Anstie Impresses in debut Suzuki SX ride
By Team TMX on 9th Jan 13
Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe's new MX2 team rider Max Anstie raced his RM-Z250 to ninth position in the 250cc Main Event at the opening round of the AMA/ FIM World Supercross series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California at the weekend.
After setting a 10th fastest lap-time in qualifying, Anstie raced to eighth position in the first heat of the day, giving him 15th position at the start gate. In the decisive Main Event, Anstie got a fairly good start but got caught up in the whoop-section-tussle that happened right after the first corner, but fought back from 14th to eighth, then had to settle with ninth after Zach Osbourne overtook him on the penultimate lap.
Team manager Thomas Ramsbacher said: "We were hoping to get a top-10 result, and that is exactly what we achieved, so we're very happy with this result. Our main focus stays with the 2013 Grand Prix season and Max is riding the first few Supercross races as part of his preparation for this. Any decent result in this very specific discipline - and in front of a packed Anaheim Stadium - is definitely a plus!
"The whole experience of being in the US has been great so far. It's nice to be welcomed into the Suzuki family on the other side of the world. The people at ASMC and Yoshimura help us out any way they can; and we can use the Suzuki test track for training, which helps to get both the bike and Max more competitive every ongoing week. "
The next round of the series for the US-based Englishman - and the second of the five Supercross events he will take part in - is at Chase Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona this coming weekend (January 12th).
