Rockstar Energy Suzuki scored a podium and a top-10 finish in the second round of the 2011 AMA/FIM Supercross Lites Championship season on Saturday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona as Ryan Morais raced his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z250 to third and team mate Martin Davalos ninth in the 15-lap Main Event.
To start out the night, Morais rode to a sixth-place finish in his heat race. Then the Rockstar Energy Suzuki rider bolted to a second-place start in the Main and kept his Suzuki in the front of the pack to score a podium finish.
“Practice started out a little slow, but I felt better than last week,” said Morais. “The Rockstar Energy Suzuki team made a few changes to my bike for the Main Event and I got a great start, almost the holeshot, and put myself in a good position, being really consistent, and tried not to make any mistakes because I know the track was really slick. I tried to be patient and let the race come to me. I ended up third. I’m happy. Hopefully this week leading up to LA I’ll be able to ride more and just put more time in on my Suzuki, and I think I’ll be a lot better next weekend.”
Davalos qualified third and rode a strong heat race on his RM-Z250 to end up with a second-place finish. The Rockstar Energy Suzuki Lites rider had a fifth-place start in the Main but struggled a bit, eventually finishing in ninth.
“I felt great on my Suzuki in practice,” said Davalos. “I had a good heat race and felt like I was riding really well. In the Main event, I just made a little mistake and it put me behind. I felt like I could have won. It was very disappointing – after a good practice and a great heat race – to have the problem in the Main and end up ninth: Definitely something to take back home, work on and come back to LA and try to win the race.”
The 2011 Rockstar Energy Suzuki team’s next event is Saturday, January 22nd, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Phoenix Supercross Lites Class Results:
1. Joshua Hansen
2. Broc Tickle
3. Ryan Morais (Rockstar Energy Suzuki)
4. Cole Seely
5. Eli Tomac
6. Tyla Rattray
7. James Decotis
8. Travis Baker
9. Martin Davalos (Rockstar Energy Suzuki)
10. Kyle Cunningham
2011 Supercross Lites Class Standings:
1. Joshua Hansen – 50
2. Broc Tickle – 44
3. Ryan Morais (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) – 35
4. Tyler Rattray – 35
5. Cole Seely – 34
6. Martin Davalos (Rockstar Energy Suzuki) – 30
7. Eli Tomac – 27
8. Travis Baker – 26
9. Kyle Cunningham- 19
10. Ben Evans – 18
