressive performance aboard his Yoshimura-equipped
Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 this weekend. After a solid start in
the first moto, Metcalfe ran as high as third and consistently in
fourth before a stall on the last lap dropped him back for a
fifth-place finish. Another strong start in moto two put Metcalfe and
his Suzuki RM-Z into the front pack. He rode a strong and consistent
race once again for another fifth-place moto finish and a fourth
overall for the day. Metcalfe finished off the year a solid fourth in
championship points and scored an overall win, as well as two podiums
and three top five finishes.

“Pala worked out pretty good for me,”
said Metcalfe. “I was able to pull off a fourth overall and I’m
pretty happy with that. I was really looking forward to Pala because
it’s kind of my home race and I had a lot of friends and family
here. I started out pretty strong in practice and I was really
comfortable out there, which is the important thing. My Suzuki was
working really well and I got into a good rhythm. I got two really
good starts today and my Suzuki RM-Z450 was really fast getting down
to the first corner. I rode well but could only manage two fifths for
the day; in the first moto, I should have been fourth, but I stalled
it on the last lap. It was a good day and now I’m looking forward
to Des Nations. I want to thank my whole Rockstar Makita team,
Yoshimura, and all my sponsors. They’ve all been very supportive
the entire year. I also want to thank Suzuki for giving us such a
great bike in the RM-Z and the support we need to race at this top
level.”

Team Rockstar Energy Suzuki capped off
the season with another solid top-10 finish in the 250 class at Pala
on Saturday. Jason Anderson scored an eighth-place overall at the
Pala National in Pala, CA, while Rockstar Energy Suzuki teammates
Nick Paluzzi, Martin Davalos and Ryan Morais finished 13th, 14th and
17th, respectively, on their Yoshimura-equipped Rockstar Energy
Suzuki RM-Z250s.

Anderson was strong all day, starting
with the eighth fastest time in the morning practices. The Rockstar
Energy Suzuki rider had two consistent motos aboard his Suzuki
RM-Z250, with decent starts in both, and finished eighth in the first
moto and ninth in the second. The combined results were good enough
to award Anderson with an eight-place overall result. Anderson still
managed to finish 16th in championship points despite missing four
races mid-season.

"This weekend was a solid overall
weekend for me,” said Anderson. “Especially for how my season has
been going, it's a step in the right direction and I know I can keep
this upwards momentum going into next season and be up there even
further. My Suzuki RM-Z250 has been great and my team has been very
supportive throughout the entire season. I want to thank everyone
including my Rockstar Energy Suzuki team, my sponsors and Suzuki for
all their support.”

Justin Barcia completed his fill-in
ride with the factory Honda team at Pala MX by putting in two
impressive rides on the factory Yoshimura-equipped Honda CRF450R at
the Motocross grand finale. Barcia was a strong contender for the
moto one win, running up front for the majority of the race before
finishing in third. In the second moto, Barcia got a great start and
took over the lead from Chad Reed on lap seven. Maintaining
incredible speed out front, he led the next eight laps before
surrendering a spot with two laps to go. Barcia’s stellar 3-2
results earned him third overall for the round.

“I’m really happy with my results
this weekend,” said Barcia. “I have learned so much about myself
as a racer and about riding, which I know has made me a much smarter
rider. It’s been awesome working with the factory Honda team, and I
can’t thank GEICO Honda enough for allowing me to take advantage of
this amazing opportunity.”

In the Women’s class,
Yoshimura-equipped Honda CRF250R rider Ashley Fiolek wrapped up her
third WMX title. After winning back-to-back Women’s titles in 2008
and 2009, and finishing runner-up in the WMX series in 2010, Fiolek
headed into the 2011 Motocross season determined to reclaim the
crown. From the get-go, Fiolek demonstrated incredible speed on her
CRF250R, winning five motos in the eight-round series and clinching
three overall victories en route to the championship crown.

“I am so happy to win back the
Women’s title,” said Fiolek. “It was tough giving it up last
year, so I was determined to do everything I needed to do to win it
back this season. All the women racers rode exceptionally well, and
we had some great battles. I knew consistency was going to be the key
to winning the championship back, and that’s what I was all season;
consistently on the podium each week. I’m really happy to put Honda
on top again for another year.”

On the ATV side, Rockstar Makita
Suzuki’s Chris Borich used a bold, last-second pass aboard his
Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki QuadRacer R450 to take a thrilling win at
this year’s Unadilla ATV GNCC. Borich now leads the XC1 points
chase by 36 points.

Saturday’s race saw reigning ATV XC1
Champion Borich getting off to a mid-pack start. Borich moved into
contention for the lead at the halfway mark of the race, trading the
lead with three other riders for the next several laps. On the final
lap, Borich found himself in third place but soon passed for second.
With less than a half mile to go in the race, Borich put the power
down on his Suzuki QuadRacer R450 and made a daring pass, jumping one
of Unadilla’s huge motocross jumps to take the lead. At the finish,
Borich took the checkers with just about two seconds to spare over
second place. This marks Borich’s fifth win of the season.

“It was a good battle,” explained
Borich. “Me, Wolf, Bithell and McGill were just like a train,
battling back and forth for awhile. Bithell checked up and I knew I
had to make a move, so I thought, okay, this is it, and I just hit it
hammer-down. It was good to come away with a few more points. It was
a good race; we were rolling good and it was a fun race.”

“My Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki
QuadRacer R450 ran awesome today,” added Borich. “It had plenty
of power to get me up those nasty hills and it did what I needed it
to do. The bike handled awesome and I can’t thank the Suzuki guys
enough. I’m looking forward to the next round. I like Somerset.
It’s a track that’s always been good to me. There are a lot of
rocks where I live and that’s what they have at Somerset, so I’m
looking forward to it.”

Next, the ATV GNCC series moves to
Somerset, PA for the Mountain Ridge GNCC on September 24th.

About Yoshimura R&D of America:
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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.

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