Team Suzuki Press Office – May 20.
Alex Martin [250 Class, 23-2 for 8th Place]
Kyle Peters [250 Class, 16-16 for 18th Place]
Justin Hill [450 Class, 16-21 for 21st Place]
The JGRMX/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing Team kicked off the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at the Hangtown National in Rancho Cordova, California, USA, this weekend with an exciting second moto podium finish by two-time 250 National Championship runner-up, Alex Martin.
Making his 250 National debut on the Suzuki RM-Z250, Martin showed improvement throughout the day and posted the team’s first motocross podium of the outdoor season.
After a mediocre start and two crashes in the first moto, ‘A-Mart’ was struggling to find his comfort zone. With a strong-willed attitude and necessary adjustments made to his bike, Martin charged hard and methodically worked his way up to second place in the second moto. Martin’s future is bright on his RM-Z250 and he is ready to build on his early–season success at round two in Pala, California.
“Alex got better with every lap,” said Jeremy Albrecht, Team Manager. “He crashed on the first lap of the opening moto trying to go around people. He was way back and came through the pack, only to crash again. He fought hard. A-Mart and the bike looked really fast in the second moto. He had a good start, made moves early in the race, and put himself in second.”
Known for lightning-fast reaction times and superb technique, Kyle Peters had great starts on his RM-Z250. Unfortunately, rough and wet conditions in the first and second moto’s held him to a disappointing overall score. With his first National in nearly three years out of the way, Peters has plenty of time to show his outdoor capabilities, skill, and talent as the series progresses.
Starting the series off in his first full-time 450 outdoor campaign, Justin Hill wanted to show his competitive edge on his RM-Z450. Logging a strong top-10 qualifying time, it appeared that Hill was ready to battle outdoors. Despite getting stuck in the gate in the first moto, Hill pushed through the pack well but couldn’t redeem himself in the second as a rutted track got the best of him. Hill has the potential to make big strides throughout the series, and the team is looking for that fight to begin.
Albrecht commented, “Justin qualified well. Hopefully, he can figure out how he can ride to his potential. We haven’t seen it yet, but we know that he has it. I’m excited for Pala. I feel like we should go there and fight for great finishes. We’ll spend this week preparing and expect Justin to step up his game.”
The JGRMX/ Yoshimura/ Suzuki Factory Racing Team will travel to Fox Raceway in Pala, California on Saturday, May 25th for the second round of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Alex Martin [250 Class, 23-2 for 8th Place]:
“I was very happy with my second-place finish in the second moto at Hangtown. Qualifying and my first moto did not go well at all. I was struggling to find the comfort needed to hang it out on the bike. A couple of crashes didn’t help things. Huge problems to the team, as I feel we made great changes throughout the day. I’m really bummed to be in a points deficit to start the series, but I feel that we can be up front from here on out.”
Kyle Peters [250 Class, 16-16 for 18th Place] :
“We made some progress as far as bike setup. Really, the results don’t show how good I felt throughout the day. Qualifying didn’t go well. The track was flat, and everybody was going fast. I had a decent start in the first moto and was too timid in the opening laps. Still, my fitness was there. I had a really good start in the second moto and struggled with vision and went backwards.”
Justin Hill [450 Class, 16-21 for 21st Place]:
“Hangtown did not go as planned. I was really looking forward to starting the outdoors off well. I qualified ninth fastest but had two rough motos. It’s all mental for me right now. I have to crack the code and learn what makes me tick again.”
Jeremy Albrecht [Team Manager]:
“It was an interesting first race, because the conditions were so varied. The track was muddy and rutted on Friday. It was good to do bike setup on the different types of dirt. The track was hard and flat on Saturday morning in preparation for the rain. Then in rained in the second moto, so the track became rutted and choppy. We made improvements every time we went out. Kyle Peters had good starts in both motos but had little problems. Alex Martin got better with every lap. He crashed on the first lap of the opening moto trying to go around people. He was way back and came through the pack, only to crash again. He fought hard. A-Mart and the bike looked really fast in the second moto. He had a good start, made moves early in the race, and put himself in second.
“Justin Hill qualified well. He got stuck in the gate in the first moto and came through the pack well. I thought that with a good start in the second moto he could do better. Justin struggled in the muddy conditions. Hopefully he can figure out how he can ride to his potential. We haven’t seen it yet, but we know that he has it. I’m excited for Pala. I feel like we should go there and fight for great finishes.”
