The reigning Champion’s team mate Brett Metcalfe also put in his second top-10 finish of the season in eighth place and is now sixth in the title chase with 15 more rounds to go.
Dungey started the evening with a fourth-place finish in his heat race. In the Main Event, he started seventh but was third by the second turn. A tough first lap put him back to seventh, but he was able to put together some impressive laps and work his way up to a fifth-place finish.
“We didn’t have the best of days, but I’m proud of the entire Rockstar Makita Suzuki team,” said Dungey. “We are in this together, whether they be good nights or those that don’t get you a win. The track was real tricky tonight, with slick spots all over the place. It wasn’t a track you could really push forward on. It was like we were riding on marbles in some turns. We are going right back to work this week and I’m looking forward to LA.”
Metcalfe started out the night with a seventh-place finish in his heat race. After an 11th-place start, and despite a minor get-off, he methodically worked his Suzuki RM-Z450 up to an eighth-place finish in the Main Event.
“Practices went pretty good,” said Metcalfe. “I went into the heat race and got a bad start, but I was feeling pretty good and put in some good laps on my Suzuki. But then I missed a triple and lost my rhythm; ended up falling and got tight. So that was disappointing. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki team was able to make some changes to the bike that really helped me in the Main. I didn’t get a good start, but I was able to ride much more solid and my Suzuki was working really well. I’m happy with another eighth-place and we’ll continue to make little improvements and get better as we go along. I’m really looking forward to next week at Dodger Stadium – I think it’s going to be a real exciting venue.”
The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event is Saturday, January 22nd, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
Supercross results: 1 James Stewart (Yamaha), 2 Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 3 Trey Canard (Honda), 4 Chad Reed (Honda), 5 Ryan Dungey (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 6 Justin Brayton (Yamaha), 7 Andrew Short (KTM), 8 Brett Metcalfe (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), 9 Kyle Chisholm (Yamaha), 10 Kyle Regal (Yamaha).
