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Monster Energy Kawasaki
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Stewart Continues Sweep Streak at High Point
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart maintained his perfect-season record by going 1-1 at the AMA Toyota National Motocross Championship at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pa. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto also kept a streak of his own alive with a 1-1 overall finish in the motocross lites class, claiming his third-straight victory. Team-mate’s Austin Stroupe and Brett Metcalfe finished just behind him in fourth and fifth, while Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Timmy Ferry was also just off the box in fourth.
 Stewart has been going out each weekend to prove he is the best and at High Point, he proved that point once again. Going 1-1 again this weekend, Stewart notched up his eighth-straight moto win and gained more ground on his first motocross championship. He currently leads by 45 points.
“In the first moto, I was able to get into the lead on the first lap and just have fun out there,” said Stewart. “The second moto took me a little longer, but I felt strong this race. I’m really looking forward to Colorado in a few weeks.”
One of the first comments Stewart made when he finished his second moto was “Happy Father’s Day” to his supportive dad, James Stewart, Sr. Stewart looked proud to win this race for his dad and walk away from another successful weekend.
Villopoto made his mark again on the competition as he went 1-1 for the third-straight week. Both motos he came from inside the top five to take the lead and set a comfortable gap on the second-place riders. With his win, he extended his points lead to 28 before going into the first off-weekend of the series.
“First moto I got a pretty good start and was able to get up into first pretty quick,” said Villopoto. I just tried to get a gap as quick as I could. The second moto I got a better start and didn’t have to take any rocks to the face.”
At the podium following the first lites moto, Villopoto removed his helmet to display a fat lip he received from a flying rock that hit him as he was making his charge to the front. Since he was in the lead for a majority of the race, he rode through the pain for solid 25 minutes.
Just off the Box
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ferry was able to spend father’s day doing what he loves, while his family was there to cheer him on. He got decent starts in both motos and remained consistent throughout to finish just off the box with a 4-4.
“First moto was pretty good, but I felt a little tight,” said Ferry. “I don’t know if not getting to ride Saturday and only one practice before the race made a difference. The second moto was all right. I got held up for a little bit trying to get into fourth. I tried to close the gap on third but I didn’t seem to have the advantages that I had the last few weeks. I’ve ridden really well at Colorado in the past so I’m looking forward to that race in two weeks.”
After getting caught up in the first turn, Stroupe made a speedy charge to the front to finish inside the top 10 during the first moto. In the second moto, he got a great start and battled back and forth
“Overall I was glad to get fourth after the bad first moto,” said Stroupe. “During the break, I’m going to stay on it and get my conditioning even better. I’m feeling really good and I just have to cut down the mistakes.”
Taking his Kawasaki KX250F to his first holeshot of the season was Motosport Xtreme Kawasaki’s Andrew McFarlane. He jumped off the start and led the pack of 40 riders into the first few turns.
Next weekend will be the first weekend in a month that the riders have off before returning for another five-straight weeks. Most of the Kawasaki riders will be at home relaxing before returning to the series in Colorado.
“The next five races are going to be tough since they are all consecutive,” said Villopoto. “I’m going to just hang out and try to relax before we get going again.”
Rain, Rain, Thank You For Going Away
Just as the teams had finished putting up their awnings, the skies opened up. The rain came and went throughout the day, but when it rained, it poured. This meant a well-groomed track suddenly went to a muddy mess. The practices were rescheduled to help preserve the track and by the first moto on Sunday, it was finally drying out.
“I thought the track was awesome,” said Stewart. “It got a little rutted, but they did a really good job. I was proud of them (the track crew). They are finally listening so I feel the tracks are getting safer and better for everyone.”
The “Bubba” fans were all over High Point Raceway, showing their support to the current motocross points leader in the series. There were signs all over the track and many of the fans came to show their support at the podium.
Team Suzuki
ALESSI PODIUMS AT HIGH POINT
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Mike Alessi gave an impressive repeat performance of the previous weekend's AMA Motocross Championship race at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The Californian rider again holeshot both motos and brought home two second-place finishes to take second place overall. Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate Michael Byrne carded a top-10 overall result thanks to eighth and 13th-place moto finishes.
 Alessi remains in second place in the overall championship points and Byrne maintains his sixth-place position.
In the Motocross Lites class, Ryan Dungey overcame a first-moto get-off to finish in sixth place and then secured a second-place finish in moto two for an overall podium result.
Nico Izzi returned to racing after sitting out last weekend's event due to injury and carded an impressive third-place finish in the first moto but struggled in the second moto and ended up with eighth overall.
Mike Alessi:
"It was a really good weekend. I was happy with both of my starts on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. It's good to get four holeshots in a row. Now I just need to keep working on getting faster overall so we can get a win. But I'm happy with my race strategy, which is basically to just race my own race and focus on myself and not worry about what everyone else is doing."
Michael Byrne:
"The first moto was OK; I didn't start as well as I'd have liked to but I passed a few guys at the end and finished strong on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. In the second moto I got a better start but someone fell in front of me and I didn't have anywhere to go so I fell also. Later on, I just slid out in the mud. The second moto was a little bit rough but I tried to salvage as many points as possible."
Ryan Dungey:
"Overall it was a decent weekend. I got the holeshot in the first moto but I got taken out and fell. I think I could have gotten second place if that didn't happen because I was having a good ride. In the second moto, I was closing in on the leader slowly but I wasn't able to get it. But a holeshot with a fall and still a podium - that's pretty good. Also, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 was really awesome; one thing that I was really happy about was that we didn't need to make any adjustments to the bike all week because it was working so good that I was able to ride it as I hard as I needed to."
Nico Izzi:
"The first moto was awesome. I almost got the holeshot and I was running second for almost the whole moto. But I got passed and settled for third. I think I wasn't quite ready to come back yet from the crash at Hangtown but at the same time, I was pumped to just be out there racing - I don't want to just sit on the couch for a couple weeks. I also didn't want to push it, crash and hit my head again. We made some progress this weekend, I was fourth in qualifying and that's the first time I've been in the top five. Now we have a weekend off, which is more time to get ready for the next race."
KTM Racing
US Motocross Series
As the motocross class kicked off for moto one, MDK KTM Factory rider Nick Wey managed to get a respectable 13th place start.
With this start, it did not take long for him to pick off a few riders and move into the top ten. On lap ten, he was able to get by Ryan Clark and Jeff Alessi which moved him into 8th. In his most aggressive ride of the season, he put a last minute charge on Ivan Tedesco and caught him for 7th a couple laps before the finish earning his best moto finish of the season.
In moto two, Wey got a better start after lining up on the far inside gate and coming around in 7th at the end of lap one. He got passed by Josh Hill on lap four and then maintained his pace not letting anyone else get near him for the remainder of the moto. His 8th place finish in moto two combined with his 7th place finish from moto one earned him 6th overall for the day and moved him up one position in overall points to 8th.
"I had a lot of fun today. The track and the weather were great compared to last week. I feel more comfortable on my KTM than I have so far and I only hope to improve upon my results from here," reported Wey after the race.
US Motocross Lites Series
The MDK KTM Factory Team riders each earned their best finish of the season at the fourth round of the AMA Motocross Championships at the 32nd annual High Point National.
In a complete turn around from the week before, three MDK KTM Lites riders were within the top ten off the start of the first moto. Martin Davalos, in only his second race back since injury, came around the first turn in second and quickly moved into the lead. Not far behind him was his team-mate Ryan Sipes in 5th and directly behind him was the orange #41 bike of Matt Goerke. The only MDK KTM Lites rider not inside the top ten was Justin Brayton, who unfortunately, had a poor start and checked in 31st place after the first lap.
As the moto continued, Davalos began to fade as he is still struggling with his conditioning since his return. However, his team-mate Sipes, showed no sign of fading. Sipes continued his quick pace through the finish moving into 3rd position for a few laps before he was passed by Jason Lawrence. Sipes hard fight for a front position paid off when he finished moto one in 4th place. Goerke was not for behind him as he maintained a top ten position finishing 8th. Davalos crossed the checkers in 16th while Brayton worked his way up on the very rutted track from near last to 20th.
In moto two of the Lites class, KTM fans were pleased when all four MDK KTM riders again clustered near the front. Davalos was once again within the top five holding 4th, behind him Brayton was in 8th, Sipes 9th and Goerke 14th. Although Davalos slipped back a bit near the middle of the moto he was still running a good pace in 15th when he crashed hard off a jump causing him to not finish the race. He was able to walk off the track under his own power and was then sent off to the Asterisk Medical Unit for further care. Meanwhile, Brayton made a mistake that knocked him back to 12th, but did not knock him off his game. Sipes was charging forward and at the halfway point had moved into 6th. Goerke was also on the move and had passed from 14th to 9th. With three laps to go, Brayton and Goerke both picked up their pace determined to earn a great finish. Brayton passed two riders to take home 10th in the second moto while Goerke also passed two riders (Reardon and Moss) to finish 7th. Sipes held on to 6th. Each rider's combined moto scores helped significantly move them up in points, not to mention, also set the benchmark for their best finish this year.
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