Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey scored his first overall victory of the season at the fifth round of the 2011 AMA pro motocross championship at the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado, on Saturday.
Both Dungey and team-mate Brett Metcalfe put their Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450s to the test in the gruelling, high-altitude conditions in front of a packed crowd at Lakewood. Dungey rode two great races, claiming a second and first to come away with the overall win. Metcalfe once again had to work his way through the pack in both motos to grab a seventh-placed overall finish for the day.
Dungey was strong from the get-go in Colorado. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider qualified with the second fastest time and had great starts in both motos. In moto one Dungey was tight with the front group and in fourth place after lap one. By lap three he was able to pull into third and put his head down to power his RM-Z after second. On lap nine he made the pass for second but by that time the leader had built a pretty large gap and he had to settle for a second-place finish. In moto two Dungey launched his RM-Z450 out of the gate and quickly into second. By lap three he was able to pass for the lead and never looked back, claiming the second moto win and overall victory for the day. Dungey remains third in the championship points race but picked up a valuable seven points from the leader.
“It means a lot to get this win,” says Dungey. “We’re five rounds in and I wish it could have come earlier but that’s racing. I have to give it up for Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki – we’ve all been working our butts off. My RM-Z450 was awesome. I want to thank the man above and my whole family – it feels good to get this one. I’m looking forward to Redbud. It’s a great track and one of my favourites. I was able to pull off wins in both motos there last year. Hopefully we have a little momentum from this one and I can pull off a couple more.”
2011 Motocross 450 Class Standings:
1 Chad Reed 223
2 Ryan Villopoto 215
3 Ryan Dungey 202
4 Kevin Windham 148
5 David Millsaps 145
6 Brett Metcalfe 144
7 Ricky Dietrich 109
8 Andrew Short 102
9 Jake Weimer 100
10 Christian Craig 97
