E3 Spark Plugs News

Honda’s Justin Barcia moved up to the 450 cc class for Round 9 of the AMA Pro MX Championship over weekend. The nineteen year old New York native finished third overall in his debut race. Photo courtesy of powersports.honda.com.

Since 1970, motocross racing fans have been traveling to the mid-state Leatherneck region of New York State for one of AMA’s oldest outdoor motocross events. This year was no exception as fans lined the fence three-deep for the start of the first moto of the 450 cc class. After the disappointment of not winning the Lucas Oil AMA Championship round at his home track in Washougal, Ryan Villopoto gave himself an early birthday present by winning both motos at the Unadilla National.

In his first ever professional race on the big bikes, Honda’s Justin Barcia took the early lead in front of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Villopoto and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki of Ryan Dungey. After season-ending injuries to Honda’s Trey Canard and Josh Grant, the factory race team decided to promote Barcia from the 250 cc Lites class. Barcia didn’t disappoint with solid top three performances in both motos. But nobody, including Barcia, could touch the new 2012 Kawasaki.

Villopoto slipped by Barcia early in race one and was never challenged for the win. After a good duel early on, Dungey also got past Barcia to claim a second place finish. TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed passed Jake Weimer late in Moto One for fourth and fifth place respectively. In Moto Two, Villopoto would work his way around early leader Mike Alessi on the factory KTM. Barcia and Dungey would have a classic battle for second overall before the two clipped handlebars and Barcia would again have to settle for third.

As the teams take a week off, Villopoto holds a seven-point lead in the AMA Pro MX Championship over Dungey. Reed’s fourth place overall at Unadilla would drop the Honda rider to 25 points behind Villopoto with three races remaining. Round 10 of the race for the national title will be held at the famed Southwick MX track in Massachusetts on August 27. If you’re looking for an advantage for your favorite ride, pick up a box of E3 motorcycle spark plugs at your favorite discount or auto parts store. E3 spark plugs were Born to Burn.

The AMA Lucas Oil Pro MX Championship traveled to the leatherneck country of central New York State over the weekend for the 450cc MX pro national championship. Perfect weather. . HOT and perfect track conditions . . ROUGH awaited a world-class field of challengers for Round 9 of the 2010 season at the famed Unadilla motocross track. For the last 40 years, the same classic layout, has played host to the greatest outdoor motocross racers to ever race a dirt bike. This weekend was no exception and many had predicted this would be the best outdoor motocross race of the series.

Belgian Clement Desalle (riding for Rockstar Teka Suzuki) finished 2-2 for second overall at Unadilla in his only appearance at the Lucas Oil AMA MX Pro series. Desalle is currently second in points for the World Championship chase. (Photo Courtesy of Suzuki Racing.)

E3 Car Spark Plugs racing fans know that a rookie 450cc motocross racer is never supposed to win both the AMA MX Pro Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship in their maiden season. In fact, it has never happened in the history of professional motocross. Plus, the decked was stacked against Rockstar Makita’s Ryan Dungey. After all, San Manuel Yamaha rider James “Bubba” Stewart was making his return to outdoor motocross after a two-year hiatus. Plus, Belgium’s Clement Desalle, currently second in the World Grand Prix MX Championship, was scheduled to race in his only 450cc AMA motocross event of the season.

In Friday’s practice, Stewart let everyone know that he hasn’t lost any of his speed by clocking the fastest lap times of the day. But, in Saturday’s opening moto, Bubba’s timing was a tick off. After working his way around Red Bull Honda’s Andrew Short for second place, Stewart went down and had to work his way back through a talented field of the world’s best riders. Desalle had a solid ride and would finish in second. Late in the race, Stewart had passed the Belgian but crashed a second time and had to settle for third. Once again, somebody forgot to tell Ryan Dungey he was not supposed to win. So, he did.

The stage was set for Moto Two and neither Desalle nor Dungey would disappoint the Unadilla fans. At the start, It was yellow bikes out front and Stewart’s Yamaha was buried somewhere in the middle of the 40-rider field. A few laps later, Bubba would pull off the track and call it a day. Meanwhile, Desalle and Dungey put on a show. Desalle was in the lead and had been running the fastest lap times of the day, when Dungey picked up the pace and passed his Suzuki teammate. At the checkered flag, it would be Dungey’s win with Desalle in second. Geico Powersports’s Brett Metcalfe and Red Bull’s Kevin Windham would work past Andrew Short for third and fourth place finishes. Short would cross the line in fifth.

The win was Dungey’s eighth in a row and allowed “the rookie” to extend his point’s lead in the Lucas Oil AMA 450cc MX national championship series to triple digits. The teams will have two weeks off and a little time to regroup before heading to Massachusetts for Round 10 of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship at the famed Southwick Moto-X 338 track. Don’t forget to follow your favorite rider on the E3 Spark Plugs Racing blog and, for peak performance from your bike, always ask for E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs. Our patented DiamondFire technology is designed to deliver Energy, Efficiency and Ecology for all of your engines.
(more…)