KTM RACING
Great finish to the Supercross season for Red Bull KTM

The Red Bull KTM US Supercross and SX Lites team wound up a great season at the Las Vegas Supercross Finale at Sam Boyd Stadium with a race win by Ryan Dungey and all three factory riders on the end of season podiums for their respective classes.

Dungey’s win in Las Vegas was his fourth for the season and despite having missed five races he finished overall third to underline he is fully recovered from his broken collarbone and 100% ready for the outdoors competition. The team’s two ‘rookies’ Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin finished their seasons with Ken second overall in the SX Lites East Coast division and Marvin Musquin third overall in the West Coast competition.

Dungey may have had a rough start to his heat in Vegas but he went on to finish second. Then in the main event, he was second at the start behind Mike Alessi, slipped past him into the lead in the third corner and never looked back. Once Dungey put his KTM 450 up front he had pulled out to over a 10 second lead by the halfway point and at one point had a 15 second lead on the field. Dungey enjoyed the final lap of the race celebrating with some whips and eventually crossed the finish line to take his fourth win of the season.

“It feels great to end the season with two wins,” remarked Dungey. “This was a tough season for me. I am glad to end it on a positive note. I am so happy to be a part of the Red Bull/KTM Team and am grateful for all their support. We are turning our focus to outdoors now with a goal of winning the championship.”

Dungey will now return to California where he will train for outdoors over the next two weeks before heading to Sacramento, CA for the opening round of the AMA Motocross Series on May 19, 2012.

SX Lites
The Red Bull/KTM Team of Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin put together two impressive rides to finish fourth and fifth respectively in the traditional East vs. West Supercross Lites Shootout held at Sam Boyd Stadium after first racing the final round of their respective competitions facing off in a 15 lap main.

Roczen was up first in the East Lites Supercross class, was fourth at the start and quickly moved into second by the end of the first lap, a position that he carried all the way to the flag. His finish also secured him second in the overall point standings. Musquin was up next in the West Lites Supercross main and held on to fourth place for the for the first three laps. But still troubled by a hand injury from the weekend before, he dropped to sixth and held the position through to the end of the race. Musquin picked up enough points to secure his third overall for the season.

Both riders had a small amount of time to recover and then they were back out on the track to tackle the East vs. West Shootout. Musquin got a decent jump off the start and was fifth around the first corner while Roczen was back in ninth. Roczen showed his speed in the first few laps and moved his KTM 250 up to fourth place. He and the top three then engaged in a great, crowd-pleasing battle for the lead position. Roczen was able to hold the fourth place position throughout the remaining laps despite heavy pressure from his team-mate at the end of the race. At the line Roczen and Musquin were 4-5.

Both Roczen and Musquin will now spend the next two weeks testing for outdoors before the series opener of the AMA Motocross Series.

YAMAHA RACING
Millsaps confirms championship runner-up slot

JGRMX Yamaha’s Davi Millsaps has taken his YZ450F to second place in the 2012 AMA Supercross series – also an FIM World Championship – after finishing as runner-up at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas for the final round of seventeen last Saturday.

The 24-year-old rode to his fifth podium finish of the season ahead of Justin Brayton who was his nearest threat to the number two plate. The gap between the two racers stood at nine points upon the close of the seventeenth main event in Nevada in front of nearly 40,000 spectators.

After winning his Heat race Millsaps made a reasonable start in the Main and slotted into third position relatively early in the 20 lap chase. He focussed his sights on Jake Weimer and was able to move up to second place at mid-race distance, enjoyed a tussle for track space and then held on until the chequered flag. Millsaps has been one of the outstanding performers in the SX field in a season that has been mired with injuries and setbacks. The Floridian’s improving speed and confidence has been key in the team’s steady flow of decent results (top five positions in eight from the last ten rounds) and in the absence of James Stewart – winner of two races in 2012 – who ends the campaign with seventh in the standings.

“It was a great battle there between I-don’t-know how many of us… I had it pretty good through the whoops but it was a long fight for sure,” Millsaps said. “I was able to stay ahead and keep pushing. To get second in the points is a big step for me and the team. I’m pumped; this is the best season I’ve had since I’ve got on the 450. The Yamaha has been running great and I want to thank my whole team. It has been an up-and-down year for everyone on it but we did the best we could.”

The West and East Coast divisions of the Lites class also came to an end in Vegas and Yamaha were able to see Ryan Sipes finish eighth in the West race and claim seventh in the final points table. The Kentuckian took his motorcycle to victory in Seattle. On the East side Kyle Cunningham was the highest YZ250F runner with sixth in the main event and eighth in the championship.

The next big Supercross appointment will be the Monster Energy Cup – again at the Sam Boyd – on October 20th before the 2013 season (again pegged for seventeen races) begins in January.

TEAM SUZUKI
DAVALOS PODIUMS AT LAS VEGAS SX FINALE

Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki's Martin Davalos picked-up his second podium of the season at Saturday night's 17th and final round of the AMA Supercross East-West Lites Shootout at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.

The event comprised one 15-lap East Main Event and one 15-lap West Main Event, followed by a 10-lap sprint that was the SX Lites East-West Shootout.

Davalos blazed onto the scene in the 15-lap SX Lites West main, getting off the gate in second, continued to run in a podium position for more than half the race before finishing fourth. In the Shootout, the RM-Z250 rider again got off the gate in second and led for several laps before finishing third. This result marks the second podium finish of the season for Davalos, who wrapped up the year in eighth overall.

Said Davalos: "Vegas was good. We carried the momentum from Salt Lake City into our Main Event. We got fourth in the heat and that was really positive. From the beginning of the season we've struggled and to come out and get on the podium in the Shootout was so important. We got a good a good start and fought hard and we were able to get third. I'm pretty pumped, the Rockstar Energy Racing team has done such a great job and they believe in me and that means a lot. I'm just looking forward to carrying this momentum into the Outdoors."

Rockstar Energy Racing SX Lites West team-mate Jason Anderson came into the final weekend feeling ill. Despite this, he got a great jump off the gate and ran up front for the entire West Main before finishing fifth. In the Shootout, Anderson suffered some fatigue, had a few problems; and wound up 19th. Overall, however, he enjoyed a good season, picking up a podium finish and coming in fifth overall in points.

"Las Vegas was all right," said Anderson. "I got fifth in my Main, even though I was sick all day. Now, I'm just pumped to get out of here healthy and in the top five in points and with a good end to the Supercross season. Now, it's time to get ready for Motocross in a few weeks."

Blake Wharton and Hunter Hewitt represented Rockstar Energy Racing's SX Lites East contingent. In their Main Event, Wharton finished fifth and was followed home by Hewitt in seventh. In the Shootout, Wharton picked up a ninth-place result while Hewitt suffered some bad luck and finished 18th. Overall, Wharton celebrated a rock-solid season, finishing third in points with a win and two additional podiums.

In the Supercross class, Rockstar's Brett Metcalfe came into Las Vegas still on the mend from a crash last weekend. And, adding insult to injury, he suffered a practice crash that resulted in medical evaluation. Although he was released to race, the Australian wasn't 100 per cent fit, but he carded a solid fourth-place finish in his heat race. In the Main Event, Metcalfe continued to push hard and ran in a podium position for several laps before some problems resulted in an 18th-place finish. Overall, Metcalfe was eighth in points for the season and had four top-five finishes.

"The last few rounds have been a challenge," said Metcalfe. "We've had some old-fashioned bad luck, but that happens to everyone. I'm just glad to finish the season relatively healthy and in the top 10 in points. Now I'm already focusing on getting ready for the Outdoors in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to that."

ROCKSTAR ENERGY RACING TEAMS
ROCKSTAR ENERGY RACING TEAMS CELEBRATE PODIUM FINISH IN SUPERCROSS LITES EAST-WEST SHOOTOUT

Rockstar’s Martin Davalos captures third at Las Vegas season finale

The Rockstar Energy Racing teams closed out the 2012 AMA/FIM Supercross Championship season with style at the 17th and final round of the series at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV, on Saturday night. Rockstar Energy Racing’s Martin Davalos led the charge by finishing third in the Supercross Lites East-West Shootout and picking up his second-consecutive podium of the year. Overall, the Rockstar teams celebrated two victories and five podium finishes in Supercross Lites this year, as well as multiple top-five and top-10 results in Supercross.

For the SX Lites riders, the Las Vegas event held additional challenges. Instead of the usual heat-races/main-event format, the Las Vegas round eschewed heat races altogether. The evening show consisted of one 15-lap SX Lites East main event and one 15-lap SX Lites West main event. Then, the top finishers of those races moved on to the 10-lap sprint that was the SX Lites East-West Shootout.

Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davalos blazed onto the scene in the 15-lap SX Lites West main, getting off the gate in second. Davalos continued to run in a podium position for more than half the race before finishing fourth. In the Shootout, Davalos again got off the gate in second and led for several laps before finishing third. This result marks the second podium finish of the season for Davalos, who wrapped up the year in eighth overall.

“Vegas was good,” said Davalos. “We carried the momentum from Salt Lake City into our main event. We got fourth in the heat and that was really positive. From the beginning of the season, we’ve struggled and to come out and get on the podium in the Shootout was so important, we got a good a good start and fought hard and we were able to get third. I’m pretty pumped, the Rockstar Energy Racing team has done such a great job and they believe in me and that means a lot. I’m just looking forward to carrying this momentum into the Outdoors.”

Rockstar Energy Racing SX Lites West team-mate Jason Anderson came into the final weekend feeling ill. Despite this, he got a great jump off the gate and ran up front for the entire West main before finishing fifth. In the Shootout, Anderson suffered some fatigue, had a few problems and wound up 19th. Overall, however, he enjoyed a good season, picking up a podium finish and coming in fifth overall in points.
 
“Las Vegas was all right,” said Anderson. “I got fifth in my main, even though I was sick all day. Now, I’m just pumped to get out of here healthy and in the top five in points, and with a good end to the Supercross season. Now, it’s time to get ready for Motocross in a few weeks.”

Blake Wharton and Hunter Hewitt represented Rockstar Energy Racing’s SX Lites East contingent. In their main event, Wharton finished an impressive fifth and was followed home by Hewitt in seventh. In the Shootout, Wharton picked up a ninth-place result, while Hewitt suffered some bad luck and finished 18th. Overall, Wharton celebrated a rock-solid season, finishing third in points with a win and two additional podiums.

Racing SX Lites West for Star Valli Yamaha was Ryan Sipes. In that main event, Sipes got a good start but then tangled up with another rider on the first lap. Despite this, Sipes bounced back to finish eighth and move on to the Shootout, where he finished seventh. Overall, Sipes finished out the season in seventh, with one win and two top-five results.

Star Valli Yamaha team-mate Kyle Cunningham finished the year on a high note in the SX Lites East main event. Running up front, Cunningham made a small mistake and went down, but regrouped to finish sixth. In the Shootout, Cunningham struggled and finished 14th. At season’s end, Cunningham was eighth in points and had accumulated five top-10 results.

“The day started off rough because I crashed twice,” said Cunningham. “But this is the healthiest I’ve felt all year. I rode decent in the main for going down, and I got a bad start in the Shootout. I took a couple rocks to the chest with no chest protector on, and I couldn’t breathe that well, but that’s how it goes. We’re safe and still healthy, and I’m looking forward to getting the Outdoors started.”

Star Valli Yamaha rookie Kyle Peters went into his last SX Lites East main event of the season and gave it his proverbial all. He got a great jump off the gate and was running in a transfer spot for most of the race. With a few laps to go, however, he fell back and had to go to the LCQ. Peters holeshot the final qualifier and led the first lap, but wound up finishing fourth and did not make the main.

Setting the tone for the Supercross class was Star Valli Yamaha’s Nico Izzi. After getting a great start in his eight-lap heat, Izzi raced in a podium position before a nasty get-off saw him finish fifth. In the 20-lap main event, Izzi again got an excellent launch and was in the top five right off the bat. He put his head down and charged hard and finished sixth, his best Supercross result of the season.

“Las Vegas was awesome,” said Izzi. “I had a good heat. I went down but I managed to get up and salvage fifth. In the main, I wanted to get in the top 10 on the start because I kind of had a bad gate pick, so I managed to do that. And I was running with those guys for the first eight to 10 laps, and then they kind of broke away and I fell out of my pace a little bit. But we got a strong sixth, even though we had to fight the whole time and work hard for 20 laps. Now we’ll get working on the Outdoors and I’m looking forward to racing the 450.”

Star Valli Yamaha’s Weston Peick turned in a solid performance at the final round in Las Vegas. He got a decent start in his heat race and finished sixth. In the main event, Peick rode smooth, consistent laps and worked his way into eighth. Overall, Peick carded five top-10 finishes this year and wound up 15th in points.

“I ended up finishing eighth,” said Peick. “You know how slippery and crazy it gets in Vegas, so it’s just survival out there. I pulled off an eighth and I finished 15th in the points for the season, so I’m kind of pumped on that, and now I’m looking forward to hopefully racing the Outdoors.”

Rounding out the Supercross class for Star Valli Yamaha was Bobby Kiniry. In his heat, Kiniry came up one position short of a transfer spot. But he went on to holeshot the LCQ and was leading the race when he got sideways over a jump. Kiniry’s save was spectacular, but he wound up going down shortly thereafter and was out for the night. Overall, Kiniry carded three solid top-10 results this year and finished the season 16th in points.

Rockstar’s Brett Metcalfe came into Las Vegas still on the mend from a crash last weekend. Adding insult to injury, Metcalfe suffered a practice crash in Las Vegas that resulted in medical evaluation. Although he was released to race, Metcalfe wasn’t 100 percent. Despite this, he carded a solid fourth-place finish in his heat race. In the main event, Metcalfe continued to push hard and ran in a podium position for several laps before some problems resulted in an 18th-place finish. Overall, Metcalfe was eighth in points for the season and had four top-five finishes.

“The last few rounds have been a challenge,” said Metcalfe. “We’ve had some old-fashioned bad luck, but that happens to everyone. I’m just glad to finish the season relatively healthy and in the top 10 in points. Now I’m already focusing on getting ready for the Outdoors in a few weeks, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Rockstar’s Nick Wey struggled with injuries throughout this season, but still brought home an eighth-place finish in his heat race and a 10th-place result in the main event. Overall, Wey picked up five top-10 results in 2012 and finished 14th in points for the season.

“I felt pretty good on the bike all day,” said Wey. “I qualified pretty well but my heat race went poorly, so I had a bad gate pick for the main. In the main, I got a bad start but I felt like I rode decent and I ended up 10th. The season has been tough with the injuries I’ve been riding with, so I have to give a big thanks to the crew at Rockstar for their support.”