Rockstar Makita Suzuki battled its way through the Hangtown AMA Motocross opener as new AMA/World Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey and Australian rookie teammate Matt Moss fought mixed fortunes on Saturday.

Dungey took 10-6 results in the motos for an eighth overall finish, while Moss experienced a tough debut, finishing 27th in the first moto and was unable to complete the second moto after another racer landed on him.

In the first moto, Dungey was near 10th place coming out of the holeshot. After stalling his bike on the second lap, he fell back in the pack.

“Ryan didn’t have the best start off the gate and in the second lap he stalled the bike,” said team manager Roger DeCoster. “That dropped him back to 20 or 21st place and it took him some time to get back to his rhythm.”

Dungey worked his way from the middle of the pack, made up a lot of ground, and was able to finish 10th. Moss, in his first race in America this season, battled with a past wrist injury that limits his range of motion. After getting his bearings, he came across the finish line in 27th place.

Moto two had a better result for Dungey, pushing his way through the pack with his fuel-injected RM-Z450 and making it to sixth place by the time the chequered flag waved over Hangtown.

“I don’t think we got the best setting, suspension and chassis-wise, but we made some adjustments for the second moto that seemed to work better,” DeCoster continued. “We need to go back and check our bikes, because I feel like that wasn’t a normal result.

“We should’ve been much closer to the front than we were, but Ryan finished both motos strong. We’ll go back to work and sort it out and hopefully do better at the next race.”

Moss was not able to finish the second moto after another racer clipped him coming off a jump in the eighth lap, damaging his previously-inured wrist.