Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey celebrated his first AMA Motocross 250 class championship at the final round of the series at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pennsylvania at the weekend.
Dungey came into the final round leading the championship by 17 points and when the gate dropped, the young Minnesota rider did not disappoint: Dungey rode two impressive motos on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250, finishing second overall after carding two second-placed motos finishes.
In the 450 class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Michael Byrne finished the season in fourth place overall in the championship standings and he finished the final race of the year with a sixth-place overall. Australian Byrne had a great first moto, getting a good start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and working his way up into third place. In the second moto, he struggled a bit and finished in ninth place.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate and newly-crowned 2009 AMA Motocross Champion Chad Reed joined Byrne on the podium in the first moto, thanks to a second-place result. In the second moto, however, a nasty stomach illness caught up with Reed and he retired early since the ‘09 championship was already wrapped up. Even so, his overall result in the final race of the year was 10th place.
Ryan Dungey:
“I don’t know what to say, it’s been an awesome season and it’s amazing to win this Championship. Thanks to the whole Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, we never gave up and we just kept pushing. I couldn’t have won the championship without the support of the team and my friends and family and the fans. I’m just super-pumped to finish the season out like this.”
Chad Reed:
“The last race didn’t quite go to plan. I was really looking forward to going out on a win, but I had a rough day and made silly mistakes and didn’t feel well. I want to thank each and every member of the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. I’ve had a great year and it was a blast. Thanks so much to them for being there for me and I’m glad we could win the title.”
Michael Byrne:
“In the first moto, I rode really well and was consistent and had a great race. In the second moto, I got caught up behind another rider and then got cross-rutted and went off the track and crashed on my head, pretty much. So after that, I just tried to get up and finish the moto. My bike was in bad shape and I was just trying to get through it to the end.”
AMA Motocross 450 Class Top 10:
1. Tommy Hahn (Kawasaki)
2. Ivan Tedesco (Honda)
3. Justin Brayton (KTM)
4. Jake Moss (Kawasaki)
5. Andrew Short (Honda)
6. Michael Byrne (Rockstar Makita Suzuki)
7. Davi Millsaps (Honda)
8. Timmy Ferry (Kawasaki)
9. Matt Goerke (Yamaha)
10. Chad Reed (Rockstar Makita Suzuki)
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