2011 AMA Pro Motocross Budds Creek Results
Regal Reed Races to
Budds Creek Win
Australian rider Chad Reed - sorry, Sir Chad Reed - won the fourth
round of the Lucas Oil AMA Motocross series this weekend at Budds
Creek, giving him his third victory of the season so far.
Fresh off of his induction into Order of Australia - the land down
under's version of Britain's knighting ceremony - the Honda rider
turned in a truly regal performance on the track, placing third in
the first moto followed up by a win in Sunday's race to grab top
honors for the weekend.
Reed's performance was
mirrored by Ryan Villopoto, who won the first moto on Saturday and
placed third on Sunday. Since the second moto is weighted slightly
more heavily in determining overall standings, Villopoto had to
settle for second overall. Ryan Dungey came in second in both
races, ultimately getting on the podium in third overall.
Since the two riders earned the same number of points, not much
changed in the standings. Reed still leads Villopoto by 15 points,
183 to 168 points. Dungey is still in the championship picture as
well, although he is further back at 155 points.
"I decided to conserve my energy a bit and really give everything
in that second moto and it paid off," Reed said of his win. "The
track was really tricky and picking lines was important. If you
went with a wrong line it could cost you a lot of time. I'm happy
with how the season is playing out so far. Obviously we have a long
way to go, but I really couldn't ask for a much better start to the
first four rounds."
Dungey and Suzuki
on Budds Creek Podium
Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki riders showed their strength,
consistency and the power of their Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki
RM-Z450s during the fifth round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross
Championships at the Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville on
Saturday.
Ryan Dungey rode strong and consistent, claiming second place in
both motos and ending the day with a third-place overall while team
mate Brett Metcalfe worked through the pack in both motos to grab a
couple of sixths and scored a sixth-placed overall finish for the
day.
Dungey started the day showing off the speed of his Suzuki by
posting the fastest time in the morning timed practices by more
than a second. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider had a great start
in moto one that put him into the front group. He powered his RM-Z
from fourth to second over the first few laps and then the reigning
Champion put his head down and chased after the leader. Dungey was
able to catch up in the closing laps but was unable to make the
pass.
Moto two went about the same for the Suzuki rider with a good start
that slotted him quickly into second. Dungey pushed his RM-Z450
hard for the remaining 12 laps but fell just a little short of
passing for the lead and came away with a second-placed moto finish
and third overall for the day. Dungey sits third in the
Championship points race.
"It was another good, solid weekend," said Dungey. "We got off to
really good starts on my RM-Z today and I was able to get second in
both motos. I lost some time in the beginning of the first moto,
but I was able to make that up and get up there and almost get the
win. I got another good start in the second moto and got up into
second and battled for the number one position for the rest of the
moto but just couldn't make the pass. It was tough. The track was
really one-lined. Overall, my Rockstar Makita Suzuki felt great and
we were solid throughout the day. We just gotta keep moving forward
and plugging away. We've got Lakewood coming up and I'm really
looking forward to it. Last year we were able to get a win there in
the AMA Pro MX Championship race as well as the MX Des Nations.
It's always a great track."
Metcalfe
started the day with the fourth fastest time in the morning
practices, which was his best qualifying effort of the season. The
Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider suffered a bad start in the first moto
but was able to work his RM-Z through the field to capture a
sixth-placed finish. In moto two, he had another tough start but
was able to quickly get into sixth, which is where he finished,
giving him a sixth overall for the day. Metcalfe sits solidly in
fifth in the Championship points.
"It was a pretty positive day for me," said Metcalfe. "I went
six-six for sixth overall and there were some positives and
negatives, but overall I felt pretty good. The negative side of the
day was bad starts in both motos. I really felt if I could have had
better starts and I could have been running up front and at least
challenging for a podium. I had my best qualifying result of the
year today with a fourth. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki is working
great and the team has been doing a great job getting me more
comfortable out there. I think that's why I was able to qualify
faster. I'm happy and feel that was my best riding of the season.
We need to go home and work this week on starts and give myself a
chance to run up front. I'm looking forward to Lakewood. It's a
track I've done well at in the past. And I think it is a track that
suits me. I'm hoping to go there and put my Suzuki up on the podium
where I know it can be."
The Rockstar Makita Suzuki team's next event is the fifth round of
the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on June 25th at the Thunder
Valley National in Lakewood.
Alessi
Earns 5th at Budds Creek Motocross
Red Bull/KTM Factory rider Mike Alessi earned 5th overall after
scoring two back to back 5th place finishes at the fourth round of
the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series held at Budds Creek MX
Park in Mechanicsville, MD.
Alessi earned his trademark start as he pulled the holeshot at the
beginning of the first moto. He led for the first four laps before
he was passed by Ryan Villopoto. Alessi rode a solid pace for the
first moto to finish 5th overall at the end of the 30 minute plus
two lap race. "I am still struggling with my endurance since
returning from my Hangtown crash," remarked Alessi. "I am making
progress each time I ride but I definitely still need more time on
the bike to get up to consistent podium speed."
Alessi repeated his great start in the second moto. This time he
missed the holeshot but moved into the lead by the second corner
and led for the first two laps. He hung on for 5th a second time to
earn 5th overall for the day.
On the
350 SX-F was Alessi's teammate, Andrew Short, who matched his best
overall finish of the season with a 9th place result. Short was
running in 6th in the first moto before a crash set him back to
13th. He charged forward and climbed back into the top ten to
finish 9th that moto just a bike length behind the 8th place bike
of Josh Grant. In the second moto he got a decent start and put his
bike in the top ten early and moved up to 8th near the moto
end.
The most impressive story of the day was FMF/KTM rider Mike Brown.
The former 125cc National Motocross Champion showed up at Budds
Creek to earn a few more points toward keeping his national number.
Mission accomplished. Brown went 12-13 for the day to add 17 points
to his championship point's total which put him over the 25 point
minimum a former champion must earn to retain their number. That
means Brown fans everywhere will get to see him carry the #3 plate
for another season.
Next Event: Thunder Valley - Lakewood, CO - June 25, 2011
Rattray Grabs Overall Lead With
First Win
A disappointing performance from Blake Baggett and a strong showing
from Tyla Rattray allowed for a shakeup in the AMA Motocross 250cc
class after a wild weekend at Budds Creek.
Rattray and his Monster Energy teammate Dean Wilson have both been
near the top of the class for the season to this point, though
Baggett's win last weekend put him in contention as well. When the
dust settled at the end of the two motos, however, it was Rattray
who had grabbed the lead.
Wilson struck first, winning the first race of the weekend in
dominant fashion. However, Rattray was right behind him, claiming
second place. For Sunday's race, the order switched - Rattray took
first, while Wilson had to settle for third after being passed by
Justin Barcia.
Rattray said he knew Wilson would be his toughest competition, but
was glad he was able to get his first overall win of the season.
The victory put him in front of Wilson by four points in the
overall standings.
"I think it's important in a championship to be up front," said
Rattray. "It's important to be on podium as much as you can, and
that's what I've done so far. I just want to get big points at each
round and stay consistent. Having such strong competitors makes you
dig deeper, and I just want it really bad."
Baggett, meanwhile,
suffered a poor start in the first race and an early crash in the
second, finishing in seventh for both races and slipping out of
contention with Wilson and Rattray.
Budds Creek 450 Class Overall Results:
1. Chad Reed (3,1)
2. Ryan Villopoto (1,3)
3. Ryan Dungey (2,2)
4. Kevin Windham (4,4)
5. Mike Alessi (5,5)
6. Brett Metcalfe (6,6)
7. David Millsaps (7,9)
8. Jake Weimer (10,7)
9. Andrew Short (9,8)
10. Josh Grant (8,10)
11. Ricky Dietrich (11,11)
12. Christian Craig (13,12)
13. Mike Brown (12,13)
14. Ben LaMay (17,15)
15. Les Smith (16,16)
16. Nick Wey (15,19)
17. Fredrik Noren (21,14)
18. Lowell Spangler (18,17)
19. Michael Byrne (14,23)
20. Travis Sewell (20,18)
2011 Motocross 450 Class Standings:
1. Chad Reed 183
2. Ryan Villopoto 168
3. Ryan Dungey 155
4. David Millsaps 130
5. Brett Metcalfe 118
6. Kevin Windham 112
7. Jake Weimer 93
8. Ricky Dietrich 92
9. Christian Craig 76
10. Andrew Short 75
