Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127955
MOTOCROSS Round 9: Washougal Motocross Park AM AIMAlDA TRUCK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 125cc MX SERIES 1 ' " - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - (Left) Team SplitFire/Pro CircuitlKawasaki's Ricky Carmic hael moved one step closer to hi s seco nd 125cc titl e with his seven th win of the season. (Abov e) Primal Impulse Suzuki's Robb ie Reyna rd gave Carmic hael som eth ing to thin k abou t, going 2-2 on t he day . By Davey Coombs .Photos by Steve Middlesworth WASHOUGAL, WA, AUG. 2 hen the clima ctic momen t came in th e fina l moto of Su nday' s 125cc Nationa l a t Washou gal Motocross Park in sou thern Washi ngton , , 18-ye ar-o Id Pro m otocro ss so p ho mo re Ricky Ca rmichael rode like a veteran. 00 0\ H avi ng jus t b een p a ss ed b y fi rs t 0\ ,...... mot a runner-up Robb ie Reynard for the lead and , quite possibly, the overall win, C'J~ ,...... Carmichael kep t his cool and wa ited for a cle an shot a t redemption . Th at took Ul .::l about as long as it took you to read this so sentence. ::l Just moments after sna tching the lead fro m .th e see m ing ly un cat ch abl e Carmichael, Reyna rd fe ll in the ve ry next comer. Carmichael calm ly pic ked W ..... < 10 his way past the fallen Suz uki rid er and fla t-o u t sp li t with his seven th wi n in nine round s of .the 1998 AMA /Mazda Tr u ck N a tio n a l Motocros s Champ ionship Series . "Robbie was rid ing good and it was ge tting interesting, but I ke p t m y coo l an d wai ted for the race to come to me," sai d the cool-as-ice Carmichael, w ho already has a 125cc Na tional Mo tocross .and 125cc East Regional Championshi p to h is credit. " It seemed like it was going to be a pretty good race bu t the n it didn't happen . Robb ie we nt down and I rode my ow n race, and it worked ou t for me." Eve n with h is u nti me ly sp ill in the second mo to, .Prirna l Im pulse /Su zuki r id er Robbie Reynard con tinued his recent hot strea k at Washou gal wi th his solid 2-2 perform an ce "I've go t that bu g that I want to win again every lim e I get out ther e on the track," said Reynard , who has been on a wi nless role over the last four races of th e se r ies . " It felt goo d to race w ith Ricky, and the fans seemed to be behind me. They were cheeri ng m e the w hole wav around , even after I fell. It wa s a pr etty good feeling to have tho se people behind me. I ju st feel bad abo ut crashing an d blowing the cha nce to wi n." As for bea ling Ca rmichael in one of the last th ree rou nds left in the se ries, Reynar d says he can d o it. "I know I can b eat h im , a n d I'm going to really focus on that for the res t of the series . I just wan ! to bea t Ricky!" Fin is hi ng th ird overa ll on the d a y was Honda of Troy's Mike Brown , who didn't ge t ~e sta rts he need ed to ride wit h Carmichae l or Reynard, bu t he was impressive no netheless, as he posted a strong 4-3 score. ----'-- - -- - - - --' "It's a great track, and I felt goo d on the bike all day long, bu t I just d idn't get th e start s I need ed," said Brow n: who has been on a good strea k this su m mer. "Ricky is go ing really fast righ t now and you really have to have it .all together in both mot os if yo u want to beat h im. I feel like I' m rid ing fas t eno ugh, and I know I'm stro ng eno ug h to do it, but I just need a cou ple of goo d starts." Local favor ite Jason McCormick jus t missed third ov era ll w hen Brown was able to pass him in the closing stages of th e. seco n d m o ta . Nev e r t he less , McCormick ' s 3-4 sco re was a s eason best for the FMF Hond a rider. "I always look forward to coming here and puttin g on a good sho w," said McCormick, w ho li ves ju st d own the roa d fro m Was houga l in Va ncou ver , Wash in gt on . "I had the s tarts I need ed both times, (but) Ricky and Robbie were 'both going really fast both times. I go t a little pumped up because I was so excited , b ut I th in k I ro d e w e ll, an d I' m happy with being on the podium (in the first moto)." Ca rm ichael' s SplitFire /Pro Circuit/ Kawa saki teamm at e Ca sey Joh n son, w ho is ranked thi rd in th e sta ndings , was a quiet fifth overall with a 5-7 tally. " It ju s t d idn 't go as good as I pl anned ," John son sai d . "I d id n ' t get very good starts, and I had to work a little bit harder tha n I u suall y do . I struggled wit h the track itse lf, like the comer and the whoo ps. I was just never comfortable ou t there, but I turned a kind of bad d ay in to a good day wi th fifth overall." Carmichael's fifth straight Win, combin ed w ith nearest riva l John Dow d' s med iocre 8-6 ride for seventh overall, moved the Kawasaki rid e r a b ig step