YOSHIMURA-Backed Teams Hot At Barber Superbike And Budds Creek Motocross

CHINO, CA (June 21, 2011)
– Yoshimura-backed teams showed their dominance on the street and
in the dirt at the AMA Pro Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park
in Birmingham, AL and the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championships at the
Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, MD this past weekend. The
Rockstar Makita Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Suzuki and American Honda
Racing teams put their Yoshimura products to the test in the hot
conditions in Alabama and Maryland.

Team Rockstar
Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young had a lot to celebrate after this
weekend’s AMA Pro Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park. The
young rider rode smart in the rain on Saturday and picked up a podium
finish, and then went all out on Sunday and carded the win. This win
marks Young’s fifth AMA Pro Superbike victory of the season and
moves him to within a mere two points of the overall championship
points lead.

On Sunday, Young got a great start on
his Yoshimura-prepped Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was
running second behind teammate Tommy Hayden. When Hayden unexpectedly
pulled out of the race, Young took over the lead and didn’t look
back. He made no mistakes and took the checkered flag with style. On
Saturday, a mid-race rain shower resulted in a red flag and the
mounting of rain tires. When the race was restarted, Young, who’d
been running second prior to the red flag, got another good start on
his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and took the lead. He battled to
stay up front, and wound up as part of the Suzuki sweep of the podium
finishing in a solid third place.

“For me, the weekend went really,
really well,” said Young. “We got off to a slow start but then
showed that our Rockstar Makita Suzuki team is really strong. In
Saturday’s wet race, we got a good start and I just tried to have
as much fun as I could and ended up third. On Sunday, I knew we had a
good set-up and was looking forward to the race. I got another good
start and got behind Tommy, who was setting a fast, comfortable pace,
which made life a little easier for me. I ended up getting up front,
and I was confident in my GSX-R and my tires and equipment to pull
out the win. It was a tough weekend, but we had great results. I’m
happy to win this one and happy for my team.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy
Hayden, however, had a rough weekend at Barber. Wanting to earn as
many points as possible on Saturday, Hayden rode conservatively in
the wet race and finished seventh. On Sunday, the Kentucky native got
a great start and was leading the race for the first nine laps when a
rare mechanical mishap caused him to DNF.

“It was a fairly disappointing
weekend,” said Hayden. “We were fast but we don’t have any
results to show for it. Saturday, when it was dry, I was leading and
I felt like I had a good chance to fight for the win. Then it started
raining, and I didn’t feel comfortable at all. Today, I felt good
and I led for nine laps, and I was in good shape for the race…
Unfortunately, we had some kind of freak mechanical incident, this is
the first time I’ve ever had a mechanical issue in a race since I
joined the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. They’re a top-notch group
of guys working on my bikes, this is a very rare incident for us and
I don’t expect anything like this to happen again in the future. We
have a lot of races left, and now I’m just looking forward to
having another chance at it at Mid-Ohio.”

Team Rockstar
Makita Suzuki riders showed their strength, consistency, and the
power of their Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450s during the fifth
round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championships at the Budds Creek
National in Mechanicsville, MD on Saturday. Ryan Dungey rode strong
and consistent, claiming second place in both motos and ending the
day with a third-place overall. Teammate Brett Metcalfe worked
through the pack in both motos to grab a couple of sixths and scored
a sixth-place overall finish for the day.

Dungey started the day showing off the
speed of his Suzuki by scoring the fastest time in the morning timed
practices by over a second. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider had a
great start in moto one that put him into the front group. Dungey
powered his RM-Z from fourth to second over the first few laps and
then the reigning champion put his head down and chased after the
leader. Dungey was able to catch the leader in the closing laps but
was unable to make the pass. Moto two went about the same for the
Suzuki rider, with a good start that slotted him quickly into second.
Dungey pushed his RM-Z450 hard for the remaining 12 laps but fell
just a little short of passing for the lead and came away with a
second-place moto finish and third overall for the day. Dungey sits
third in the championship points race.

"It was another good, solid
weekend,” said Dungey. “We got off to really good starts on my
RM-Z today and I was able to get second in both motos. I lost some
time in the beginning of the first moto, but I was able to make that
up and get up there and almost get the win. I got another good start
in the second moto and got up into second and battled for the number
one position for the rest of the moto but just couldn’t make the
pass. It was tough. The track was really one-lined. Overall, my
Rockstar Makita Suzuki felt great and we were solid throughout the
day. We just gotta keep moving forward and plugging away. We’ve got
Lakewood coming up and I’m really looking forward to it. Last year
we were able to get a win there in the AMA Pro MX Championship race
as well as the MX Des Nations. It’s always a great track.”

Teammate Brett Metcalfe started the day
with the fourth fastest time in the morning practices, which was his
best qualifying effort of the season. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki
rider suffered a bad start in the first moto but was able to work his
RM-Z through the field to capture a sixth-place finish. In moto two,
Metcalfe had another tough start but was able to quickly get into
sixth, which is where he finished, giving him a sixth-place overall
for the day. Metcalfe sits solidly in fifth in the championship
points.

"It was a pretty positive day for
me,” said Metcalfe. “I went six-six for sixth overall and there
were some positives and negatives, but overall I felt pretty good.
The negative side of the day was bad starts in both motos. I really
felt if I could have had better starts, I could have been running up
front and at least challenging for a podium. I had my best qualifying
result of the year today with a fourth. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki is
working great and the team has been doing a great job getting me more
comfortable out there. I think that’s why I was able to qualify
faster. I’m happy and feel that was my best riding of the season.
We need to go home and work this week on starts and give myself a
chance to run up front. I’m looking forward to Lakewood. It’s a
track I’ve done well at in the past. And I think it is a track that
suits me. I’m hoping to go there and put my Suzuki up on the podium
where I know it can be.”

Team Rockstar Energy Suzuki carded a
top-ten finish at Budds Creek. Martin Davalos put the awesome power
of his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z250 to the test in a battle to
claim a ninth-place overall finish in the 250 class.

Davalos started the day with a strong
run in the morning timed practice sessions, ending up seventh
fastest. In the first moto, Davalos had a decent start and quickly
slotted his RM-Z into ninth. He pushed hard ‘til the end and
crossed the line for a tenth-place finish. In moto two, he was caught
up in a first turn pile-up and ended up starting from the back.
Davalos charged his Suzuki hard through the pack and was able to work
his way across the line for tenth. The ten-ten moto finishes were
good enough to score him a ninth-place overall result.

“My Budds Creek weekend was decent
overall,” said Davalos. “The first moto I was a little tight and
wasn’t really able to make a move and just kind of got a top- ten
start and stayed there. The second moto I got a decent jump on my
Suzuki, but I got caught up in a first turn crash. I was dead last by
the time I was able to get back going. I was able to ride strong the
whole moto. My RM-Z250 was running great and I felt pretty good and
was able to work up to tenth. The ten-ten gave me ninth overall,
which is a top-ten weekend, but I was definitely looking for a better
result. Now, we’re coming to Lakewood and that’s my favorite
track of the whole series. It reminds me of home because the altitude
is pretty high. I’m looking forward to going there and getting some
good starts and getting up front. I’ve got the speed; I just need
to keep out of trouble.”

American Honda Racing rider Josh Grant
made an impressive return to racing at the Budds Creek National,
while teammate Kevin Windham finished just off the podium. After
getting a mid-pack start in moto one, Windham rode a solid
come-from-behind race to take the checkers in fourth. In the second
moto, he again finished a solid fourth to end the weekend fourth
overall on his Yoshimura-equipped Honda CRF450R.

Grant made a strong return to motocross
racing after sitting out the first three rounds in the series due to
injury, going 8-10 for 10th overall. “It definitely feels good to
be back racing with the team,” said Grant. “My goal for this
weekend was to finish inside the top 10, and I achieved that. It’s
a matter of riding myself into racing shape, and I’m looking
forward to even better things in Colorado next week.”

The Yoshimura-backed team’s next
events are the 2011 AMA Pro American Superbike Championship series at
the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, on July 8-10, the
fifth round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday,
June 25th, at the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, CO, and the
seventh round of the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country series in
Snowshoe, WV on June 25th.

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