The following is from the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory team, which fielded Matt Bisceglia for much of the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship:
Chino, CA (August 29, 2016)–Yoshimura Suzuki’s Matthew Bisceglia ended the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship on a high note at the Ironman Motocross National in Crawfordsville, Indiana on Saturday. Bisceglia raced his powerful Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z450 to 11-6 moto finishes earning him eighth overall. Not only did his eighth-place match his best overall of the season, his sixth place in the second moto was his best moto finish of the 2016 campaign.
As a result of his excellent ride Bisceglia moved up in the series standings, ending the year ranked 15th in the AMA 450 MX Championship, in spite of not competing in five of the 12 rounds.
The Ironman lived up to its moniker this year with riders having to deal with extreme heat and humidity, as well as a slimy mud-filled track in qualifying. But then the sun broke out over the Hoosier skies and the track steadily improved the rest of the day, until the field of 40 riders enjoyed a near perfect track by the second moto.
Bisceglia began the day qualifying 14th with a time of 2:39.332.
“I don’t know how, but it felt like it got muddier in the second session,” Bisceglia said. “It felt like someone went out with a fire hose and watered the whole thing. Hopefully the rain holds off and we can have a good day of racing.”
He got his wish as cloud and rains were replaced by blue skies in time for the first moto. The track was still muddy in spots, but Bisceglia turned in a solid performance in challenging conditions to finish 11th.
It then came down to Bisceglia’s last chance to show his true abilities in the second moto and he answered the call big time. Using the abundant torque of the Suzuki RM-Z450, Bisceglia got a great launch in the second moto, ran with the front runners in the early going and kept his momentum going all the way to the waving of the final checkered flag with a season-best sixth-place.
His strongest run of the year left Bisceglia and the entire Yoshimura squad with smiles. For what began for Bisceglia as being a substitute rider that was only supposed to last for a few nationals, turned into a fruitful seven-race stint for the 450 class rookie.
“I can’t say enough for what the Yoshimura Suzuki team has done for me this summer,” a gracious Bisceglia said. “Three or four months ago I didn’t know where my spot was in this sport and they believed in me and gave me a shot. I was able to come in and get some top-ten finishes when their riders were hurt. I have so many to thank, people who are behind the scenes and never get their day of recognition. This is a summer I’ll never forget.”
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