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Team Suzuki
ALESSI 2ND AT FREESTONE SCORCHER
 In spite of 100-degree temperatures, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Mike Alessi gave a strong performance at Freestone County Raceway in Wortham, Texas, on Sunday.
The young rider holeshot both motos and then brought home two second-place finishes to take second-place overall.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate Michael Byrne celebrated his second sixth-place finish of the season, thanks to eighth and fifth-place moto finishes. Alessi is currently third in the overall championship points while Byrne is sixth.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's David Vuillemin is out due to injury and did not race this weekend.
In the Motocross Lites class, the Freestone race saw Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey pick up his second consecutive second-place overall finish. Currently, second in the overall championship points, Dungey finished second in both motos to get the impressive result.
Team mate Nico Izzi sat out the Freestone event after a rough crash last week at Hangtown.
Mike Alessi:
"I got a killer start in the first moto and just tried to ride my own race. I knew James Stewart was going a little faster and my goal was just to be consistent because that's how you win championships. This was a tough race, it was hot and the track was rough but we gutted it out. In the second moto, I got another holeshot and I was riding good, I put in a good sprint at the beginning. I tried to stay with James but it's just going to take more work to win. Thanks to the whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki team for giving me a bike that worked so fantastic - I was really, really pleased with it."
Michael Byrne:
"It was pretty hot out there and I'm glad I went home to Georgia to ride in the heat first. I got a couple good starts on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and the bike was really fast at the beginning of the motos. I'm happy with the result and I'm just trying to get better week-by-week. After having so much time off with my knee injury, I just need to keep building on my strength and my fitness."
Ryan Dungey:
"This was the hottest race of the year, I guess it show's a true man's fitness. I was right there and tried to keep my calm, but I'm pumped to come out with second. Thanks to my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team because my RM-Z250 was working great at this track. I grew up racing amateur races around here and it's good to have so many fans and family here."
KTM Racing
US Motocross Series
MDK KTM rider Nick Wey earned a commendable 9th place overall at round 3 of the AMA Motocross Championship at Freestone County Raceway.
 The third round of the motocross series was the toughest yet as rider's battled through blazing temperatures well into the 100s. In moto one of the Motocross class, Wey unfortunately stalled his bike off the start but quickly caught up to the pack and picked off riders to come around the first lap in 24th. In the near 40 minute moto, Wey worked his way up from his poor start to finish 14th overall.
In moto two, Wey came around 20th on the start but did not take much time to begin his move forward. By the halfway mark Wey had moved into 11th and showed no sign of slowing down, despite the scorching heat. At the end of the moto, he managed to move two positions higher to pick up 9th place. His 14-9 scores gave him 9th overall for the day. Wey now sits 9th in series points, just 3 points shy of 8th place.
US Motocross Lites Series
It seemed the heat played a major factor in both Lites motos no matter who you were.
MDK KTM Lites rider Ryan Sipes was out front early in moto one but had to pull off a few laps later due to a bike problem. His team-mate Martin Davalos was also up front early, but was not able to hold the pace of the front runners at his first race back since a practice injury he suffered in preparation for the season opener at Glen Helen. Davalos hung on to finish moto one in 20th position. Matt Goerke and Justin Brayton were not as fortunate on their starts as their team-mates, but they were both able to break through the pack to improve their final position. Goerke charged his way up into 12th and Brayton finished 16th at the moto end.
In moto two, the crowd witnessed the orange MDK KTM 250 SX-F machine of Sipes pull the holeshot followed by Davalos in 2nd. The two stayed up front for a lap until Davalos faded off the pace and Sipes made a bobble that pushed him back to 3rd. Goerke and Brayton had mediocre starts and were beginning to make their charge toward the top ten. Near the halfway point, Brayton hit his already injured ankle on a hay bale and had to be carted off by Asterisk for medical attention. As the race wore on, Sipes and Davalos would also not finish the moto as the heat became too much for both riders and they pulled off from heat exhaustion. Goerke was the last rider left and was running in a solid 8th place when he experienced a bike problem and was unable to finish. Despite, his DNF he still finished 17th overall for the day, not bad, considering almost half of the field did not finish the second moto.
"When things go bad, you just have to point out the positive in your day and look forward to the next round. We were happy with how our MDK KTM Lites riders started today but realise the overall endurance of our riders need help. The bike issues suffered can be fixed and are not major. We know what we need to improve and we intend to perform better each week," commented MDK KTM Lites Team Manager Danny Paladino.
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