TEAM SUZUKI
DUNGEY INCREASES SERIES LEAD WITH ATLANTA WIN

Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey increased his AMA/ FIM Supercross series lead after taking victory in Saturday night’s Atlanta Supercross in Georgia.

And in the East Coast Lites Class, team mate Austin Stroupe raced to second place and now holds second in the series just six points behind leader Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki).

Said Dungey: “I got a great start, which put me in a good position. It’s really enjoyable when the win happens. It doesn’t always go your way, so when it does you have to be very thankful for it.”

Dungey, aboard his RM-Z450 Suzuki, put in consistent lap times throughout practice and his heat race. At the drop of the gate in the Main Event, he shot out and got the holeshot and then began his race domination. “At the practice track, what we work on is setting the pace lap-after-lap,” Dungey said. “So when I get in that race-situation where I’m up front, it’s similar and I think, ‘Hey, I ‘gotta keep putting in the laps.’ There’s pressure when you’re leading, but at the same time I just ‘gotta ride and have fun and do what I got to do.”

The win was Dungey’s third of the season, and he is now 20 points ahead in the series.
“It was awesome tonight,” said Team Manager Roger De Coster. “Not only did Ryan ride excellently and win, but we got the points lead. But now we can’t get conservative… we have to go for the win.”

In the second race of the Eastern Regional Lites series, Austin Stroupe and his fuel-injected RM-Z250 put on a great show: Stroupe was in the chase the entire 15 laps, and he led for a few laps before a mistake took him back a few positions. “I didn’t want to lead too early, but I made a mistake and got a little tight,” Stroupe said. “With me riding the way I did and putting a charge in, I was going for it and making good decisions, and that was cool. I got a little lucky and pulled through. I think I rode pretty consistently, despite the bobble I made, with passes; and used the whole race to my advantage and let it come to me.”


KAWASAKI RACING
Kawasaki’s Pourcel Shines in Atlanta

Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel won his second-straight supercross lites main event battling throughout the 15-lap race at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Pourcel had to chase down his team-mate Dean Wilson who flew out to the holeshot and led the first two-thirds of the race. Wilson would finish one spot off the podium in fourth. In the supercross class, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Nick Wey came home 10th for his fifth straight top-10 finish. Ryan Villopoto finished 19th after crashing.

Pourcel was part of a very eventful race as the top four riders in the supercross lites class raced together right from the drop of the gate. With Wilson up front, Pourcel battled to get close to the lead and with just three laps remaining he claimed the top spot and earned his second win of the season.

“I had a good start and almost got the holeshot,” said Pourcel. “When I saw it was Dean next to me I let him go because he had a good run. I wanted to work together with him so we could both pull away. It was a crazy race; guys were making moves that made it difficult to ride. Everything worked for me though because I won after everybody crashed trying to pass each other.”

In only his second race, Wilson wowed the crowd with a daring holeshot and then the 18-year-old rookie didn’t look back leading the first eight laps of the main event.

“Tonight was great,” said Wilson. “I got out there with the holeshot. I can’t say enough about my Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki. It has so much power and I got a great start. I rode well the first ten laps, but then I started to get tired and my arms began to pump up. I felt great running up front.”

Villopoto looked to be in position to contend for the win at Atlanta running second when he went down just before the mechanics area. Villopoto was uninjured after his trip over the bars, but his muffler packed full of dirt, which kept him from starting his bike right away.

“I was going triple-triple through that section and came up on a lapper,” said Villopoto. “I had to change my line and I ended up casing the jump. That sent me over the bars. Worse than that though was the silencer filled with dirt and I couldn’t get the bike restarted. It wouldn’t have been too bad if I could have got going right away. I wasn’t hurt at all.”

Wey continued his streak of top-10 finishes fighting his way up from the back during the race.

“I’m pushing each week to get better,” said Wey. “This week we got another top 10, but it could have been better. I got a decent start, but got stuck on the outside in the first couple of corners. I hit (Davi) Milsaps and almost slid out, so I lost a lot of spots. I’m riding much better during the week and I’m hoping I can bring that to the track on Saturday.”

For the second time this season, Villopoto faces a 20-point deficit in the points standings. In the four races before Atlanta, Villopoto made up the deficit and he is looking to do the same in the second half of the season.

“There are nine races left in the season,” said Villopoto. “That’s a lot of time to make up the 23 points. I need to work to put myself back in a good position in the standings.”

Wilson’s first time at the point was different than anything he’s ever experienced. The amateur champion is still looking for his first podium, and is using every lap to gain the experience he needs to get on the box.

“Leading a supercross race is a lot different,” said Wilson. “In my amateur races I would get the lead and pull away. In the pro ranks, there’s somebody behind you the whole time. My Kawasaki KX250F handled great. Even without berms on the track I was able to turn the bike easily. I wish I could have held on for a podium, but it was a learning experience.”


YAMAHA RACING
Three Yamahas in Atlanta top six

Yamaha LandM San Manuel's Josh Hill finished 6th at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for round eight of seventeen in the AMA Supercross/FIM World SX Championship and keeps within 20 points of the 2010 title chase. The 20-year-old was one of three YZ450F riders in the top six of the 32nd Main Event to be run in the Georgian capital. The highest finisher Saturday night in front of more than 69,000 spectators was Valli Motorsports Ivan Tedesco; the veteran taking his second best result of the year with 4th spot.

The day started in a tough way for Hill who suffered a crash in which he bent his handlebars with his chest in the final timed period and negotiated the 20 lap Main Event in some discomfort. 'That was the hardest race I've ever had,' he said. 'I wasn't even going to race until about 6:30, and I started feeling a little better. But 20 laps out there in my condition, that was so hard. At least I'm still there in the points, but I'm just going to go home and try to heal-up for next week in Daytona."

20 seconds in front of the youngster was Joe Gibbs Racing's Justin Brayton, who was hunting a way past Tedesco but ultimately had to settle for 5th in what is becoming a very solid campaign for the 2009 Bercy SX winner. Tedesco was the first of six 2010 YZ450Fs on the leaderboard that filled positions down to 9th place. After Hill followed Michael Byrne, Jason Lawrence and Grant Langston.

Hill is now back to second place in the championship behind Ryan Dungey as the winner of the last two rounds, Ryan Villopoto, could only cross the line in 19th in Atlanta after a mistake caused a crash and necessitated a visit to the pits. Brayton's excellent consistency, which has seen three top five finishes in the last four events, means he is 5th and 13 points away from moving up another spot.

Round nine takes place next Saturday as the series move to Daytona on the east coast.

Crowd: 69, 182
Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 0'52.919 (Ricky Carmichael , 01/01/2006)
Last Years Winner: James Stewart

2010 AMA-SX Atlanta, GA 28/02/2010
Race 1 - 20 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 18'38.901
2 Trey Canard Honda USA 0'10.976
3 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'13.239
4 Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 0'16.672
5 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0'17.157
6 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'37.668
7 Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 0'41.606
8 Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 0'45.254
9 Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 0'47.817
10 Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 0'49.766
11 Chris Blose Honda USA -1Laps
12 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA -1Laps
13 Matt Boni Honda USA -1Laps
14 Kevin Windham Honda USA -1Laps
15 Jason Thomas Suzuki USA -1Laps

Rider Standings 27/02/2010
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 170
2. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 150
3. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 147
4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 134
5. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 121
6. Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 115
7. Kevin Windham Honda USA 113
8. Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 85
9. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 71
10. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 69
11. Andrew Short Honda USA 69
12. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 66
13. Thomas Hahn Yamaha USA 61
14. Chris Blose Honda USA 60
15. James Stewart Yamaha USA 51
18. Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 28
19. Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 25