Budds Creek: Series pre-event notes, quotes

Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship Notes: MotoTees.com Budds Creek National

MORGANTOWN, W.V. (June 16, 2010) - For the first time in the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, a repeat winner stood atop the 450 Class podium as Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rookie Ryan Dungey captured his second straight victory and took over the early season points lead. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Tyla Rattray broke through for his first career American motocross victory and has climbed to second in the standings. The series returns to the East Coast this weekend to legendary Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Md. for round four and the MotoTees.com Budds Creek National this Saturday.

450 Class

Rockstar/Makita Suzuki
Dungey is the hottest rider in the 450 Class, winning the last four motos after a tough outing in the opening round. With a supercross championship under his belt, the premier class rookie knows what it takes to win a title at the top level of the sport and has a ton of confidence as the series moves forward. Additionally, he appears to be in tune with his Suzuki and the entire Rockstar/Makita team appears to be hitting its stride.

"Going 1-1 on back to back weekends really shook things up for me and my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team," said Dungey. "We've really worked hard at bike set up since our poor start in Sacramento a couple weeks ago. We're heading into a stretch of races that I haven't done so well with over the past couple of years, so we have to continue to put in the work and take each race as an individual weekend. The championship is so far down the road that the only thing we can do is try and be consistent week in and week out."

Fellow Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Matt Moss posted his best finish of the season at High Point, bringing home a 20th-place effort.

GEICO Powersports Honda
After three rounds, Brett Metcalfe continues to be the surprise of the 2010 season in the 450 Class. Last Saturday, he posted his first career podium in the premier class with a third place effort that boosted him to second in the standings. Through six motos, Metcalfe's average finish is at an impressive 4.8, second only to Dungey.

Jagermeister KTM
Since storming to his first moto win of the season at the opening round, Mike Alessi has experienced some ups and downs as he continues to dial in the KTM 350SX-F. At High Point, he bounced back with a pair of solid results after a frustrating second round, finishing seventh and fifth for fifth overall. His relentless approach has helped keep him at the forefront of the championship where he currently sits third.

Monster Energy Kawasaki
Chad Reed experienced his worst outing of the 2010 season in Pennsylvania, suffering from bad luck in both motos en route to an 18th-place result. However, as the defending premier class champion, Reed knows how to bounce back and will be eager to do so at Budds Creek where he captured the overall win last season and clinched the 2009 title.

"Budds Creek is one of my favorite tracks," said Reed. "Last weekend was just a case of anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. We all know that happens sometimes, but I'm going to come back ready to get as many points as I can this weekend and put my Monster Energy Kawasaki back on the podium."

Reed's teammate Nick Wey had his best moto result of the year in the second moto at Mt. Morris, finishing ninth en route to 14th place overall. Now, Wey has shifted his training to the East Coast to help prepare for the next few rounds.

"I'm working down here in Florida and making good progress," said Wey. "I had a good second moto last week. I felt that is the best I've ridden this year and I'm just going to keep working and keep getting better. There are a lot of races left, so I know I can keep moving forward."

Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda
After hard luck put a damper on his effort at the second round, Ben Townley rebounded to post a pair of solid results in each moto at High Point. The New Zealand native continues to be impressive after a two-year hiatus from competition and by virtue of his fourth place finish last weekend, has moved into fifth in the standings. He'll look to maintain the momentum this weekend in Southern Maryland.

Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR
With a stellar runner-up effort in the first moto in Mt. Morris, it appeared as though Josh Grant was ready to challenge for his first overall podium of the season. After another solid start in moto two, Grant was in prime position to back up his first moto effort, but a flat tire forced him off the track for repairs and relegated him to eighth overall after posting a moto score of 24th. Despite the bad luck, Grant still sits fifth in the standings and has performed well at Budds Creek in years past.

In his 2010 debut, Justin Brayton returned from injury with 12th overall, overcoming some lingering soreness to get the summer off to a promising start.

Honda Red Bull Racing
Andrew Short was exceptionally strong at High Point, leading the majority of the second moto en route to his first podium finish of 2010 in second. The Texas native appears to be comfortable aboard his Honda and despite missing an entire moto, still holds onto the seventh spot in the standings. His effort in Mt. Morris was a much needed boost to his season and he is looking to carry the momentum into this weekend.

"I'm really happy with the way things went last weekend, finishing second overall," said Short. "Everything about the Honda Red Bull Racing team and my bike just worked great. I've had a pretty slow start to my season but I think last weekend's result gave me the motivation I needed to turn my outdoor season around. The Budds Creek track is awesome so I'm really looking forward to hitting it up this weekend."

Davi Millsaps is in the midst of a pair of rough weekends after kicking off the season with a podium effort. He is looking to turn his season around this weekend at Budds Creek.

"My season started out good when I got third overall at Hangtown but the last two rounds have been tough," said Millsaps. "I'm feeling confident I can get my season back on track at Budds Creek this weekend because I like the track. I finished second overall in Maryland last year and I'd like to put Honda Red Bull Racing on the box there again."

Rockstar Energy Suzuki
Tommy Hahn has been strong throughout the 2010 season, but small instances of misfortune have taken away from his performances, resulting in finishes that don't reflect how well the Texas native has been riding this season. He finished seventh last weekend at High Point and sits ninth in the standings, looking to put everything together on Saturday.

250 Class

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki
For the past two weeks, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki has been tough to beat. At High Point, Rattray picked up where teammate Christophe Pourcel left off in Texas, grabbing the overall win and posting his second consecutive top-two result. Pourcel, followed his teammate in second overall and extended his points lead over Rattray, who moved into the runner-up spot in the standings following Mt. Morris.

"Getting the overall win was great," said Rattray. "But now I want to get more. It has been a long process to get to the top and I want to stay here. Right now everything is working great and I'm going to keep working hard to get as many wins as I can."

Sitting third in points is rookie Dean Wilson, who finished fifth last week at High Point after capturing his first career podium the week prior.

"I'm glad we are heading to Budds Creek," said Wilson. "That is a great track and I'm really looking forward to racing there. It's been tough these last two weeks, but I'm feeling good and I'll be ready to go this weekend."

Jake Weimer took the overall last year at Budds Creek in a bizarre race that saw a torrential downpour shorten the final moto. Weimer knows his experience at the track will come in handy this week.

"I'm not changing much in my program right now," said Weimer. "I know I have the speed to be up front, I just need to get better starts. Heading to Budds Creek is a good thing after getting the win there last year."

GEICO Powersports Honda
The GEICO Powersports Honda team experienced an up and down weekend in Mt. Morris. Sophomore rider Justin Barcia captured the first moto win, but had trouble in moto two, finishing 21st and dropping to eighth overall. Fellow sophomore Blake Wharton carried the torch for the team, grabbing his first career podium in a stellar effort. Both riders are looking forward to Budds Creek.

"Last year I went 4-7 at Budds Creek and finished fourth overall so I'm looking to better that result this weekend," said Barcia. "I rode good at High Point putting GEICO Powersports Honda first in moto one but I bent my bike early in moto two and had to tough it out to the end. I need to put myself up front at the start of each race so I'm not battling my way through tons of riders to get into podium contention."

"It was nice to get on the podium at High Point; it had been a little while," said Wharton. "You never know what to expect at Budds Creek as last year it poured so hard with rain that the track basically got washed away while we were racing on it. Whatever happens though, I'll be giving it my best for the GEICO Powersports Honda team."

DNA Shred Stix/Star Yamaha
With a pair of solid efforts to start his 2010 season, Broc Tickle continued to run consistently, finishing sixth overall at High Point. The Michigan native has enjoyed a strong beginning to the summer and sits sixth in the standings with an average finish of 6.7.

Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda Wil Hahn has been one of several riders in a heated battle inside the latter portion of the top 10 in points. The Texas native finished 11th in Mt. Morris, but was only three points shy of finishing as high as seventh. He sits ninth in the standings and hopes to become a consistent threat for the top five.

FMF/KTM
After a strong start to 2010, Tommy Searle has had difficulty in finding consistency throughout the last couple rounds. At High Point, he finished 12th overall, highlighted by a sixth place moto one effort. He currently holds down 10th in the standings and will look to turn things around this weekend.

For tickets and fan and racing information on the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, log on to www.allisports.com.

-source: ama