E3 Spark Plugs News

Suzuki's Brett Metcalfe claimed his first Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship overall win in the 450cc class at Southwick, MA.

Neither rain nor snow nor Hurricane Irene could keep the 450cc motocross riders from delivering the mail at the Moto-X 338 track over the rain-soaked weekend at Southwick, MA. Storms rolled in early Saturday morning and each group’s lap times continued to soar as track conditions progressively deteriorated throughout the practice sessions. However, once the premier class of the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX Championship class took to the track, well things just got stranger by the lap.

At the end of the day, a rookie 450 rider would have claimed his first ever win in only his second race, a seasoned veteran would have claimed his first ever overall victory, a former points leader would sit dejected on the sideline with a broken bike, and the defending class champion would mount a come-from-behind ride that legends are made of. That’s right. Honda’s Justin Barcia led wire to wire in Moto 2 to claim his first win in the big bike class. Popular Aussie Brett Metcalfe claimed his first overall victory aboard his Rockstar/Makita Suzuki. Multi-time class champion Chad Reed’s DNFs in both motos would essentially eliminate the TwoTwo Motorsports rider from the 2011 championship chase.

Oh yeah, did we mentioned that first-moto winner Ryan Dungey put on a mind-blowing performance in Moto 2 after his Suzuki arrived at the starting line about a minute and half after the rest of the field took the green flag. Yep, the kind of stuff legends are made of. Dungey mounted his Rockstar/Makita Suzuki in 40th position almost a lap down to the leaders and went to work to salvage his opportunity for a second AMA 450cc MX championship. With points leader Ryan Villopoto on cruise control, Dungey made it look simple. Just go faster than everyone else and never say die.

When the checkered flag flew, Dungey was in seventh place just two positions behind Villopoto. With his win in Moto 1, Dungey would finish the day losing but a single point to his Kawasaki rival and now trails Villopoto by eight points with only two rounds remaining. Reed’s dismal performance leaves the Honda rider 65 points out of the lead. So, the stage is set for E3 spark plugs racing fans to catch the final two AMA pro outdoor motocross races at Steel City raceway outside Pittsburg, PA, and Pala raceway in the southern California desert. Don’t forget to pick up a box of E3 replacement plugs for your favorite ride. See you at the track.

After only nine and a half rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX National Championship, Rockstar Energy/Makita Suzuki rookie rider Ryan Dungey clinched the 2010 crown. The 20-year old Minnesota native won the opening moto to claim his first 450cc championship at the Moto-X 338 track outside Southwick, Massachusetts, over the weekend. Dungey became the only motocross racer in history to win both the AMA Supercross title and the AMA outdoor national championship during his inaugural season. E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs salutes Ryan Dungey for his stellar performance throughout the Lucas Oil championship.

Rockstar/Makita Factory Suzuki team manager Roger DeCoster was very fast in the sand, so is his protégé the newly crowned 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro National Champion Ryan Dungey. (photo courtesy of Photobucket)

Geico Powersports Honda rider Brett Metcalfe took the lead in Moto One with fellow Aussie Ben Townley in second aboard his Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda. Both riders adapted well to the sandy hills of Southwick and showed they had the speed to win at Moto-X 338. But, a couple of laps into the first moto, Townley would clip the rear wheel of Metcalfe and go down. Townley recovered and was racing with Red Bull’s Andrew Short when the two Honda riders hooked handlebars sending both racers over the berm. Metcalfe was out front with a hard charging Dungey in second place.

As most E3 Spark Plugs Racing fans know, there are two things that are for certain when you race a track like Southwick Moto-X 338. First, it is going to get rough, very rough. Secondly, it is going to take more fuel to race 30 minutes on a hilly, sandy racetrack. Unfortunately, for Metcalfe, the pit crew for his Geico Powersports Honda did not remember part two. With less than a lap to go, Metcalfe’s Honda was out of gas and coasted to a stop. The Australian’s misfortune handed the lead and the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro MX 450cc National Championship to Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey.

In Moto Two, the loyal Southwick crowd lined the fences as Townley grabbed an early lead ahead of newly crowned class champion Dungey in second followed by Red Bull Honda veteran Kevin Windham, Jagermeister KTM rider Mike Alessi and 2009 Southwick winner Matt Goerke. With twenty minutes to go, Dungey began to stalk Townley watching for the New Zealand rider to make a mistake. Once Townley did, Dungey railed an outside sand berm and took the lead for good. Goerke would pass Alessi and Windham to take over the third spot with a couple of laps to go. Alessi’s 3-4 finishes would give the KTM ace second overall for the day ahead of Goerke, Kyle Chisholm and Kevin Windham.

The AMA 450cc Pro MX teams head to Steel City Raceway, located just outside of Pittsburgh in Delmont, Pennsylvania, for the penultimate round of the 2010 AMA Lucas Oil MX Pro Championship on Labor Day Weekend. After announcing his retirement from motocross earlier this summer, former factory Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha rider Tim Ferry has been asked to serve as the honorary Grand Marshall for the FMF Steel City National on September 4th. If you are looking for championship performance from your street or dirt bike, insist upon E3 Motorcycle Spark Plugs for your motorcycle. Our patented DiamondFire Technology will deliver the Energy, Efficiency and Ecology that you need.

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