DUNGEY INCREASES SERIES LEAD WITH ATLANTA WIN

2010-03-01 18:55
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 DeCoster. “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.”

Expect the Rockstar Makita Suzuki racers to be at the front of the pack in Round 9 of the AMA/ FIM Supercross series, which takes place on Saturday, March 6 at Daytona Beach, Florida.

Supercross results: 1 Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 2 Trey Canard (Honda), 3 Davi Millsaps (Honda), 4 Ivan Tedesco (Yamaha), 5 Justin Brayton (Yamaha), 6 Josh Hill (Yamaha), 7 Michael Byrne (Yamaha), 8 Jason Lawrence (Yamaha), 9 Grant Langston (Yamaha), 10 Nick Wey (Kawasaki).

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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