KAWASAKI RACING
Baggett Starts Season with First Career Motocross Win at Hangtown

Blake Baggett earned his first-career motocross win with a 2-1 finish at the AMA Motocross Championship season opener at Hangtown MX in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

The win comes in only his seventh professional outdoor race after being forced to sit out most of the season in 2010 with injury. Team-mate Dean Wilson finished close behind with a 1-3, putting him in second overall after opening the day with a moto win. Tyla Rattray rounded out the overall podium with a solid second-moto comeback to finish 5-2. Team-mate Broc Tickle overcame a crash in the first moto to finish 13-7 and ninth overall. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto made a trip to the podium after finishing third overall with a 3-3. Team-mate Jake Weimer earned the recovery award with a great second-moto ride to earn 12th after a 21-6 ride.

With three supercross wins already to his name, Baggett earned his first motocross overall victory with two great rides aboard his Kawasaki KX250F. In the first moto, he was running up front, but had a minor crash that pushed him outside the top-10. He didn’t give up and made his way up to second, posting the fastest lap time of the race on the final lap. In the second moto, he kept pace with his Team-mate Rattray and made the pass in the final laps to earn his first motocross win.

“It feels great to finally win a national,” said Baggett. “Supercross is great being in a stadium with all the people, but with motocross you have to be there for two motos on rough tracks. It almost feels better because I had to put in the hard work the second moto to get the win. It’s a great way to start the season and I want to keep the streak rolling.”

After ending the 2010 season with a win, Wilson showed he was ready to keep the wins coming. He started off strong with a Moto 1 victory. He was looking good in the second moto, but a crash pushed him back from the lead pack. He recovered quickly to secure third and finish the day with second overall.

“The day started off great, but I made a mistake that cost me too much time to reach my team-mates up front,” said Wilson.

“I really wanted to win, but it was a good weekend overall. I got some good points and I’ll try for the win again next week.”

Making the podium a complete Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki sweep, Rattray bounced back from a fifth-place finish in the first moto to grab second in the final moto and push himself onto the podium with third overall.

“It was great to finally get back outdoors and race motocross,” said Rattray.

“I felt good and I’m pretty happy to get on the podium. The track was super rough and by our second moto, it was very physically demanding. It would be great to get back up there again next weekend.”

After sitting out the AMA Motocross Championship for nearly two seasons with injury, Villopoto returned to the form of racing that has already seen him earn three championships in the 250cc class. He came into Hangtown confident that he could run up front and he did just that. After finishing third in the first moto, Villopoto ran out front for nearly half the moto before finishing third to earn him a solid third overall.

“It was a tough track today and recovering from being sick definitely didn’t help,” said Villopoto. “It’s good to get back into racing motocross after being out of it for so long. I got some good points and we still have 11 races left. I’ll be working hard to get a win.”

Reigning AMA Supercross Lites, Western Region champion Tickle started the motocross season showing his perseverance in both motos. In the first moto, he was making his way through the field when he went down, pushing him back to 24th. He rode hard to the end to finish 13th and improved even more in the second moto with a seventh to finish ninth overall.

“I felt good all day, unfortunately my results didn’t show it,” said Tickle.

“When I feel good, but have a tough day, it makes me even more motivated to go out the next week and make up for that last race. I’m glad we got the first race out of the way and I’m looking forward to Texas.”

With only two races under his belt as a 450 rider, Weimer was looking to prove he could run with the experienced 450 riders. After a tough first moto, Weimer bounced back in a big way finishing sixth, which put him 12th overall with a 21-6.

“I was hurt for a long time and regardless of whether I was riding supercross or motocross, I’ve missed a lot of time on the bike,” said Weimer.

“I’ve been playing catch up and all things considered, I think the first race went pretty well. I had a bad first moto going down twice, but I think the second moto showed that I am capable of running up at the front.”

The next race on the circuit brings the riders to Texas. Typically, the race at Freestone Raceway is always hot and humid, which challenges the racers physically and mentally to get through 30 minutes plus two laps.

“I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had fun racing in Texas,” said Tickle. “When it’s hot and humid, it really shows who is in shape. I got on the podium there last year and I want to do it again this year.”

TEAM SUZUKI
DUNGEY SHARES MX SERIES LEAD

Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki showed off the dominance of its riders and the Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450 in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship season opener at the 43rd Annual Rockstar Energy Hangtown National at the weekend.

Defending Champion Ryan Dungey rode strong all day scoring the win in the first moto and backing that up with a solid second-placed podium finish in the second moto. Team mate Brett Metcalfe also rode strong and consistently with two fifth-placed results in his first race since an injury sidelined him in March.

Dungey and his RM-Z were strong from the start, with two solid practices that gave him the eighth gate-pick for Moto 1. A great start put him near the front, just behind Metcalfe. He worked his Suzuki into second in lap two and made a charge for the lead, which he was able to grab in lap six and powered his RM-Z450 across the finish for the first 450 moto win of the year.

In Moto 2, Dungey had another strong start, which put him in second place and he was able to pass for the lead in lap six. He fell back to second in lap eight and battled for the lead, but was unable to make the pass and finished second. His one-two moto finishes gave him a second-place overall for the day and currently tied for the lead in the season points going into next weekend's event in Texas.

"Overall, our day was really good," said Dungey. "We had a good, strong set-up on my Suzuki from practice and my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team made just a few adjustments, which made it even better for the two motos. I got good starts today, which was very helpful. I was able to get out in front and pull away for the win in the first moto, which was a good start to the season. I wasn't able to get the job done in the second moto and ended up in second for the moto and second on the day. It's a really good solid start for the season. There's a lot of motos and a lot of racing. We'll keep moving forward and building from here and we'll be good."

Metcalfe had a great first day back on his RM-Z and started by scoring the seventh fastest lap in practice. In Moto 1, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider blasted his Suzuki out of the gate and into the front. He ran in second for the first two laps before falling back and finishing fifth. Metcalfe had a solid start in Moto 2 and rode strong to move from 10th to eventually cross the line with another fifth-placed finish. His 5-5 results gave him fifth overall for the day.

"It was really awesome today," said Metcalfe. "It's good to be back with my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team after being out injured for a while. My Yoshimura-equipped RM-Z was unreal this weekend. It is good to be back racing and I really like the outdoors, so that's a plus for me. I wanted to get a good start to the season and I'm really happy with this fifth overall finish. Coming away, we got a good load of information and learned a lot that will help give me a little more speed out there by making me more comfortable, and then I'll be able to be more aggressive. I'm really looking forward to the next round in Texas so I can build on this result."

GARETH SWANEPOEL
Swanepoel off to strong start in Hangtown

The opening round of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship kicked off in Sacramento, California at the Hangtown circuit this weekend. DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha racer, Gareth Swanepoel, launched his American outdoors campaign with a solid ride highlighted by a second moto fifth place finish.

After qualifying ninth in the morning session, the South African rolled onto the start gate for moto 1 ready to do battle with a fast contingent of American young guns and former world champions. A terrible start placed ‘Swanie’ at the back of the pack as he had to work hard to push through a gaggle of riders. Registering in 22nd on lap 1 Swanepoel  charged forward gaining a handful of positions every lap. With a few minutes left on the clock he clawed his way into the top ten and secured 9th position at the end of the moto.

A much better start in moto 2 saw ‘Swanie’ in a podium spot but he lost the advantage and tried hard to fend off Dean Wilson for two laps. Settling into 5th position he posted constant lap times and finished 14 seconds ahead reigning MX2 World champion, Marvin Musquin.

“I’m satisfied with this first result,” smiled the 26-year-old.

“Until you get out there and race you never really know how fast you are. I have the speed to be a top 5 guy but I want to work towards getting on the podium. I messed up my start in the first moto and used loads of energy coming through the pack. The second moto was way better and now I’m 6th in the championship. The entire DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha team have been really supportive and I want to thank them for a great job.”

Swanepoel now heads to Wortham, Texas for round 2 of the 12 round series to be held on the 28th of May.

TYLA RATTRAY
RATTRAY ON PODIUM AT 2011 OUTDOOR OPENER

A few seconds of the TV broadcast brought it all into sharp focus. The first round of the AMA motocross championships was well underway, and two riders were at it hammer and tongs for position just inside the top 10. As they rounded the corner, the one bike reared up as it hit a bump. Teetering close to the tipping point, the bike also slewed sideways. The front wheel was pointed at the sky somewhere off to the left and the rider stuck his right leg out straight to bring the whole plot into balance. Throughout all this, he did not turn the throttle back one fraction of a millimetre. On the contrary. The throttle hand remained firmly in the position known in the racing vernacular as “pinned”. The squirrelyness and near catastrophes were just two minor hiccups in the steady stream of forward progress.

This is what true racers are all about. The best results on the track, regardless of the cost. This holds true at all levels of racing, and once you move into the rarified echelons of AMA American Championship racing, you simply know that the competition will be fierce, fiercer than two pit bulls fighting for the last sausage in the cage. And when the season starts, there is a full line up of eager, highly-motivated riders ready for battle. None of this is news to Tyla Rattray, though. The South African is not one to leave things to chance, and his preparation has been, if anything, even sharper for the 2011 season

The season opener was at Hangtown again. This event did Tyla no favours in 2010, but he is not one to cower in the corner and whimper if life hands him a duffer. He goes out, prepares, makes his weak points his strong points, then comes back and pummels those circumstances that brought him down before, into submission. He started his race day solidly, if not spectacularly, with the seventh fastest time in the qualifying sessions. He is one of those riders, though, that improves as the race day goes along. The rougher the track gets, the more it suits his bullet-proof physique and physical strength, so there was hope yet that a good result lay in wait.

The start to race 1 was not particularly auspicious for the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider. He launched into proceedings just inside the top 10, and for a few laps he struggled to find his rhythm. The dreaded arm pump made an unwelcome visit again, but as the race wore on, the aforementioned superior qualities of Rattray the robot racer kicked in. Where other riders flagged, he surged, and he gained a few spots to finish fifth

 Tyla got a much better launch in race two and threaded hi Kawasaki into second spot behind Justin Barcia. By lap 4, he had moved into the lead, and started pounding down lap after fast lap. There was a green missile homing in on his rear flank though, in the form of team-mate Blake Baggett. Baggett was simply on another planet speed wise on the day, and Tyla had no option but to let him go. Still, he rolled over the line in second position, a much better result than a year before.

The scorers pulled the calculators closer, but the result was pretty much a foregone conclusion, and a predictable one at that. Mitch Payton's boys had yet again swept the podium, with Baggett first, Dean Wilson Second, and Tyla third.

The South African was doing his best Gioconda smile impression as he discussed the day. “Yea, I'm pretty happy with today's result,” he said. “It was much better than last year, and then I had to play catch up all season after a bad day here. Blake was really fast today, but I was right in the thick of things, and third in the points standings is a good platform to work from.”

KTM RACING
Steffi Laier on the podium in Hangtown

Red Bull Teka KTM factory rider Steffi Laier had a successful weekend on Hangtown USA where, as a guest rider, she rode herself onto the podium at third overall in the opening round of the Women’s Motocross Series in a guest appearance.

Laier, who said it was great to be back in the USA and was riding the Hangtown Raceway track for the first time in 10 years, qualified third fastest in both timed practice sessions and had a good start in the first moto to be fifth at the first turn. She then hunted down two more riders and maintained her third place right up to the chequered flag.

She took an early lead in the second moto and then got into a three-way battle for the top spot with Jessica Patterson and Ashley Fiolek. But half way through the second moto, a mistake cost her the lead and eventually had to settle for third overall.

Steffi Laier: “This is the first time I have raced Hangtown in about ten years. The track was very rough today and my arm gave me a little trouble at the end of the moto from a practice crash injury earlier in the week. Overall I was glad to get on the podium here and will now return to Europe and the WMX world championship.”

Steffi, the only woman full KTM factory rider, is again a dominant force in the WMX this season.