blistering pace, some 1.1 seconds ahead
of Lytle. Reynard was now within three
seconds of Lytle with three laps to go.
With the white flag waving,
Carmichael knew he was the new 125cc
Eastern Regional Supercross Champion,
and the crowd also recognized it.
Carmichael rode the final lap quite
slowly and saluted the crowd. With the
crowd's approva( Carmichael went all
out as he hit the larger jumps and pulled
off some great tricks. Carmichael
crossed the finish line and headed
straight for his mechanic, Chad Watts,
and team manager Mitch Payton to
thank them for a job well-done.
"1 couldn't be any happier,"
Carmichael said from the podium. "This
is my second year (racing professionally) and I've got two championships, it
feels great."
As everybody was paying attention
to the new champ, the battle between
Lytle and Reynard was getting better.
Lytle had the strength he needed,
though, and held on to second. Reynard
finished closely in third, with Sellards
finishing a quiet fourth.
"1 got a little tense when 1 saw Ricky
go down," Sellards said of his ride. "1
have to wirt Charlotte now - 1 don't care
about anything else."
Currie had his best ride of the year to
finish fifth, with Bentley riding well for
sixth. Seventh went to Deegan and
Lorusso, who started near the back of
the pack, finished eighth. Skaggs finished ninth, followed by KTM's most
consistent rider of the year, Povolny, in
10th.
Bogard was 11th, followed by Vallejo, Thomas, Goodman, Dimny Smith,
Neese, Carsten, Wallace, Eickel, Kelly
Smith, Johnson and Wey.
1;N
Silverdome
Pontiac, Michigan
Results: April 4, 1998 (Round 7 of 8)
125 HEAT 1 (6 laps, 1·9 transfer to main): 1. Robbie
Reynard (Suz); 2. Shae Bentley (Kaw); 3. Brock Sellards
(Hon); 4. [saiah Johnson (Kaw); 5. Barry Carsten (Suz);
6. Brian Deegan (Kaw); 7. Charlie Bogard (Suz); 8. James
Povolny (KTM); 9. Ty WaUace (Yam); 10. Jeffrey Baker
(Kaw); 11. Cio Tedesco (Yam); 12. Robbie Skaggs (Yam);
13. Robbie Horton (KTM); 14. Jimmy Wilson (Suz); 15.
Chad Sanner (Kaw); 16. Joseph Oehlhof (Hon); 17.
Timmy Pustelak (Kaw); 18. Ercn Ezerins (Suz); 19.
Kenny Bartram (Suz); 20. Tom Clowers (Suz).
Time: 6 min., 22.770 sec.
125 HEAT 2 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer to main): 1. Ricky
Carmichael (Kaw); 2. Nick Wey (Kaw); 3. Erick Vallejo
Carmichael and Pro Circuit
Team Owner Mitch Payton
talk strategy before the main:
I came out here to see you
win a championship - Go fast
and win.
s.
(Kaw); 4. Paul Currie (Kaw); Casey Lytle (Hon); 6. Jim
Neese (KTM); 7. Danny Smith (Han); 8. Jason Thomas
(Kaw); 9. Grayson Goodman (Kaw); 10. Shaun Perotio
(Suz); 11. Cory Keeney (Yam); 12. Doug DeHaan (Han);
13. Tony Lorusso (Suz); 14.. Steven Herman (SUZ)i 15.
James Evans (Kaw)i 16. Damien Potts (KTM)i 17.
Vincent Kamow (Suz); 18. James Eickel (Kaw)i 19. Brian
Stone (Kaw); 20. Kelly Srn;'h (KTM).
Time: 6 min., 15.660 sec.
125 LeQ (4 laps, 14 transfer to main): 1. Kelly
Snnth (KTM); 2. James Eickel Oe Ollt' there ridin9, I'd I)e burnmed, Nothing's 'for sure, but J'.m hop- T;'....· keeps on' spinnin9'" mo.stly. du", to injuries."Canadian hero
ieg to be on the bike in about three to four weeks: which wilt put me' Jean:S.ebastien Roy,. y;ho has. been filling in' for the ·injured Pedro
at the two·month mark I've been dOing therapy like'slx days a week
Gonzalez, was joined by Bentley, (on a 125) and ..Jeff Matia"'"
and riding a stationary bicycle I'm ~ot s.ure If I'm gOing. to make It
vich" who is now filling in forthe injured Phil Lawrence. Eric~ Valle·
'T~m Ho~da.ofTf~;'s ca~y' i..y,tIe w~n th~ 1·900-PRO·RACE . out for the first "national (Glen I'lelen, May g). II's stili up In the air; I jo is ,the only original team m'ember currentiy raCing.'" Chicken'
don't want to come back too soon, I'know by about· the fourth ·race' (Matiasevichi will be riding PhWs bike 'for the last four .races' and'
Holeshot Aw~r.l.in the '125cc class and picked up an extra $500
hr. his' efforts, while Te'am, Chaparral/Yamaha.'s .:lere,my· I should· pe a hundred percent.'" F!'rry also corifirr)'led that he would ,. Pedro (Gonzalez) 'should be-.back. fo'r Charlotte;" explai~ed team
,McGrath' won the, 'award ,in the 250cc' class and made himself be riding a 125cc outdoqrs, a;iding to a.n already-stacked deck of. mamig",r Paul lindsey, ·If he does re!um, Roy wiil retum to his pri· fierc,e 125cc t!t1e combatants this year.'
· vate~r team. "..
$ rooo ficher in the process:
~riefIY·----,--i'~----,---'--.
.
.'
.
Both Kawasaki's .Jeff Emig and Suzuki'sGreg AlberiYn'were
still out from' injuries sus,tained a~d/or aggravated .at the'New'
·Orleans Supercross th'ree weeks ago. Suzuki team mapager. Roger
·DeCoster, was ,still optimistic that "Albee, - a' three:time WorliJ MX
Char:npion and crowd favorite, would return' for Charlotte. tApril"18).
"He's seeing a' new dqctb'r (who. works with the San.Diegp Charg:
ers), and he's treating the injuries·with dire.ct injections· to the
'injured area.," DeCoster added ~hat the South 'African tried tei. ride
lasfTuesdayand "could,Qot move" on Wednesday. According';lo
'Kawasaki'team rylanager Bruce Stjel11stroryl, "Emig has b¢en' going
',through back .therapy two .to three times a week 'and could be. back
for Charlotte.." '
,. '
· Team Honda's Steve Lamson conArmed·that he ",!ill alsb be rid· ,On Thursday evening, nearly.2000 a(1)ateur racerS and'their:famili'es
'ing ,a 125 when the National Motocross .Serie,s kicks 'Off: The two" ' walked the track in preparation 'for Sunday's Ponti~c ·Amateur, '
lim", 125.cc National Champion is rearing tel get'out there after his' SuperCl'Oss.: the only 'amateur supercross still run. Unbeknownst
Clismal 250cc Supercros~ season thus far. "y.Je'v.e done a lot of- io them', the·track·walking horde did the Dirt·Wurx: crew a favor:'· testing already with our 125'and.we're way ahead, 1. heard Ricky
"Yeah, didn't'hurt us a 'bit;' said' track builder Rich Winkler. ··It
(Carmichael) say in an interview that he thought his' main conipet!·
helped with the' co.mpaction of"the. dirt." Historically, ('ontiac"s' dirt .
· tion'wouid be-Dowd thisyear..bul,1 don't think he knew I was riding, bas Oeen:sorne, of the softest on the circuit. In order to combat.this,
the,class, but it still has.me fireiJ up. 'Ricky is really cool and we've .Dir:t,Wurx mixed in nearly 12' tons of hot lime into the. soil !Jefor!, it'
.been hap9i~g' o~t a. littre bi't because he is friends with YOgi (Ezra : ':'las formed inio the..track. "We mi~ed ,it in bulk.: instead'of ju's1
lusk). I ~ow' he's got resp.~cdor'm'e and I've got a !o!.of respect , putting it (the ,lime), on the faces of .the .jumps:"' Winkler. said. "Our· .
for.him ··he.ride;~ witha lot of confiqence. the 125 class is going' to · ~ng the mbtnin.9 tra~k walk: sc;>rne pf' the series' top· ripe'rs 'were .
be good with Button: D~)Wd, Ricky and myse;lf'ou! ther(!:imp~esse!J witt> the conqitions, "rve always· ridden here when you'
.
,.
' ..
bad to almost r,,11 everything,." .said Team ,Kawasaki's Da,mon "
Team Chaparral Yamaha's .Jimmy Button 'nad a couple ~f hard. While it has been known for some time thaI Chapar.rallYamaha's' ,Huffman. "Oh. yeah '.the track.is hard·packed and:a 'Iot tackier
than u,sual." saic;! teammate Ryan Hughes, The track was a ,little, '
orashes during practice on Saturday th'at had many onloo,ker~' won- . .Jimmy Button 'wouliJ be; riding th", 1'25cc dass outdoors" r:nahy
rocky and seemed' to have some chunks of metal in it. according
dering'if he would be ableto even stand back up on his own. "I had' . ~~ve been' wondering how the lanky speedster will do on 'a 1~5.
,a couple of horrible crashes ,in the firsCand second practice se~·
I ve had a,reaily good week thiS week t",stlng my 125. apd I,m
eN photographer Kinney Jones; who 'found a door'handle out on'
Si9ns, - 'Butt'On c""firm~. "I don't know what's going:on.. The only
lookirig forward to that .~erie~. I think I have a re~1 good chance to ... the tra~,k, This also became' evident as sparks sporadically 'fiew off
thin9 I've ,done good today is sign autographs. -In the first:practice, 1 win tr e champi'Onship after riding that thing this week. The' bike, is the bottom, of Eira. tusk's, .aluminum.framed. CR250 on his ,way to
landed .off'the triple and my front end washed out:on m,e. In the sec- ,un"befievabfe, It is really, really fas.t. II's. all Kel's (Carruther,,) work.
the' victory, '
. . '
ond prqctice, I jumped down the hill and hit my brakes and the pedal' It·, is crazy, crazy fast. We· haven't done much su~pe'nsion 'testing· : . :. - . .
, "
went to' the ground - I' had n'o brakes - ,and. I w!'rit into this big jump' . yet. Qui Ross (Maeda of Enzo suspension) gave me a' setup to ride
In other not.so.good 'ne;"'s',. Damon Huffm8n. suffered a. broken
·with just way too much speed and went'down hard. They were.s li(ith to ge.t'the motor testing done. Things are' coming along and I right fe",u~'after crashing .hard .ori "a jU'mp, while. battiing up front.
couple of big, 'huge:dumb, Slupid:crashes tliat don't feel ioo goo.d. :. think we have six days.of testing coming"up before'Gle~ Helen
already scheduled, I think. tnat' when that gate drops fo'r the first
early:in. his heat race.. The !V"0:time'125cc Westerfl Regional S~per· .
'I'm really ~ore'J'ust about everyw'here right" now. I. buckled hard in
cross Champion fell hard 'on the. landing from the ·finish·line jump
practice in Atlanta and.mde good .there, so.we'll see wha\:hap-' ',moto: the Chaparrai bike is' going to be ~p front, that's for sure. I, and.·was taken off ihe 'floor In a siretche't after the r~ce 'was fino'
pens." Button had to g.o to a.semi ·to qualify, which. he'won quite'. honestly think·ifs.going'to come down to myself, Carmichael. J.D.
ished. Huffman will have'a iarg~ rod'inserted in his fem~r,and it i~
,easily, and he finished eighth in the ",ain.
.
(Dowd) and Lammy going for. the title. Some other guys. will get up, .
".
.
.
.
" .
there; 'Iike Sheak and Ferry, but I think, consistently, it will be the
expecled lhal he·will ,miss the entire, 199B National Motocross'sei:,.,
To~y: L~rus'~o: ';""ho 'recen;ly 'Iost 'his ,F&S. Suzuki' sp.onsorship , . four. of us g~ing at· it. ,R.C. is riding with.a lot of confidence .right.· .sory..
'over a .contract dispute: hasn't reaily missed ,a beat since' bein9
now 'and thars g"ing t9 giv~ him. a ·Iittl', adc;led bonus. but you just
· When 6'foot·6.: 240,polJtid DetroitLions. NFL Pro·Bo;"'1 quarterback
, acquired by the Primal Impulse/Bill's Pipes/S~zuki .125cc teq"". ",I " never kno\'! how hard that number-one ,plate is going' to be to ,cany
Scott'Mitchell seys, "Man,that had to hurt:" you know-it hurt.·
around.:,'
. .'
"
.
really 'c;lidri't take anYtJodY's place. - Lorusso said. "Right now I've
'Mitchell was referrieg to a crash that he saw. Michigan's oWn NiCk
, got' a suppo,,'deal: I'm On the team, but I dOn't.have my own '(an 'or'
, anything, like that ., I'm still driving, 'but everything is working 'pretty One of the weirdest handl'ebar/lever'setups in the ei~tire 'sedes (and' Wey:take 'during' a practice session on press day.. The Teal'T) Pro
good. I'in on' the s~me bikes but with different motor work (Bill's · country, 'for that matter) has got iQ be awarded to 125cc Team, Circuit/$pli\Fire/KawasaKi rider cased a 'triple ju'mp, wrenching 'his
GrJ')en rider Sitae Bentley.'The Ellenwood, G.eorgia, resident, · wiists anq tweaking .his back. in th~ mishap. X-ral(s taken. on Friday
Pipes). The suspension is ,still Fa,tory Connection. The bikes are
who got the holeshot and led ·the ,New. Orleans and Indy Super-. came 'back negative and the 17,year·old raced to'second in his heat
:wori". The Silver·
"bUI not.·as iide~ just yet. "I'was'up here visiting Dr. Schaffer, ihe. whoops b~cause of it." Bentley.':who-was riding' unaer, the Team
dome, lhougn, has 'hosted the most supercrosses of any venue
Kawasaki of· MexicolThorlTecate colois in Pontiac', .took second in, with 31, which 'is due to the fact.that they used·to hold races on two
·guy wh.o did LaR?cco's knee," Ferry expl.ained. "I came up here
consecutive nights in Pontiac' uniil that 'practice was abolished in
Thursday f,lr a checkup after he did, my ACL and fixed som.. carti·' his heat ·to .Robbie ReYnard after:leading :and finished' sixth in the
laQe damage about four wee;ks 'ago 'af!er' I' injured it' at 'Indy and then 'main event.
.. '
' 1 . 9 9 3 . And' wt>o is, the all-time winningest rider in the SMver;iome?
· Tampa. I decided to stay for'the race and watch'iLlfs actUally not
. 1191> Hannah holds thaltitle with nine'wins·. including' a ,run of six.
The re~olliing door at the 'Kiawasaki
Me~ic:o/T.h~rrr~te.· consecutive wins (iom 197110'\ 9.79.
that bad watching, because.1 know 'I can't ride. But if.! knew I c.ould
to
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