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/127959
MOTOCROSS AMA/MAlDA TRUCK NATIONAL Round 11: Broome-Tioga Sports Center CHAMPI0NSHIP125ccMXSERIES ~-- ------ ---- ---- ----------_-l By Davey Coo mbs Photos by Kinney Jones BINGHAMTON, NY, AUG. 30 ea m Ya maha's Joh n Do wd re w a rd e d h is loy-al New Yo r k fans wit h an exciting overall wi n at Broom e-Tioga Sports Center in Binghamton, New York, with a stea dy 1-3 score, but it wasn ' t enough to prevent SplitFire /Pro Circuit / Kaw asaki's Ricky Carmich a el fro m claiming his second straig ht AMA 12Sec National Motocross Ch ampion ship. " It w a s pr ett y o b viou s that m y cha nces were sli m in keepi ng Rick y fro m winni ng the title, bu t I wan ted to win this race because I've always loved this tra ck, a nd I ha ve a lot of friends her e chee ring me on," said Dowd of his second caree r 125cc National win. The 33-yea r-o ld Dowd , from Chi copee, Massachusett s, go t the loud est applause all da y. "I think it helps a lot that the fans are so grea t here," Dowd sai d. "They a re always scr eam in g a nd yelli ng for the local gu ys, and I get pumped up to be here." Wh ile Dowd may have been the popul ar race winner, Ca rm ichael had h is second-worst dav of the season - a 2-3 sco re for fo u r th- ove ra ll. (Ca rmich ael DN Fed a mot o at So ut h w ick .) It also mea nt , howeve r, th at he clinched th e AMA Na tional title for the second year in a row before the final race of the season. " It was a hard d ay, and Chad (Wa tts, Ca rmichael's mech an ic) and I had to wo rk th e w ho le tim e for i t," said Ca rmichael. " I rea ll y wa nted to win here today and take the titl e in style, bu t I guess I can settle for winning the title. John ro de reall v ha rd in the first m ot o a nd d es er v ed to win , and I crashed twice the seco nd mot o and had to fight th e whol e tim e to ge t fifth. I mad e some mi stakes, but I tr ied m y hardest to win." Finish ing second overall after anothe r d a z zl in g mot o win wa s Prim al Impul s e / An sw er / S c o t t/ B i l l' s Pipes / Factory Co nnection Suz uki rider Robbie Reynard . After co mi ng fro m dead las t to sixth in the first moto, the enigma tic Reynard went from mid pac k to second in th e fina le befor e cras hing back to fifth . But ra ther tha n thr ow in the towel as he d id at Was hougal after cras hing out of conten tion, Reynard pu t his head d own and we n t after ru nawav leader Casey Johnson. He made the pais a, the tw o-lap boa rd w as co ming out and went on to claim his third mot o win of the series. "I just got m y head toge ther af ter doi ng really bad at Red Bud , and I'v e been riding well eve r since," said Reyna rd, wh o put in another min d-b oggling n ul' in th e seco nd mot o to come fro m behind tw ice to win . "I wish I had rid den like this all year long. I'm go ing t keep wo rking during the off-season an s ta ) focused on coming ou t as strong next year as I finis hed this year." Thi rd overall went to Carmich ael' s . I tea m ma te Ca sey Jo h nson , w ho a rne agonizlngly close to winning the overall before so me late-mote charges by Reynard and Dowd drop ped him back to the fina l pod ium spot. "I've been wo rking har d all year long to ge t a w in, an d 1 thin k I'm almos t there," sai d the Ca lifornia na tive . "I've defi nitely learn ed a lot and I've got one more cha nce to win one, so I'm rea llv going for it next week. " Carmichael fin ished fourth overall, while Chaparr al Yamaha's Jimmy But- T 10 (Above) Ricky Carmic hael clin ched his seco nd 125cc titl e at Binghampton. (Left) Jo hn Dowd , however, wo n the race. ton w as a qui et 3- 4 fo r fif th . H ond a o f Tro y ' s Mike Brown ra n 3-7 after a secon d -mo to cras h fo r six t h overa ll , and Sp litFi re / Pro Circuit ' s 1 ick We v (7-8) was seven th . FMF / Hond a' s Brock Sell- . ards wa s eighth over wi th a 10-6, w hile Noleen 's Tim Ferry (9-10) and Hond a of Troy' s Stephane Roncad a (11-9) rounded out the top 10. Rick y Carmic ha el w a sn 't th e only r id er in the 125cc class to cl inch so me th ing on Sunda y. Jo h n Do wd ' s 437- po int to tal - 55 ยท less th an Ca rmi cha e l's 492 - is 64 p o int s clear of thi rd p la ced Ca s ey John son ' s tot al, which me ans Dowd has locked up the runnerup trophy. And Johnson 's 372-point total means that he's too far in fron t of the tied to tals of Brown and Reynard (324 points) to be caug h t for third . Button is next on the cha r ts, wi th 301 poin ts. As the first 12Scc moto went off the starting gate, Carm ic hae l took the favor ed far-inside line all