Team Makita Suzuki’s Izzi picks up top-10 finish in first Pro race

Round 9 – AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Series
Millville, MN Spring Creek Motocross Park
August 11 - 12, 2007

Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael returned to race this weekend’s AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Series at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, MN, and the 15-time AMA Champion did not disappoint. Carmichael won both of his 30-minute Motocross motos to take the overall win. This marks Carmichael’s 150th career victory.

Makita Suzuki teammate Ivan Tedesco celebrated a top-five finish after coming in 11th in the first moto and just short of the podium in fourth position in the second moto.

“It was a good race for me,” said Ricky Carmichael, “I’ve just been soaking it all up. You know, this is the end of a lot of things. I’m thankful for everybody that I’ve met, all the great teams I’ve been on and all the people who have been supportive of me. It’s been an amazing ride and unfortunately this is the end. I just want to be remembered as a good ambassador to the sport. I want people to have felt like they got their money’s worth and had fun when they watched me race. I never expected to do what I’ve done this year, much less what I’ve accomplished in my career. I’ve been around some great people, some great teams, and this win was for the Makita Suzuki team. I’ve won a lot on Suzuki, actually, and this is a great team and they really make you feel like a family.”

“In the first moto, I got into the first-turn pile-up,” said Makita teammate Ivan Tedesco, “but made a charge and came back from the back to 11th. I wish I could have gotten a little farther up, but considering where I came from, that’s pretty decent. In the second moto, I got a good start on the Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I was just happy to be out in front. I’m slow in the first few laps, and if I can figure that out, I’ll be on the podium. In the next few weeks, I’ll try to work on my weaknesses and see if I can get better, and just keep on working hard through the end of the season.”

In the Motocross Lites class, Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Nico Izzi made his Pro debut with style, finishing an impressive 10th overall after taking eighth in the first moto and 13th in the second. “I’m happy with this race,” he said. I came out safe, and I learned a lot. My goal was to come here and get a top-10 finish, and I squeezed by with 10th place. Now I just want to keep moving up, taking baby steps and get on the box. The Makita Suzuki team’s been awesome. It’s good to have such a great group of guys behind you, who want to help you win. Now, I’m just really excited to go back and work harder, train harder and get ready for Steel City.”

Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, meanwhile, had some bad luck in the first moto and was unable to finish. Fortunately, Dungey rebounded with an eighth-place finish in the second moto to bring home 15th overall. “In the first moto, going into the first turn, I was right there,” said Dungey. “Then I went down on the second lap; I made a little mistake and the spark plug wire shorted out, so that was that. In the second moto, I got a bad start and lost a lot of ground. By the time I made my way up into eighth, a lot of people were way out front. Now, I’ve got two weeks to figure some stuff out and come back strong for Steel City.”