from ... Mike Webb

"Wow - what a ride! I found out a little over six weeks ago that I'm the new Team Manager for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki SX/MX team. Now, I sit here, just eight weeks away from the opening round of the 2011 AMA Supercross series in Anaheim. Six months ago, I would have never guessed I'd be here in this position, but now that I am, I plan to do the best possible job in order to maintain the Championship-winning tradition that Suzuki, the team and the sponsors are used to. 

"Fortunately, one thing that will make it a little easier is that 

we have two great riders in place for our 2011 campaign: 2010 AMA SX and MX champion Ryan Dungey and the promising newcomer to Suzuki, Brett Metcalfe. 

"What else can be said about Ryan Dungey? He's won the last four Championships he competed in as well as the MX of Nations and he's the first 450 rider to bag the SX and MX Championships in his Rookie year. I'm sure the records will keep adding up in Dungey's book. He is a young, very talented rider and with these accomplishments so early in his career, he should look forward to a bright future. Ryan was out in California testing just a couple weeks ago and we made some great progress. Both Ryan and his Suzuki RM-Z450 were looking very strong. He's all fired up and ready to get out there and defend those #1 plates! Ryan is now back at his home in Florida where he has some serious training going on in preparation for the season opener. 

"Brett Metcalfe (Metty) is new to the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. Metty is coming off a strong year with a second-place finish in the outdoor national championship and is looking forward to pulling some good results for his new team and sponsors. We hooked Brett up with his Suzuki RM-Z450 test bike early in October. He just wanted to go and ride and get used to the bike so he spent a few weeks at some of the local outdoor tracks. Two weeks ago he hit the SX test track and we started formal testing. Metty is a real good guy; he's very easy to work with and a perfect fit for the team. Testing has been going great and he's been progressing extremely well on his RM-Z450. Look for Brett to be running with the guys at the front come Anaheim 1. 

"Well, as I said earlier, eight weeks till the gate drops on the 2011 SX season. And there's so much to do. The list just seems to keep getting longer and longer. We'll make it, though. We always do. See you at the races!" 

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