Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

10 minutes of the second moto before letting go of the pace. Fourth overall was Team Yamaha's John Dowd (4-4), the victim of poor starts both times out. Honda of Troy's Larry.Ward rounded out the top five with a 6-7 showing. In the role of the whiz kid was Florida favorite son Ricky Carmichael, who shocked his more experienced competitors in the 125cc class with a sizzling 2-1 ride in what was just the second professional National of his career. Carmichael, a 17-year-old member of Mitch Payton's SplitFire/Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki team, came from midpack in the first moto to within inches of victory behind defending 125cc National MX Champion Steve Lamson. But in the second moto, Carmichael got a good jump off tl:te gate on his Chad Watts-tuned Kawasaki KX125, carved a tight inside line around a firstturn pileup to emerge with the holeshot and never looked back as Team Yamaha's Kevin Windham gave chase the whole way. Carmichael carried a 10-second lead across the finish line, much to the delight of a record crowd of 14,500 enthusiastic fans. The only rider in the last 20 years to win a pro National earlier in his career was French legend Jean-Michel Bayle, who won the first AMA National he entered in 1989 right here at Gatorback. '1 knew in my head that 1 could get top t!:tree, but 1 was only hoping for top five so 1 wouldn't be disappointed if 1 didn't do as well," Carmichael said. "But 1 never really thought 1 would win like that. The crowd was really behind me, especially in the second mota. It was like a dream come true." Lamson finished second overall after failing to find his winning pace in the second moto and dropping back to fifth. Windham, already beset by an ankle injury, suffered severe arm pump chronic in both classes - and dropped from first to fifth in the first moto before rebounding for second in the followup mota for third overall. Honda of Troy's Mike Cniig threw away a sure win in the first mota when he hit a trackside high wall with two laps to go and a 10-second lead. Craig injured his right hand in the process, but still rode to tl:tird in a painful-butnecessary second mota. Fifth on the day went to Primal Impulse rider Robbie Reynard (3-10), out of the lead picture in the second moto after a terrible start. The record crowd on hand for the Supersports-produced 21st annual Gatorback Nationals had the pleasure of perfect weather, but the dynamic track suffered in the sunny, windy conditions. The once-sandy Gatorback track is now a hard-pack deal with a lot of supercross inspiration in the design. As usual, the pit area was dotted with broken bikes and injured riders after the race. Among the top riders on the· injured list were Team Suzuki's Greg Albertyn (shoulder), Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes (knee) and HoTs Craig (hand). But the track was generally well-liked by the riders and very exciting for the fans. . 125cc NATIONAL The semi-factory Hondas of Mike Craig and Robbie Reynard led the charge into the sandy first turn to start the 1997 125cc National season, but by the time the pack got through the sweeper a flat-tracking Kevin Windham had the lead. Craig, Noleen Racing (Left) Nac Nac· EnterpriseslTeam Suzuki's Jeremy McGrath got good starts and rode well. He was able to reel Emig In near the end of the second mota, but a crash relegated him to second overall with a 2-2 mota score. (Below) Team Manchester Honda Racing's Damon Bradshaw (10) and Team SuzukV1-800-Collect's Greg Albertyn battle during the second 250cc mota. Bradshaw finished the day in third overall with 5-3 finishes, while Albertyn settled tor 14th after a crash late in mota two left him with 8-29 mota finishes. USA's Jeff Willoh and F&S Suzuki's Tony Lorusso followed closest, while Reynard, Chaparral's Michael Brandes and Tim Ferry held off another pack. Outside the top 10 were Lamson and Carmichael. "1 didn't get such a good start but me and Lammy got together and started up through the pack, "Carmichael said of his· first-moto strategy. "1 saw him and I knew that would be my best chance to catch up through the pack because he's really good at that, so 1 just tried to hang with him and see what happened. We got some breaks when a couple of guys got tired and Michael Ray (Craig) crashed, but I think we worked really hard to get first and second." Reynard soon worked his way past the impressive-looking Lorusso and Willoh, who would finish sixth and seventh, respectively, and got into a good three-way battle for the lead with Windham and Craig. However, toward the halfway point Windl:tam started to slow severely. "1 was having real problems with my arms pumping up because 1 couldn't do anything this week because of my ankle," Windham said. "1 guess that's what happens when you lay on the couch all week long. And no matter how good the shape you're in, if you're riding tight you're going to pump up." Windham was passed by both Craig and Reynard, then later lost two more spots to the Lamson/ Carmichael train. Reynard was the next to slow down with arm pump, leaving Craig to pull away with what looked like a sure win. But with two laps to go, the Honda rider found himself in a mental no-man's land. "1 was riding great, 1 wasn't really tired and 1 started thinking about slowing down," Craig explained. "Then 1 ' thought, 'No, 1 better keep charging because 1 rriight make a mistake if 1slow down a little: No sooner did 1 think that than 1 jumped too far up a hill, hit a square edge and crashed into the wall." Reynard should have been in the position to win at that point, but Lamson and Carmichael were already fighting through. Carmichael never quit pushing, but Lamson never made a mistake. "1 knew it was a long moto and if 1 kept working hard 1 would make up a lot of ground," Lamson said of his poorstart/strong-finish ride. '1 had settled for second and was just thinking about holding Ricky back, so 1 was just as surprised as everyone else when 1 saw the . yellow flags out for Craig." Carmichael kept the heat up but could not make a pass and settled for second behind Lamson with Reynard third and Craig recovering for fourth. The disappointed Windham was fifth. The second mota started out even better for Carmichael as he zi pped around the inside of the first turn and avoided some major carnage in the corner. "1 got a good jump out of the gate, put a couple of guys just to my right piled up and 1 was lucky to avoid them," Carmichael said. Windham avoided them too, and together they took off from an early chase group that included Craig, Lamson, SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammates Craig Decker and Casey Johnson, Mota XXX's Brian Deegan and privateer Brock Sellards. With Windham right on his tail, Carmichael's mechanic Chad Watts made a bold statement on the tl:tird lap when he wrote "Breathe - Pull Away" on the pit board. Carmichael took the advice to heart and picked up his pace even more.. "For a little bit there, he was right behind me but 1 kept telling myself '1 gotta pull away, 1 gotta pull away,'" Carmichael said. '1 wanted some room so that 1 could slow down and relax at the end of the race, and that's what 1 did:' Carmichael had about 10 seconds on Windham at the finish line, which he rode across slowly with his arms over his head after Watts put out a "Good Job but No Showboating" signal from the mechanic's area. Windham was reluctant to go with the kid for two reasons: Arm pump and points. "He was going really fast and riding smooth and 1 didn't want to risk working too hard and getting the arm pump again and maybe crashing,"

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