Dodge Motorsports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012) – Josh Hansen (No. 100 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing Kawasaki) led the four-rider Dodge/Hart and Huntington Kawasaki team with a solid 10th-place finish at the opening round of the 2012 AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series at Angel Stadium. Teammate Ivan Tedesco earned a 13th-place finish after a late-race fall dropped the Dodge rider eight positions with three laps remaining.

“We came out with a top 10,” said Hansen. “We started out the race dead last; there wasn’t one dude behind me. It could have helped to start up front, but I’m lucky to have a great crew working for me. I got my Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing Kawasaki working well. We made some adjustments after practice and that helped. To run top 10 to start off the season is cool. It’s a solid start to the season. I’m pumped and ready to go to Phoenix next weekend.”

Tedesco (No. 9 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing Kawasaki) was running fifth until he stumbled and fell through the step-off section of the course, dropping him eight positions to 13th. Running as high as second, Tedesco looked assured of a top-five finish until a non-positioned driver made contact that wobbled his Kawasaki off-balance and into the barrier.

“The weekend went decent,” said Tedesco. “I wasn’t a fan of the track the whole day. I got good starts in both the Heat and Main events and that made life way easier.

“In the Main I had a good race going. I was running up front after a second-place start. We ran up front for a while. I held fifth for a long time, but had a big crash on lap 17 and that was it. I ended up 13th. I showed myself that I can run up front and looking forward to next weekend.”

Teammate Kyle Partridge (No. 83 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing Kawasaki) ran in Heat No. 2 and failed to gain a transfer spot into the Main Event after finishing 13th. In the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ), Partridge led the 22-rider field early, but was unable to cash his ticket into the Main Event after finishing sixth.

Josh Hill (No. 75 Dodge/Sycuan Casino/Hart and Huntington/Bel-Ray Racing Kawasaki) was relegated to the LCQ after getting collected during a heavy two-rider spill on the first lap of Heat 1 and finished 18th. Hill ran 22nd in the LCQ and did not qualify for the Main Event.

Round Two of the 17 race AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series is next Saturday, Jan 14th in Phoenix.