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Racing the 250 class for Star Valli Yamaha, Kyle Cunningham continues to fight injury and is steadily making progress. Nursing a sprained ankle, Cunningham finished 13th in his first moto and 12th in his second, for a final result of 10th overall.

“I felt all right this weekend,” said Cunningham. “I twisted my ankle last week and I got the swelling down, but it still hurts pretty bad. I rode conservatively and salvaged points for a decent overall. Now I’m focused on next weekend. It’s still early in the season and there are a lot of motos left. I just need to keep working at it and the results will come.”

Star Valli Yamaha 250 teammate Kyle Peters enjoyed a good run in the first Freestone moto, finishing ninth. In the second, he was taken out in the same turn-one pile-up that claimed Davalos and Hewitt. Despite this, Peters put his head down and came back to 23rd. Overall, he finished 14th for the day.

“The first moto was good,” said Peters “I got a pretty bad start but I came up to ninth. In the second moto, I got a great start but I got hit in the first turn and fell over and had to come from behind. Now I’m just ready for Colorado. I’ve never been there so it’ll be a new experience.”

Also riding 250s for Star Valli Yamaha, Gareth Swanepoel carded a solid 10th-place result in his first moto, but a second-moto crash damaged his bike and he retired for the day.

In the premier 450 class, Star Valli Yamaha’s Nico Izzi ran in a podium position for most of the first moto before finishing fourth. In the second moto, Izzi again ran with the frontrunners but bobbled and went down. He rejoined the fray and finished 25th, but more importantly, his overall result was ninth.

“I had a great first moto,” said Izzi. “I got an awesome start and was running third for about 20 minutes. But then I got a solid fourth and was happy with that. That’s a big improvement for me. In the second moto, I again got a good start and was running fourth. We got past the halfway mark and I was pushing hard and I ended up going down. But I got back into it and still finished in the top 10. Now, we go to Colorado, and I love that track. Hopefully next weekend, we’ll have two great motos.”

Also finishing in the top 10 in the 450 class was Star Valli Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes. The first moto saw him put in a strong ride that resulted in an eighth-place finish. In the second moto, however, Sipes succumbed to the Texas heat and finished 17th. Even so, Sipes still brought home 10th overall.

“My first moto was pretty good,” said Sipes. “I ended up eighth. In the second moto, I just got hot. Heat’s always been my Achilles tendon; I don’t know why, but I’ve always had trouble in the heat. So I went from about ninth to 17th. Now I’m working hard to get ready for Colorado and give it all I’ve got.”

Star Valli Yamaha teammate Bobby Kiniry also put in a commendable effort in the 450 class. With a 17th-place finish in the first moto and an 11th-place result in the second, Kiniry’s final take for the day was 12th overall.

“I had a decent day,” said Kiniry. “I fell in the first moto in the first turn, so I made it really hard on myself, but I kept my Rockstar Yamaha moving forward. I passed a lot of people at the end, moved up to 17th and salvaged some points. In the second moto, I got a decent start and ended up battling for 10th right to the end of the moto. Next, I will be racing at the Canadian Nationals and won’t be back here until Red Bud in July.”

May 29th, 2012 | TAGS: Answer Racing, Bobby Kiniry, Cosworth, Factory Effex, Freestone Motocross National, Gareth Swanepoel, GoPro, GYTR, Kyle Cunningham, Kyle Peters, motocross, MSR MX, MX, Nico Izzi, Rockstar Energy Drink, Ryan SIpes, Scott Motosport, Star Valli Yamaha

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