AMA MX CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011

The second round of the 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship took place Saturday afternoon at the Rockstar Energy Freestone National from Freestone Raceway With Chad Reed and Tyla Rattray walking away the victors.

Coming off an opening-round win one week ago, TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing's Chad Reed, of Australia, swept the day's motos to grab his second straight win of the season and open up an early advantage in the 450 Class standings. In the 250 Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Tyla Rattray, of South Africa, took the overall win.

Reed picked up where he left off last weekend in Hangtown, dominating the first moto of the day and setting himself up for the overall victory. However, in Moto 2, Reed found himself behind the rider with whom he shared the 450 Class points lead heading into Texas, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey. Reed paced his rival throughout the early portion of the moto, before crashing. Reed remounted in second place, but lost considerable ground.

From there, Dungey, who finished second in the opening moto, appeared to be en route to his first overall victory of the season by winning the final moto. With just two laps remaining, Dungey suddenly began to slow and eventually came to a complete stop after his bike quit running. With the defending champion sitting on the side of the track, Reed re-assumed the lead and carried it to the end to secure the victory.

"The first moto was awesome," said Reed. "You had to be patient. I thought Dungey and I would battle, but I got good lines and pulled away. The second moto was almost the same thing. He put down good laps. I was trying to find my lines and then crashed. I put in some strong laps and was on the ragged edge, so I backed it down because I didn't think it was worth it. Then, unfortunately, he had his problems. It's a bummer for him. You don't want to win like that, but sometimes you've got to be in the right place at the right time. We had the pace to win today, but I almost threw it away with that crash."

Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGR's Davi Millsaps finished second (4-2) while Monster Energy Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto rounded out the podium in third (3-5). Dungey finished eighth (2-25).

"I got off to a good start and then got the lead," said Dungey. "I was putting in some good laps and then Chad (Reed) made a mistake. I was able to capitalize on that and then pull away a little bit more. I was just trying to maintain my lead and get the overall, but I guess there were some other things that happened. It is what it is. We just had a little bit of a problem. We aren't sure what it is, but we've got a great team here and we'll get to the bottom of it. It's a long season and we still have a lot of racing left and that's something to be thankful for. We'll just put our head down and keep going."

From the Australian camp Bret Metcalfe finished 4th overall with a 9-3 result, he also took the holeshot in moto 2. Michael Byrne and Tye Simmonds finished 11th and 12th respectively with Byrne having a 14th and 10th while Simmonds finished 13th and 12th. Western Australian Champion Dean Porter qualified and finished a credible 18th.

After sweeping the 250 Class podium one week ago at Hangtown, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team had another strong day at Freestone. Rattray kicked off the day with a second-place finish in the first moto behind teammate Dean Wilson, of Scotland. In Moto 2, the South African took charge, bypassing GEICO Honda's Justin Barcia for the lead late in the race to grab the checkered flag and solidify his third-career overall win.

"The track was really rough and it was also hot and windy," said Rattray. "I feel like my conditioning pushed me to the front. I've been working hard (off the track). This is the best I've ever felt, and the most physically fit I've been in my entire racing career. The weather didn't make it easy on any of us. I'm looking forward to a weekend off and getting ready for the next round."

Wilson found himself in contention for the overall early in Moto 2, running second to Barcia. However, the duo came together, forcing Wilson to the ground and dropping him to seventh. He rebounded to finish third in the moto, giving him back-to-back runner-ups overall to start the season. DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha's Kyle Cunningham grabbed the final podium spot in third (3-4), in front of his hometown crowd.

The Motorcylce-Superstore.com Women's Motocross Championship was also in action at Freestone, for its second round of the 2011 season. American Honda's Ashley Fiolek took advantage of DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha rider Jessica Patterson's misfortunes to claim the overall win (1-2). Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil Honda's Tarah Gieger finished second (3-3), while MotoConcepts Yamaha's Mariana Balbi, of Brazil, finished third (2-4).

The 2011 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship takes a weekend off, before returning to action on Saturday, June 11, with the Rockstar Energy High Point National. Round 3 of the season takes place at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pa.

Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship
Rockstar Energy Freestone National Freestone Raceway - Wortham, Texas
May 28, 2011 - Round 2 of 12

450 Class (Moto Finish)
Chad Reed, Australia, Honda (1-1)
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha (4-2)
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki (3-5)
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Suzuki (9-3)
Ricky Dietrich, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha (8-4)
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (6-7)
Christian Craig, Hemet, Calif., Honda (5-8)
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki (2-25)
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM (15-6)
Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha (10-11)

450 Class Championship Standings
Chad Reed, Australia, Honda - 97
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki - 76
Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha - 72
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki - 69
Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Suzuki - 64
Ricky Dietrich, Menifee, Calif., Yamaha - 53
Christian Craig, Hemet, Calif., Honda - 47
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda - 45
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki - 44
Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Yamaha - 40