Suzuki Teams Race The High Altitude for Championship Points
Brea, CA – (June 10, 2024) –Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado hosted Round 3 of the AMA Pro Motocross Season. Nearby lightning storms delayed an event schedule that raced the 450 class before the 250 class. A rain shower before the final moto of the day added to the challenges at the high-altitude track. The track preparation, as has been the trend in 2024, was for a shallower rip and less watering, leading to a track with more high-speed chop, but allowing more passing opportunities.
Race Highlights:
- Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance
- 450 Class
- Shane McElrath progressed through the day to score strong championship points in the second moto.
- Kyle Chisholm helped put three Suzuki 450s into the top ten at the start of the second moto.
- 450 Class
- Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki
- 450 Class
- Max Miller used a top-five start to run up front in the first 450 moto.
- 250 Class
- Dilan Schwartz charged through the pack in the first 250 moto to score a top-ten moto result.
- Leo Tucker put in great lap times until a qualifying session crash unfortunately ended his day early.
- 450 Class
Dilan Schwartz (40) matched his season-best overall result as he continues his return from a wrist injury.
Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki rider Dilan Schwartz (40) started the day with strong lap times in qualifying aboard his Suzuki RM-Z250. Schwartz found himself mid-pack at the start of the first moto but used the track’s line options to charge forward throughout the race. Schwartz crossed the checkered flag with a top-ten result, then followed it up with a strong ride in the second moto to earn a top-fifteen overall result.
“Moto 1 was great!” said Schwartz. “I didn’t have the best start, but made some quick passes and worked my way forward to finish in P10. In the second moto, I had another average start and struggled with my wrist; but I toughed it out for a P18.”
Shane McElrath (12) also matched his season-best overall result so far in the 2024 Outdoor Motocross season.
Twisted Tea Suzuki presented by Progressive racer Shane McElrath (12) steadily improved his speed through qualifying and into the two 450-class motos. McElrath nabbed a top-five start in the second moto, and brought home a top-20 overall result at round three of the 11-round Outdoor season.
“The third round of Outdoors was a little bit better day today,” reported McElrath. “We made some positive changes,, but we’re still struggling with the speed and trying to get comfortable to go the pace. We're definitely working and figuring things out, so we're going back to work this week and we are going to keep making progress.”
Kyle Chisholm (11) earned his best overall result of the season in Lakewood.
McElrath’s teammate, Kyle Chisholm (11) grabbed a top-ten start in Moto 2, helping to put all three of the factory Suzuki RM-Z450s in the top ten at the holeshot stripe.
“In the first moto we had a good jump out of the gate, but I shifted quick and actually wheelied, so I ended up having a bad start,” said Chisholm. “In the second moto, I ripped another good jump out of the gate and nailed my shift and went through the first turn pretty well; I was really excited about that, I rode too timidly, and lost few positions in the first few laps. I tried to work my way back up and I passed as many people back as I could. We’ll take the positives and learn from the negatives, and we'll get back to work this week,” added Chisholm.
Max Miller (87) used two top-ten starts to gain experience running in the front of the competitive 450 pack.
BarX Suzuki 450-class rider Max Miller (87) relied on his Suzuki RM-Z450’s torque to pull a top-five start in the first moto. Miller spent time up front and matched his season-best moto finish. Miller delivered another excellent start in the second moto, exiting turn one in sixth position.
“I had great starts today,” said Miller. “I struggled to find my flow during the motos, but we had big improvements on the starts and my Suzuki ran great all day!”
“The weekend started great on Friday,” said Tucker. “This was my first chance to race Thunder Valley, and I really enjoyed this track. This was also my first race at high elevation, and it’s true how much it affects everything. Saturday my Suzuki was working great in the bumps, and it felt really solid. The second qualifying session came around, and on my second lap I got cross-jumped on a triple and got banged up hard. We made the call to sit out the remainder of this round, and heal up for next weekend.”
“McElrath earned eighteenth overall, and Chisholm finished twentieth overall,” reported Larry Brooks, Twisted Tea/H.E.P. Motorsports/Suzuki presented by Progressive Insurance Team Manager. “We can do a lot better than that. This is round three, and we’ll be rolling into round four at Mount Morris, Pennsylvania next weekend and we need to turn things around. So everyone's going to be working harder this week, and we're going to make it happen next weekend.”
“Today was a good race for us as a team,” said James Coy, Toyota Redlands BarX Suzuki Team Manager. “The testing we did this past week helped make our RM-Zs even better, and it showed on the track. An unfortunate practice crash ended Leo’s day early though. Dilan earned a top ten finish in the first moto. It’s a great result for us this early in the season. Max rode very well, and is getting stronger with each moto. We’re looking forward to High Point next weekend and then more testing over the break. Good things are coming our way for sure.”
The series now heads to High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. The Suzuki teams plan to carry their momentum from the opening rounds, and improve to deliver stronger results as the summer series crosses the United States.
Please visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Motocross and HEPMotorsports.com for more team news.
Photos by BrownDogWilson Photography
