HARD FIGHT FOR SUZUKI MEN AT OAKLAND SX
Rockstar Energy Suzuki's Martin Davalos and Yoshimura Suzuki's Brett Metcalfe both fought hard to point-scoring rides at the fourth round of the AMA/ FIM World Supercross series at Oakland in California on Saturday night.
Both riders suffered with problems in their respective Lites and Supercross Main Events after putting-in strong performances aboard their RM-Z250 and RM-Z450 Suzukis in qualifying.
In the Supercross Lites Main Event, Davalos captured the Holeshot Award and led the first few laps, racing 100 per cent and battling for a podium position for most of the race before a few minor mistakes saw him drop back to ninth. Prior to the Main, he finished a solid third in his heat race.
Said Davalos: "I got great starts this weekend, but I made a couple of mistakes and almost went down when I was leading and I got passed. I know I have what it takes to be up front; I just can't seem to put it together in a Main Event. So I'm going to work on a couple of things and try to make everything fall into place for Anaheim 2 next weekend." Rockstar Energy Racing team mate Jason Anderson was also one to watch in the Supercross Lites Main Event. After winning the LCQ, Anderson got a decent start in the Main Event and then charged through the field to second place before a run-in with another rider set him back. Undaunted by this, he kept his head and finished the race in 12th position.
"Overall, this weekend was good," said Anderson. "I kept building my pace and building my pace. In the Main, I started out around eighth and I got up to second, but then I got tangled up with another rider. But all-in-all, it was a good night and I'm just pumped to keep pushing through to Anaheim 2."
In the Supercross class, Metcalfe captured a fifth-place finish in his heat race and was in the top 10 in the Main when he had a minor get-off. He remounted to finish 14th and currently holds ninth position in the series.
The next event for the Rockstar Energy Racing teams is the fifth round of the 2012 AMA/ FIM Supercross Championship on Saturday, February 4th at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
Supercross results: 1 James Stewart (Yamaha), 2 Chad Reed (Honda), 3 Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki), 4 Ryan Dungey (KTM), 5 Andrew Short (Honda), 6 Kevin Windham (Honda), 7 Davi Millsaps (Yamaha), 8 Jake Weimer (Kawasaki), 9 Justin Brayton (Honda), 10 Josh Hansen (Kawasaki). 14 Brett Metcalfe (Yoshimura Suzuki).
Supercross Lites results: 1 Eli Tomac (Honda), 2 Marvin Musquin (KTM), 3 Zach Osborne (Yamaha), 4 Ryan Sipes (Yamaha), 5 Matt Moss (KTM), 6 Travis Baker (Honda), 7 Nico Izzi (Yamaha), 8 Max Anstie (Honda), 9 Martin Davalos (Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 10 Dean Wilson (Kawasaki).
