SUZUKI RACING:

Ryan Dungey has increased his lead in the 2010 AMA/ FIM Supercross Championship after racing to his second straight victory at Saturday night’s third round at Anaheim in California.

The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider raced his RM-Z450 to a three-second win over Joshua Hill in the Main Event, watched by almost 32,000 fans.

Said Dungey: “To get our second win was unbelievable and I can’t thank the guys on the team enough. The guys at Rockstar Makita Suzuki did a great job with bike set up.”

After a shortened practice schedule due to fears that the track wouldn’t hold up after a week of rain in Southern California, Dungey was the fastest in the practice sessions. At the drop of the gate for the Main Event, he came out of the first turn in fifth, while his team mate Austin Stroupe grabbed the holeshot. Eventually, Dungey worked his way through the pack and was able to take the lead in lap 14. By the end of the race, Dungey had given himself a comfortable three-second lead at the flag.

“The way the Main Event happened was perfect…” said Team Manager Roger DeCoster. “… because if Ryan got the holeshot, people would say ‘Well, he got the holeshot and that’s what helped him win.’ Coming from behind was good for Ryan. He was fifth coming out of the first turn, and having to pass some guys made the win that much better. It’s good for his confidence, and the circumstances of the race were perfect for us.”

Dungey was very calculated in his manoeuvres on the track, which allowed him to benefit from the mistakes of other racers.

“I had my work cut out for me tonight,” Dungey said. “But I just had to be patient. I had the speed and I had the lines; it was just a matter of letting it come and not rushing it.”

With consistent lap times and smart racing last night and so far this season, Dungey has opened up his points lead 15 points ahead of second place.

Another winner was the Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z450, which has proved to be a holeshot machine: Austin Stroupe got the holeshot in Heat #1 as well as the Main Event, and Dungey got the holeshot in Heat #2. The fuel-injected RM-Z450 has grabbed more holeshots in the 2010 season than any other bike on the starting gate.

The race action moves to San Francisco’s AT&T Park next weekend; January 30th.