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Yamaha Racing
Reed back on top with Yamaha 1-2 in Indianapolis
After missing the top five in an AMA Supercross event for the first time in 88 starts last week Yamaha's Chad Reed bounced back to record his sixth victory of the season and finished ahead of brand-mate Josh Hill at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis last weekend. The Australian headed a YZ450F '1-2' on the podium of the ninth round from seventeen in the series - an FIM World Championship - to give Yamaha their fourth win at the venue and first since 2002.
The 25-year-old, who took some time to get into a rhythm during practice on a track he helped design, determinedly seized the holeshot and disappeared with the main event Saturday evening in front of Hill and Andrew Short. It was his first ever SX class success in Indianapolis although the result did extend his impressive tally of five podiums in five starts at the Dome.
"I struggled in practice - I was second both times - and I think that wasn't cool to design the track and then not be the fastest guy," he commented. "But I redeemed myself in the main, and it just feels awesome to be back up where we belong."
"I'm so happy to get this win," added Reed who had gone two rounds without a triumph after previously setting a record with victory in every Californian event. "A second place and a sixth position really isn't that bad, but in my book, it sucks. I just wanted to get back out here and get on top. I'm just looking forward to Daytona now. It's one of my favourite races in the world, and I can't wait."
The former champion now leads the standings by 34 points over Kevin Windham.
Hill made the podium for the second time while Nathan Ramsey (eighth place) and Josh Hansen (tenth) ensured that the YZ450F scooped four positions in the final top ten; more than any other manufacturer. Grant Langston was still unable to compete, having to sit out with an eye complaint.
"It's Kevin Windham," said Hill who had to pass the Honda man and Reed's main title rival for his podium slot. "I've been watching him since I was like seven years old. It's just amazing for me to be up there racing with him and dicing with him. I had to ride really aggressively out there tonight. There was only really one fast line, and it was on the outside, so you had to just push it in there and take a line away."
Teenager Tyla Bowers was seventh on the YZ250F in the East Coast Lites class and currently lies fifth in the standings.
Round ten takes place this Friday at International Speedway in Daytona.
KTM Racing
MDK KTM Lites rider Ryan Sipes earned his second top five finish of the season at the Indianapolis Supercross.
Sipes' day began well when he lined up for his Heat early in the evening. Sipes came around the first turn in 3rd off the start and was able to stay there throughout the heat. His team-mate Matt Goerke lined the gate for the earlier Heat race along with MDK KTM Factory rider and last weekend's second  place finisher, Martin Davalos (pictured right). Both MDK KTM riders launched forward off the start to get out front early in their heat. Davalos came around in the top three with Goerke only two spots back. When the checkers flew, Davalos came across the finish line jump in 3rd while Goerke held on to 5th.
The Lites Supercross main, identical to all Lites races this season, was action-packed. Davalos and Goerke came around the first turn in 5th and 9th respectively while Sipes nearly had the holeshot but got pushed out and back to 10th. A few sections later as Sipes came over a triple he got tangled up with some riders who had crashed ahead of him. He went down and remounted near the end of the pack. Sipes, a podium finisher at last week's event, was not to be discouraged and displayed remarkable speed as he charged forward. By the end of the second lap he was already up to 10th. Davalos, who at one point was in third on the first lap, also went down and had to fight his way up. By the third lap Davalos was in 6th and Goerke, also on the move, was now in 7th. In no time, Davalos was back into the top five and Goerke was running as high as 6th position before he slowed down slightly due to nagging chest pain resulting from a crash at the Atlanta Supercross. Shortly after the finish line jump on lap 7, Davalos while in 5th, became cross-rutted and hit the ground for the second time during the main. This crash was more difficult to recover from and cost him to fall back to 14th before he was going again. He stayed on the gas picking up positions and was just able to move back into the top ten by the last lap. Davalos would finish 10th while Goerke was one spot up in 9th. Sipes, who impressed the crowd throughout the 15 lap main came from near dead last to 5th overall for the night. Sipes now sits 2nd in overall series points while Davalos moves to 3rd.
MDK KTM Factory Team Manager Steve Lamson commented on the race, "Despite a few mishaps Martin (Davalos) showed incredible speed tonight. Although you can't take back the crashes, I believe he would have had another podium tonight had he stayed up. He continues to impress me and I am excited that he is running third in overall points and even more thrilled to see what he will bring to the table at Daytona."
Supercross Series:
MDK KTM Factory Team rider Nick Wey was unable to compete at the Indianapolis Supercross in order to spend a week recovering from pneumonia.
“The goal is for Nick to rest this week in order to be back in time for Daytona," commented MDK KTM Factory Team Manager Steve Lamson.
MDK KTM Lites Team rider Billy Laninovich was on hand at Indy, however, instead of contending the Lites class like he does out West he came to Indy to compete in the Supercross class aboard his KTM 450SX-F. Laninovich looked fast and felt good as he put in laps during first practice. Unfortunately, in the last minutes of practice, he suffered a big crash in the whoops and injured his shoulder. He rested up and tried to come back for the second practice but decided to opt out to prevent further injury. "I want to play it safe and make sure I am 100% before I compete in the Supercross class, therefore, I won't race tonight but intend to come out and try it again in a couple weeks. I like the 450 and want to show the fans and my team what I can do," reported Laninovich.
Team Suzuki
DUNGEY 4TH IN SUPERCROSS DEBUT
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing's Ryan Dungey made a huge splash in his AMA Supercross-class debut by finishing fourth on the RM-Z450 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
 Dungey (pictured right) started the evening with a third-place finish in his heat race and then he finished it with an impressive fourth-place result in the 20-lap main. Dungey got great starts in both races and put on a strong showing for his first time in the premier class.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's David Vuillemin rounded out the night by winning the Last Chance Qualifier and then picking up his fourth top-10 Supercross finish in a row.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki's 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 celebrated his first podium finish in only his second-ever Pro Lites race. At the beginning of the night, the young rookie rode his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 to a fifth-place finish in his heat race and then followed that up with a third-place result in the 15-lap main event. With this finish, Izzi is now fourth in the overall championship points chase.
Ryan Dungey:
"It's not a win but it feels like one. Coming into this race, I was just looking to put in 20 good laps and I feel like I did that. It's my first SX race and there's definitely room for improvement, but I'm just stoked on how I rode. Coming off the West Coast rounds in SX Lites, well, it hasn't been so great, so to come here and get seat time and be racing, it was just great. I learned a lot in this race, mostly that I
just need to be patient. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 is a rocket -- it's got a lot of power and it's a lot of bike, and I have to respect that. Twenty laps is a good race, it's five more than I'm used to, but I gave it my all and I was just trying to have fun. I race dirt bikes for a living and you've got to enjoy that while it lasts."
David Vuillemin:
"It was a pretty rough day. I wasn't very comfortable with all those ruts, but I felt like I got better as the night wore on. I had to go to the LCQ again, which actually wasn't too bad, and I got the win. And in the main event, I think I could have gotten a few spots better but I just haven't been able to ride in the races the way I've been riding during training in the week. Now, I need to work on that."
Nico Izzi:
"I had a real good ride on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. I'd had kind of a tough day, I was struggling a bit in practice, but I pulled it together. It seemed like every time I went out, I got better. In the main, I got a good start and was riding good and then a couple of guys fell and I was battling for a podium spot. But I really couldn't have done any of it without the whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki
team behind me during the week and at the races. I'm so pumped about the race. I just tried to get in the groove and I guess I feel like this is what I was born to do."
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