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Yamaha Racing
Reed podium streak curtailed in Atlanta
Yamaha's Chad Reed finished off the AMA Supercross podium for the first time this year after a crash during the main event of round eight of the series at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta meant that the Australian crossed the finish line in sixth position.
The 30th SX event in Atlanta (the first was won by Bob Hannah with a Yamaha) would not see Reed extend his career tally of podium results to 81. The YZ450F rider won his Heat, and also grabbed the holeshot, but slipped off his San Manuel machine while holding the lead after five laps and need the rest of the 17 minute sprint to clamber back to sixth spot. The 25-year-old left the Georgia Dome promptly, after gingerly picking up 15 points.
Reed saw his lead in the series, also an FIM World championship, cut to 25 points with nine rounds remaining.
It was left to team-mate Nathan Ramsey to hold centre stage on the YZ as the veteran posted his best finish of 2008 with fifth position.
"It's been like baby-steps since I started riding again, and I haven't quite gotten there yet, but tonight was a good start," said the American, who is sixth in the standings. "I feel my pace is starting to pick up and if I can get up there and race with them, that stuff will all come back to me. I think tonight was another good step in that direction, and it was fun to be racing with those guys."
In the East Coast Lites division top the YZ250F finisher was another Australian, Jake Moss, with fourth position. Five riders from the final top ten were making their SX debuts at the Georgia Dome. Sixteen year old rookie Tyler Bowers was among them - representing the Yamaha of Troy squad - and took a very decent fifth spot on his maiden outing.
"My race was good," he commented. "Unfortunately, I made the rookie mistake of not breathing for the first three laps and by about the third or fourth lap, I was out of breath. By the time I actually started breathing and was trying to get loose, it was too late. I was tired and a couple guys got around me. My mechanic threw-out the pitboard and told me I was in fifth, and it said, 'Lap 10'. I was like, 'Cool, I've got five more laps in me.' I found that extra little bit of energy and made it around to the finish and pulled it off. I was happy with that."
AMA Supercross travels to Daytona for round nine next weekend.
KTM Racing
US Supercross Lites East Series
MDK KTM Riders Earn Two Podium Spots at Atlanta Supercross
The MDK KTM riders said they were going to get on the podium at the opening round of the East Coast Lites Series and they proved they could this weekend.
MDK KTM Factory rider Martin Davalos and MDK KTM Lites rider Ryan Sipes finished in the top three in their heat and repeated those results in the main.
 Davalos (pictured right) and Sipes both lined the gate for Heat #1 of the Lites class. Both riders started out front and finished that way. Sipes picked up second and Davalos finished third.
MDK KTM Lites rider Matt Goerke lined the gate for heat #2. He got a great start and was holding third when he got hit by another rider right before a triple and suffered a hard crash. He was unable to compete the rest of the night due to sharp chest pain. He stated, "I am not feeling well tonight after my crash but I will be ready for round 2."
In the Lites main event, Davalos and Sipes repeated their heat race start by coming around the first turn in the top five. Sipes was running second and Davalos fifth. Davalos soon charged forward and was running in third behind Sipes. The two diced back and forth for a couple laps and eventually Davalos moved into second. Sipes settled into third. The race would end in that order with KTM picking up two podium finishes at the opening round of the East Lites Supercross Series.
US Supercross Series: 8th round Atlanta, GA
MDK KTM Factory rider Nick Wey competed in Heat #1 where he garnered a mid-pack start and worked his way up to 8th to transfer to the main.
As the gate dropped for the main event Wey got pushed to the back and came around the first turn in 18th. He struggled to move through the pack and by the end of the race had moved into 14th for the night. He now sits 8th in overall series points.
Team Suzuki
VUILLEMNIN IN ATLANTA TOP 10
 Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's David Vuillemin (pictured right) celebrated another strong AMA Supercross result on Saturday night in Atlanta's Georgia Dome.
The Frenchman's night began with a fifth-place finish in his eight-lap qualifying heat race and then ended with a ninth-place finish in the 20-lap main. After battling injuries for the first two months of the season, this is the third weekend in a row that Vuillemin has brought home a top-10 result.
Vuillemin's Supercross-class team mate Mike Alessi is still recovering after breaking his collarbone at the San Diego round and did not race.
In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Nico Izzi made his Pro debut by taking the win in his six-lap heat race and then following that up with an impressive top-10 finish in the 15-lap main. The young rookie got a decent start on his RM-Z250 in the main event and worked his way up into fifth position. Unfortunately, he made a small mistake and went down, but the young rider retained his composure and still brought home an impressive eighth-place finish in his first Pro Supercross Lites race.
David Vuillemin:
"We're getting there, though there is still some room to improve. I think I could have had a seventh-place finish tonight if I'd had a little more speed and a little more fitness. I feel more comfortable on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and the team has been working hard during the week with testing. Now I just need to get a little better in the races. Tonight, the beginning of my race was not too bad but I got passed by some guys that I shouldn't have gotten passed by - but I'm running faster and I just need to get used to that pace."
Nico Izzi:
"The weekend started off pretty harsh. In the first practice I was riding pretty tight and I didn't have a lot of flow. Then, I was better in the second practice and I was pretty pumped after that. In my heat race, I got a decent start and had worked my way up into second place and then I guess the leader did something to get disqualified so I got the win. Going into the main, I was pretty psyched to go out there and race and turn some fast laps on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. At the start, I had the jump and several of us were drag racing to the start and another rider went down in front of me and I got hung up on his bike so I had to work my way up, and I'd gotten up into fifth when I made a dumb mistake and crashed. Live and learn. My goal was to get a top-five finish so I'm disappointed
but now I'll just have to come back strong next week and redeem myself."
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