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Race Notes and Weekend
Preview for Wortham’s
Monster Energy Freestone
Motocross National on June 7-8
WORTHAM,
Tex. (June 6, 2008) – After a successful start to the AMA Toyota
Motocross Championship Presented by FMF, the world’s top
motocross riders head to Wortham, Texas on June 7-8 for the
Monster Energy Freestone Motocross National Presented by Yamaha,
Kicker Audio and Berkey’s Plumbing
Once again, Kawasaki riders were the riders to beat with
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s James Stewart and Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto sweeping both motos in the AMA
Motocross and AMA Motocross Lites classes.
Stewart has consistently proven to be the
fastest rider on the track, going a perfect four-for-four in
motos this season and leading every single lap. This weekend,
however, he is in for a new challenge, having never ridden a lap
at the second-year track at Freestone Raceway.
““I’ve never been to Freestone,” said
Stewart. “I’m not even sure where I fly into. I’ve seen pictures
and it looks fun. I can’t wait for the sand whoops up front.
I’ve always been pretty good in those and I have them at my
house. So I’m stoked to have those there.”
Veteran Tim Ferry also had a great weekend,
bouncing back after missing the podium in the opening round.
Ferry battled through the pack and showed stellar endurance,
fighting hard for two second-place finishes in the motos and
helping Monster Energy Kawasaki to a 1-2 finish overall. Last
season, he pieced together moto finishes of fourth and third at
Freestone.
“I’m looking
forward to Texas,”
said Ferry. “I think they’re going to make it better than last
year when it was rough. If it is anything like Hangtown, then it
is an advantage for me. I like it when the track is rough. I’m
curious to see what they do with the track. That place can be
pretty awesome and I think they are going to step it up this
year.”
With Austin Stroupe earning the overall
victory in round one, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
extended its winning streak to two in
Sacramento
as Villopoto broke through with his first win of the season.
Villopoto has now won three of four motos this season and shows
no signs of being caught if he gets a good start out of the
gates. With his current wave of momentum, in addition to taking
both motos at Texas
last season, Villopoto’s confidence is high.
“I like Freestone
and I here it is going to be really hot and rough,” said
Villopoto. “Working with my trainer helps a lot because having
two 30 minute plus two lap motos is tough. I’m going to keep
working this week and hopefully come out of
Texas
with a bigger points lead.”
The remaining Monster Energy/Pro
Circuit/Kawasaki riders of Stroupe, Brett Metcalfe, and Branden
Jesseman also had good weekends in
Sacramento. Stroupe and Metcalfe put on a
great battle for fourth throughout the 60-minutes plus of racing
while Jesseman walked away with an eighth-place finish.
In the Rockstar/Makita Suzuki stable, AMA
Motocross Lites rider Ryan Dungey carried the flag for the
yellow bikes, putting together strong second and third-place
finishes in the day’s motos to finish second overall. Despite
missing the podium in round one, his consistency has helped push
him to second place in the standings, just nine points out of
first heading into
Texas.
“I’m pretty happy
with my race at Hangtown last weekend,” said Dungey, who missed
the Texas
round last year due to injury. “Every week, the Rockstar/Makita
Suzuki RM-Z250 is getting a little better and better. This
week, I’m just doing my regular program and focusing on getting
myself prepared to give 100 percent at Freestone next weekend.”
AMA Motocross class rider Mike Alessi
experienced an up and down weekend at Hangtown. After falling
early in the first moto, he was forced to the mechanics area for
bike repairs. Upon re-entering, he kept his head down in true
Alessi fashion and battled back for a 16th-place
finish. In the final moto, he capitalized on a good start and
maintained a consistent pace to bring the bike home in fourth,
good for seventh overall.
“This week we are
taking it easy,” explained Alessi. “I want to focus on a lot of
training and working on getting better starts on my Rockstar/Makita
Suzuki RM-Z450. I like the Freestone track a lot, and I am
excited to see if they made any changes from last year.”
Michael Byrne continues his return from
injury, compiling two consistent weekends to currently hold
eighth in the standings. After a seventh place finish in the
opening round, Byrne stayed steady on the rough Hangtown circuit
while several of his competitors found trouble. His moto
finishes of ninth and 10th helped him earn eight
place overall.
“I was a little
disappointed in my results at Hangtown last week because I
didn’t capitalize on some spots that I should have,” said Byrne.
“But sometimes I forget that I’ve been out of racing because of
injury for six months. I just need to be patient. Now, I’m back
home in Georgia
so I can get used to the humidity and the heat before we go to Texas, where it’s going
to be very hot this weekend.”
The Red Bull Honda camp heads to Freestone
with a lot to be happy about. An overall consistent effort from
each of its four riders completed a 180-degree turnaround from
the opening round. Early on in the second moto, all four Red
Bull Honda riders were in the top six, ultimately leading to top
10 overall finishes for each rider. Additionally, fellow Honda
rider Kevin Windham, who is not competing in the series this
season, took the first-ever victory at Freestone County Raceway
last season.
Ivan Tedesco led the way for the red bikes
with an outstanding third place effort. He credits his return to
the podium in large part to new training partner Ricky
Carmichael and continued partnership with the G.O.A.T. will only
lead to more success.
Factory Yamaha’s Josh Hill continues to
look for a clean weekend of racing in this young 2008 season.
After suffering a fall in one of the motos in the opening round,
Hill also found the ground in moto one at Hangtown. An
outstanding comeback effort helped him to an 11th-place
finish while a relatively clean moto resulted in a ninth-place
finish for ninth overall. Given the opportunity to ride at his
own pace, Hill has the speed to run up front.
The producers of the
Racer X Motocross Show on Motocross.com are adding a new
feature this weekend that is expected to increase on-site
interaction with the fans and some of their favorite riders. The
all-new Racer X Pre-Race Show on
Motocross.com Presented by Toyota Trucks
will tape on Saturday morning from each
race site this summer, complete with a broadcast desk set up in
an outside studio environment at the Toyota All-Access Zone that
will be placed amongst the fans in the spirit of ESPN’s College
GameDay, a weekly, fan-friendly pre-game show broadcast live
from football stadiums across the country.
This weekend’s Racer X Pre-Race Show on
Motocross.com Presented by Toyota Trucks will be hosted by
Jason Weigandt and Davey Coombs and is scheduled to go live at
11:00 a.m. Central Time, with scheduled guests including Honda
Red Bull Racing's Ben Townley, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki’s Ryan
Dungey, Miss Motocross Erin Normoyle, along with many more. Fans
are encouraged to attend the taping of the show on site, as
prizes will be handed out from sponsors like Makita Tools,
Mechanixwear, Scott USA, Moto-Tees, and of course Racer X and
Toyota. You can also log onto
www.motocross.com to
catch the Racer X Pre-Race Show on Motocross.com Presented by
Toyota Trucks, as well as the live audio webcast on Sunday
during the race, and Monday's wrap, featuring exclusive race
footage, interviews and more.
Geico Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard
garnered his second Ricky Carmichael Hard Charger Award last
weekend in Sacramento.
After falling in the second turn of the first AMA Motocross
Lites moto, Canard found himself in 39th place. A
spectacular ride through the pack not only showcased Canard’s
unbelievable speed, but also his determination as a motocross
rider. The young rider brought home the bike in 11th
place, passing 28 riders along the way to earn the coveted award
for a second consecutive week.
James Stewart and Davi Millsaps in AMA
Motocross along with Ryan Villopoto, both motos, in AMA
Motocross Lites earned the BTOSports.com Holeshot Awards and
took home the $500 prize at Hangtown.
http://live.motocross.com/live_streams/ls/801/20080605/holeshots_recap-800.html
Lap Leaders
AMA Motocross
James Stewart – 62
AMA Motocross Lites
Ryan Villopoto – 43
Jason Lawrence – 14
Austin Stroupe – 4
Ryan Dungey - 1
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