Tedesco joins James Stewart to give green-mounted racers dual championships in 2004.

DALLAS, Tex. (April 17, 2004)---Ivan Tedesco put the cap on the AMA THQ Supercross Series 125cc Western Championship season this week-end in the confines of Texas Stadium when he wrapped-up the series with a first place finish in the evening final.  Tedesco on the KX250F, the Team Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/Chevy Trucks rider joins James Stewart on the KX125 in assuring that Kawasaki finished ahead of the pack this year, winning both the Eastern and Western series titles.

Tedesco, four months shy of his 23^rd birthday, not only came away with the championship, but did it much the same style as Stewart did in winning the Eastern series.  Both were nearly unbeatable aboard their Kawasaki units, winning almost every event they entered.  Tedesco’s Dallas victory was his sixth out of seven events.  Two more races remain on the AMA schedule; next week in Salt Lake City and the following week-end in Las Vegas where Tedesco and Stewart will go head-to-head in the 125cc Shootout.

The warm Dallas evening started out to the liking of both Tedesco and his teammate, Stephane Roncada, as both powered to hole-shots and total domination in their qualifying heat races.  Roncada won his heat, wire-to-wire, with a 4.245 second margin and appeared to master the course effortlessly.  His best lap time in the heat was recorded at 58.661 seconds, bettering every other competitor in his round.

In the second qualifying heat, Tedesco—as if challenged by his teammate—shot out of the starting gate to a first turn lead and then just kept pulling away from the other racers. His final victory margin in the heat was 9.682 seconds over Nathan Ramsey, and in taking the checkered flag, he registered a fast lap of 58.383 seconds.

Ramsey got the hole-shot in the main event, followed closely by Tedesco and Roncada, but by the close of the second lap, Tedesco had overtaken the lead, with his teammate holding on to third place.  The three varied little in their track separation until near the end of the eleventh lap, when Roncada was hit by a lapped rider and was unable to regain his position, ultimately settling for an 18^th-place finish.  Tedesco closed-out the 15-lap main with a 4.479 second win over Ramsey, with Greg Schnell taking third, a full 23.571 second off the pace.  Kawasaki rider Darcy Lange turned-in an excellent ride, finishing in the top ten.

Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki’s Michael Byrne had an up-and-down evening under the open air of Texas Stadium, as his 8-lap 250cc heat race pitted him against both Chad Reed and Ezra Lusk, with Byrne delivering a crowd-pleasing performance to register a strong second in the qualifier, following series leader Reed.  The main event, however, was not as satisfying, as the affable Australian encountered some problems on the track and after remaining in the top seven throughout the first half of the race, fell back to a disappointing finish.  Reed took the checkered flag.

With the 16-race AMA THQ Supercross Series season nearing an end, fans and industry-watchers alike will be looking forward to the Las Vegas 125cc Shootout, where the action between Tedesco, Stewart, and Roncada is certain to be one of the year’s highlights.