CARLSBAD, Calif., (Aug. 2, 2005) – Ivan “Hot Sauce” Tedesco of the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team extended his points lead in the 125 class of the 2005 AMA Motocross Championship with a 1-3 performance and overall win at Washougal (Wash.) MX Park this past weekend.

Tedesco’s second overall in a row (having won Thunder Valley the previous week) now puts him 41 points up on second place Mike Brown, who led the overall standings from rounds two through six. But now it’s been Tedesco who’s stepped it up as of late, overcoming a slow start in the season to now reign, along with teammate Grant Langston and fast-riding Broc Hepler (Suzuki), as the series’ most dominant racer.

“Beginning of the season really wasn’t that great, Hangtown and Mt. Morris,” said Tedesco. “Things started to turn around for me at Southwick, and just has been getting better and better every weekend. Felt good all weekend at Washougal, but in the second moto I could just never get it to flow. These guys were riding really well, but I was able to come out with the overall so it turned out good for me.”

Another highlight for the Monster Energy-backed Pro Circuit/Kawasaki squad was the performance of Paul Carpenter. Riding well at one of his favorite tracks, Carpenter, who was on the podium last year at Washougal, would race to a season-best sixth place overall – going 9-6 on the day.

“I really needed to pull off a good finish and was confident head in that I could do that at Washougal,” said Carpenter. “I’ve always raced well here at the Nationals, even did some four-stroke races here. The track suits my riding style very well and, in such a competitive field, it was good to come away with a top six finish. I look forward to improving on that at Millville, then at my home track the following week in Binghamton (N.Y.).”

Both Langston and Matt Walker had good/bad motos for the Monster Energy team on Sunday. On the podium in the first moto and seemingly shaking that “black cloud” loose that has admittedly been hanging with him the last couple weeks, Langston again found himself in a pile up that relegated him to a 26^th place finish in the second moto. Walker was the opposite, scoring an un-Walker like 23^rd in the first moto, then blazing back to a fifth place overall finish in the second moto.

Team Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki returns to action next weekend in Millville, Minn., for Round Nine of the 2005 AMA Motocross Championship, presented by FMF.

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team sponsors include: Parts Unlimited, Thor, Scott, Maxima, KMC Wheels, Vans, Bridgestone, Hinson Clutch, Components, Showa, The Garage People, Troy Lee Designs, Excel, Renthal, N-Style, Works Racing Parts, Twin Air, VP Racing Fuels, Athena, Motion Pro, DP Brakes, RK Racing Chain, UFO, Mechanix Wear, CTI2, Vertex, Alpinestars, PPG, Trek Bicycles, Imagine It Graphics.

Also keep in mind that Monster Energy Drink will sponsor the Triple Crown of Motocross – a $25,000 bonus to any racer who can sweep the High Point, RedBud and Steel City rounds of the 2005 AMA Motocross Championship. The rider with the only chance now is Ricky Carmichael, who won both High Point and RedBud. Mike Alessi, who won High Point, finished fourth at RedBud (125 class) and is out of contention for the Monster Energy Triple Crown of Motocross.

In addition to the sizable bonus opportunity, Monster Energy – in cooperation with Kawasaki and Pro Circuit – will award the top privateer placer in both 125 and 250 classes a factory Monster Energy/Kawasaki/Pro Circuit KLX 110 (valued at $3,000) while also awarding an additional $500 in cash to the top privateer at each race (both classes). Also, at the Steel City round, Monster Energy will award an additional KLX 110 and another $500 in cash to the top overall privateer finisher in each class. That’s eight custom Kawasaki/Pro Circuit mini bikes and $4,000 in cash!