Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1546134
AUGUST 16, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 70 I n a somewhat unusual move these days, Team Makita Suzuki Racing signed little-known 16-year- old motocrosser Ryan Dungey to a two-year facto- ry contract. The young motocrosser went from the Amateur ranks straight to a spot in the factory team rig, bypassing the "B" teams, which many of the factories use as sort of a training ground for their young prospects. So why did Suzuki go against the grain? Because of his "long-term potential," Suzuki says, and to get him used to life as a factory-backed rider as soon as possible; in other words, get him working side by side right away with Ricky Carmichael while the champ is still around. Unless you're hip on the MX scene in Minnesota, you might not have heard of Ryan Dungey, who hails from Chaska, Minnesota. He's a fast up-and-comer and has been having good success at the Amateur level over the past year and a half, piling up 11 major Amateur titles. He even has some podium finishes in his first Pro race at the 2006 Ford Mammoth Motocross. Suzuki, and most importantly, team manager Roger DeCoster, is approaching this signing with a different attitude. "Ryan is an extremely talented young rider with an amazing work ethic, and I believe he has a lot of long- term potential," DeCoster said. "He's had success with Amateur racing and we believe that with a lot of guid- ance and a strong training regimen, he will eventually be a very successful factory rider. Right now, we just want Ryan to focus on learning to race on a factory level, with- out any pressure. Then we will begin grooming him for championships later on." Dungey is scheduled to race the Makita Suzuki RM- Z250 in the Motocross Lites class for the remainder of the 2006 AMA Toyota Motocross Series, and his first official race with Makita Suzuki will be at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota next week. Dungey spent two years in the Suzuki Amateur pro- gram before inking his Pro deal and has only been riding a 250F for two years. He finished out his Amateur career at Ponca City where he won two Pro titles, and was skipping Loretta Lynn's in order to go to California to start preparing for his Millville debut. We spoke with Dungey at Ponca City about his new venture in life. You have to be excited to get this opportunity to ride for the factory Suzuki team. Yes, this is a very good opportunity, and I am very excited that everything worked out and I got this ride. I really want to do great things for Suzuki and I hope everything goes well. How did your ride with the Suzuki Amateur pro- gram happen? We talked with a few other people, but it didn't work out, so we talked to Cole Gress [Suzuki Sports team Ryan Dungey Will young Ryan Dungey to be the next Ricky Carmichael? Suzuki hopes so STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHAN MOORE manager] and we asked him to give us a chance, two years ago after Loretta's - I got fourth on a Kawi that year. So he gave us a chance and things worked out. I am really glad he gave us that chance, because I wouldn't be where we are right now, if it wasn't for him. How did the Pro deal come about? I was riding in California and I think the word kind of got around that I was going pretty good. We had already talked to Roger a little bit and so we just asked him to give us a tryout. We did a tryout at Glen Helen with Roger and it went pretty good and he gave us a call and that's how it came about. Tell us about the tryout. It was after the Prequel race, so the track was really rough, and it was all Team Suzuki. Ricky [Carmichael] was there and all the mechanics, plus a couple of the Japanese test riders. Drew Gosselaar was there, too. It was pretty neat. So you signed a contract? Yeah. And then what? Things were starting to get pretty hectic, so we decided to hire an agent. So we got Tony Gardea of Next Level Sports Management, he's an awesome guy. What do you think it was about you that appealed to Suzuki? I don't know. I think, for one, you have to have the speed, but I also think you have to have a good attitude. I didn't show them anything different, I was just myself and I think that means a lot. What was your impression of DeCoster? He is a really cool guy and I was a little bit in awe of him. Suzuki has let it be known that they plan on bring- ing you along slowly. Have they indicated what their plans are? I probably will work with a trainer and this will be a learning year for me. Roger said that next year, Ricky would be helping me and giving me advice. You can't go wrong there, he is willing to give advice and I am willing to listen, so it should be good. I want to be a top con- tender for sure. Hopefully, in 2007 and 2008 I will have good years. You come from Minnesota. What was the local rac- ing scene like when you were growing up? There was a little bit of competition there, for sure, but as things went on, people start- ed taking it less seri- ous, so we just started