Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey has made history by becoming the 2010 AMA Pro Motocross Champion - and securing his second title of the year this weekend at Southwick MX in Massachusetts.
The 20-year-old rookie has gained enough points in the series with his complete domination of the 450 motocross class to take home the trophy with two races still left on the schedule. He claimed the 2010 AMA Supercross title in May, making him the youngest rookie racer ever to do so, and has now added the Pro Motocross championship to his list of accomplishments, making him the only rookie ever to clinch both titles.
Dungey has been unstoppable on his Suzuki fuel-injected RM-Z450 and has taken home the win in the past nine races in a row and won 16 out of 20 motos
"What Ryan has done, no one has ever done before including McGrath, Stewart and Carmichael," Said Team Manager Roger DeCoster. "No one has ever won both the Supercross and a National Championship back to back as a rookie. It's pretty impressive. Sometimes, because Ryan is such a subdued nice guy, you don't really realise what a big thing that he has done. I expect more and more perfection, but you look back and see that he is doing things that no one has ever done before - it's pretty impressive."
Dungey went into Southwick focused on racing his best race, like always. He lined up at the gate determined to give his best performance on the sandy, technical track in Massachusetts, and at the start of moto 1, Dungey started near the front of the pack. He moved into second place and stayed there most of the race. During the last lap, he was battling for the lead when the opportunity to move up presented itself and he took the lead with less than a lap to go.
With the championship in view, Dungey lined up for moto 2 focused on finishing strong again. He moved into the lead early in the race and by the time the chequered flag flew, he was more than 24 seconds ahead of second place and clinched the title by ending the day 151 points ahead of second place with only two races left on the schedule.
"This feels great," Dungey said after the race. "It's a lot of hard work and a lot of long weeks in the off season to prepare for this, but its all the better when you pull it off and win the championship. It's not all me, everyone on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team put 110 per cent into everything they do and that's all I could ever ask. We work well together and enjoy working together at the same time. It makes it fun."
"The Suzuki family is ecstatic to add this championship to our trophy case," Rod Lopusnak, Suzuki's National Sales Manager for the Motorcycle Division, said. "Looking back at the last year it is hard to find one word other than 'Champion' to express what Ryan, the RM-Z450 and Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki have accomplished in their rookie season!"
Yoshimura R&D; of America Vice President Don Sakakura said "Congratulations to Ryan Dungey for his awesome, record-breaking rookie season! Ryan's courage, superior skills, and diligent conditioning were instrumental in his dominating motocross season and accomplishments which Ryan will surely cherish for a lifetime. His Suzuki RM-Z450 performed flawlessly all season long, and we must offer sincere appreciation to the Suzuki engineering team abroad, as well Roger DeCoster and his team of race technicians.
"It's been a perfect season; probably a season we will remember for the rest of our lives," DeCoster said. "It's never happened before - a rookie has never won back-to-back championships. Ryan has done it."
Dungey has made history winning a total of four national titles in the past two years. He won two titles in 2009, the AMA Supercross Western Regional Lites and the 250 Motocross championships, both on the RM-Z250, as well as being the hero of Team USA at the Motocross of Nations in Italy. Now with the 2010 Supercross and the Motocross title in his possession, Dungey was named the captain of Team USA and hopes to keep the Motocross of Nations championship in the U.S.
The next AMA Pro Motocross race takes place at Steel City in Delmont, PA, on September 4th. And Dungey, despite having clinched the title, will be focused on battling for the lead there.
Race images from Southwick: CLICK HERE
