Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Reed & Byrne Double-Podium at Unadilla Motocross

By: ChrisWorden

Posted: 08/17/09

543 Views

2 Comments

Tags:

Round 9 – AMA Motocross Series
New Berlin, New York
Unadilla Valley Sports Center
August 15, 2009

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Chad Reed celebrated his third consecutive 2009 AMA Motocross victory this past weekend at Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, New York. The Australian rode flawlessly and swept both 30-minute motos to take the overall victory. This result is also Reed’s fourth win of the season. He currently leads the overall championship points standings with just three rounds to go. Reed was joined on the podium by Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Michael Byrne. Byrne has spent much of this year bouncing back form injury earlier in the year. He started a bit slow but has been picking up momentum this year. Byrne picked up fourth- and third-place moto finishes to take third overall at Unadilla. This is Byrne’s second podium of the year.

In the 250 class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey enjoyed a very consistent weekend. The Minnesota rider struggled at the starts of both 30-minute motos, but then worked his way up into second place each time. As a result, he ended the day with second place overall and in second place in the championship points standings.

Chad Reed:
“I’m really excited to get the overall win at Unadilla. There’s so much history here, and this is a challenging track. It can bite you if you look away for just a second. I’ve always struggled here, so coming here I was excited because I wanted to conquer it. It was great to go one/one, I can’t complain. This is the only trophy I don’t have in my trophy case, but I had a goal and I stuck to it. Thanks so much to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team because we’ve had our ups and downs like everyone else, but things are going good right now and the RM-Z450 is running great. It’s awesome to be on the podium and even better to have my teammate Michael Byrne up there too.”

Michael Byrne:
“I am actually really glad I had those three weeks off (after the last race) because I needed it after I got hurt at Washougal. It was good timing for an injury, that’s for sure. It wasn’t anything major, just a cut. I’m healed up from that. I couldn’t have done it today without the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team and everyone who helps me out. It’s good to be up on the podium again this year.”

Ryan Dungey:
“This weekend, I just tried to focus on my own race, be smart, make good decisions and be aware of the racers around me. I’m enjoying the close racing, and we tried our best this weekend. I can’t thank the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team enough today. I just didn’t get off to good starts and I just couldn’t get it done. But that’s all right, sometimes you have days like that. Now, I’m just looking forward to Budds Creek. It’s a good track and I really like the dirt there. It’s sort of like Millville where I grew up. We just need to go back and do our homework and get ready for the next race.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Budds Creek, Maryland, on Saturday, August 22, 2009.

AMA Motocross 450 Class Top 10 Overall Event Finishers:
1.    Chad Reed, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
2.    Andrew Short, Honda
3.    Michael Byrne, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
4.    Justin Brayton, KTM
5.    Davi Millsaps, Honda
6.    Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki
7.    Ivan Tedesco, Honda
8.    Kyle Regal, Yamaha
9.    Tommy Hahn, Kawasaki
10. Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki

AMA Motocross 250 Class Top 10 Overall Event Finishers:
1.     Christophe Pourcel, Kawasaki
2.     Ryan Dungey, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing
3.     Jake Weimer, Kawasaki
4.     Brett Metcalfe, Honda
5.     Broc Tickle, Yamaha
6.     Kyle Cunningham, Kawasaki
7.     Tommy Searle, KTM
8.     Justin Barcia, Honda
9.     Matt Lemoine, Yamaha
10. PJ Larsen, Kawasaki