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Monster Energy Kawasaki
Monster Energy Kawasaki Turns Out the Lights in Thunder Valley
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart made it five-straight overall wins, sweeping both motos under the lights at Thunder Valley just outside of Denver. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto also swept his motocross lites motos, making it four straight overall wins for the 19-year-old. Both classes made history as the Thunder Valley event was the first AMA Toyota Motocross Championship event run at night. Stewart’s team-mate Timmy Ferry finish sixth overall. In the lites class, Brett Metcalfe rode to a valiant 13th place result, while Austin Stroupe finished 38th.
 On Top Again
Stewart is continuing to have a brilliant season and even racing at night can’t seem to stop him. In both motos, Stewart got off to a good start and worked his way to the front early in each race. Once he was up front, Stewart gapped the field to win each moto comfortably.
“It took me a couple of laps to get used to running under the lights,” said Stewart. “Once I got used to it I just wanted to get good lap times and I was able to get the job done. It always feels good to win. I think with running at night it kept the field a little closer. I think it was a good weekend. Everyone did their best in the conditions. I’ve got to thank the boys and everyone on the team. They’ve been working hard and it’s paying off.”
Nine in a Row
Villopoto’s moto sweep wasn’t as uneventful. In the first moto, he got a good start and took the lead on the first lap. In the second moto, he crossed the line ninth at the end of the first lap and worked his way through the field. Villopoto took the lead with four laps to go, building a 1.5-second cushion by the checkered flag.
“It is definitely easier to start up front,” said Villopoto. “It makes it a lot easier on me, the bike and everything. It’s also cool to come through the pack and show everybody you can do it.”
Side by Side
After coming out of the gate mid-pack, Villopoto’s string on consecutive moto wins looked to be ending at eight. In the first couple of laps, he was able to get up to fourth and by the eighth lap he was running second. Villopoto continued to ride strong, moving right behind the leader and even racing side-by-side for most of the 13th lap. He made his move right before the finish line to take the lead for good.
“The turn before, I got on the outside of (Josh) Grant,” said Villopoto. “He stayed on the outside and had momentum coming down to the next turn. I blew the ruts to go to the inside so I had to go outside and he just came in and took the line away from me. We battled for a little more that lap and I got him right before the finish by going outside and using the momentum to get by.”
Getting it Right
So far the season has gone according to plan for Monster Energy Kawasaki and James Stewart. The 22-year-old rider has won all 10 motos this season, with his Kawasaki KX450F running flawlessly throughout.
“The bike was pretty good tonight,” said Stewart. “I was better than I thought it might be because of the altitude. My guys have been working hard to make it better. I think our results prove we have a strong team at Kawasaki.”
Altitude not a Factor
With the Thunder Valley track located a mile above sea level, the thin air made it difficult on both the riders and the bike tuners. With this year’s race being run at night, the cooler temperatures seemed to counteract the effects of the altitude.
“Normally it is hot out and that plays with the bike too,” said Villopoto. “Since we rode at night the altitude was not a factor. Even on us, it wasn’t a factor because it was so cool out it wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Top Ten
After getting a slow start in the first moto, Ferry was battling all night trying to get the best finish he could. After coming out of the gate in 22nd, the 33-year-old rider slowly carved his way through the field to finish eighth. In the second moto Ferry got out of the gate much quicker and was able to run in the top-five throughout the moto to finish fifth. With his 8-5 finish, Ferry took home sixth overall and currently sits fourth in the season’s standings.
“The second moto was a lot better than the first,” said Ferry. “I got a much better start and that was the key. It was very difficult to make passes. There was only one line so you couldn’t make any passes stick. The track was smooth to keep the shadows down, but that made it really hard to pass.”
Riding Hurt
While training for the event at Thunder Valley, Metcalfe had a serious crash where he was knocked unconscious and suffered a grade two separation of his right shoulder and a partial strain of his MCL ligament. He sat out Friday practice to receive more treatment and then was ready to ride on Saturday. Metcalfe fought through the pain to finish 15-12 for 13th overall.
“I’ve got mixed feelings,” said Metcalfe. “Waking up this morning I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t expect to be in so much pain. It really shocked me how much it hurt. I still was able to get through both the motos, which was my goal. I wanted to be in the top 10 and I fell short of that. I gave it my all and that’s all I can ask for. The track was high speed and that was what hurt the most. When I had to brake it was really difficult.”
Not the Same
With the lights on, the Thunder Valley track was a different animal than when it is run during the day. For Ferry, the change took one of his favourite tracks and made it pretty hard to enjoy.
“I love the track at Thunder Valley,” said Ferry. “I just hope we race it in the daytime. You really couldn’t see. There were lights the were straight into your eyes which made it tough for sure.”
What Could Have Been
Stroupe had a difficult night at Thunder Valley as he crashed in both motos and was unable to keep riding. The 38th place result doesn’t tell the whole story as the 17-year-old was fast through all of the practices and was running in the top three both times he went down.
Tear Offs
Throughout the motos the riders faced a difficult decision with their goggles. The clear plastic tear off’s they use to keep their vision clear during the race were creating a glare. The riders had to decide if they wanted to battle the glare or the dirt on their lenses with most opting to get rid of the tear off’s and wiping their lenses clean with the hand during the race.
Team Suzuki
ALESSI AND IZZI TAKE COLORADO PODIUMS
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Mike Alessi and Michael Byrne both celebrated impressive AMA Motocross finishes at the Thunder Valley Motocross Park's night race in Lakewood, Colorado, for round five of the AMA Motocross series.
Alessi picked up two more holeshots - six in a row - and two more second-place moto finishes for his fourth second-place overall result this season. Team mate Byrne brought home fifth and sixth place moto finishes for a fifth-place overall result. This top-five finish is Byrne's best result so far this season.
Alessi remains in second place in the overall championship points and Byrne maintains his sixth-place position.
In the Motocross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi captured his first podium of the season with a third-place result, thanks to second and fourth-place moto finishes. Dungey had a strong first moto with a third-place finish, but a high-speed get-off in the second moto meant Dungey wound up with an 11th-place overall result. In spite of this bad luck, Dungey is still second overall in the championship points chase, while Izzi is in eighth place.
Mike Alessi:
"I had a lot of fun racing at Thunder Valley this weekend. The night race was a little different for me. I have to say I like the original Outdoor schedule better because I don't like sitting around all day and waiting. I think the track could have been lit up a little better but the layout of the track was awesome and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 worked great."
Michael Byrne:
"It was a good night for us. Everything went well; the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was awesome and worked well with the altitude. I had to work on a few things, and fortunately for me, it worked out. It was fun to race at night, it was kind of Supercross style, but it was a little dark in some areas but the course did a great job and made the best of what they had. It was good, it was something different; maybe they'll have a few more lights for next year."
Nico Izzi:
"It was good weekend: In the first moto, I got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and followed the leader for a few laps, then we kind of checked out from everybody and I ended up with second. I didn't get as good of a start in the second moto and I worked way up to fourth and then just stayed there. The lighting was not that good and I didn't feel like crashing, so I just did my race and had fun and wasn't pushing it. That got me third overall and I'm pretty pumped to get that first podium."
Ryan Dungey:
"I had a good first moto and finished in third place. Then I had a crash in the second moto, but I'm doing fine and feeling well. I went and got checked out at the hospital after the races and the doctors said other than bruising and soreness that I was fine and healthy. That was great news after that high speed get-off. I plan on riding this week in hopes of returning to Red Bud next weekend."
KTM RACING
US Motocross Lites Series
The 5th round of the AMA National Motocross Championship Series kicked off at 6:00pm Saturday night for the first "under the lights" race in National Motocross history.
 MDK KTM Factory Lites rider Martin Davalos enjoyed the change in the schedule while also proving that the two-week break prior was just what he needed to get back up to pace. He started an impressive 5th place in Lites moto one, followed closely by his team-mates Matt Goerke and Ryan Sipes holding 7th and 8th. The final team member, Justin Brayton, had a much worse start, appearing 28th around the first turn.
"I felt great today! The track was rough, but I enjoyed it. My training and endurance has improved significantly in the time off and I'm at a point where I can hold a fast pace much longer than I've shown in the previous four rounds," commented Davalos. He was a man of his word, as he battled up front the first five laps of the moto not dropping from the pace until a mistake on his part caused him to lose his front end in a turn. That tip-over caused Davalos to fall back to 9th. His crash moved the MDK KTM rides of Goerke and Sipes into the 6th and 7th position. Meanwhile, at the halfway mark, Brayton had moved up six positions from his mediocre start.
With few laps remaining all eyes were on the KTM riders as Davalos had caught up to Sipes to pursue a battle for 8th. The two riders chased each other for two laps with Davalos attempting four passing alternatives before making the pass stick. Davalos would hold on to secure 8th place; his best moto finish of the year. Goerke certainly deserved a shout out after battling for a top five spot the majority of the moto eventually falling one spot shy to take 6th. Sipes finished 11th after losing a couple positions with a last lap mistake. Brayton struggled throughout the moto, only able to climb from his poor start into 21st.
In Lites moto two, Davalos jumped out front again, this time in 2nd off the start. Sipes came around 7th, Goerke 8th and Brayton in 22nd. Davalos held a fast pace and clung to that number two position behind current moto leader Josh Grant. Sipes and Goerke were riding just as well behind him battling inside the top ten.
By lap 7, Davalos was still holding on to 2nd until a hard charging Ryan Villopoto got around him. Davalos slipped back to third but was still going strong when a bike problem on lap 10 put him out of the race. He was eventually credited for 32nd in that moto. Despite his bad luck his team-mates were still in hot pursuit of a top finish. Goerke finished 10th, Sipes was one position in front of him in 9th while Brayton had put in an impressive ride from the back to finish 13th. Goerke and Sipes combined moto scores earned them both a top ten finish for the day.
US Motocross Series
In Motocross moto one, the first KTM in view was local Colorado boy on the RPM KTM backed ride, Kyle Summers. MDK KTM Factory riders Nick Wey and Billy Laninovich got shut out on the start appearing 25th and 32nd respectively around the first turn.
Wey picked up his pace and passed one to two riders every lap throughout the halfway point desperately trying to catch up to the top riders. Meanwhile, Summers had passed two riders to move into 11th. On lap 11, Wey passed Justin Sipes and Matt Boni to move into 16th coming within a bike length of Josh Hill whom he'd been pacing the entire moto. Wey eventually finished 15th picking off one more rider before the checkers. Summers finished 10th overall in one of the most amazing runs of his motocross career, while Laninovich struggled in his first return back to racing since midway through the Supercross season finishing 32nd overall after one hard crash.
Motocross moto two, went much better for the MDK KTM Factory ride of Wey as he started the moto closer to the front in 12th. Summers came around in 18th while Laninovich was near last in 38th. Wey stayed smooth and consistent throughout the moto to finish 10th. Summers had another great finish in his rookie year of the Motocross class, moving up to 13th while Laninovich finished 30th. Wey's 15-10 results earned him 12th overall while Summers finished one spot better in 11th.
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