Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Carmichael immediately concentrated on the task at hand, while McGrath tried sprinting away from Lusk, who was doing an admirable job of hanging with the leader. It didn't take long for Carmichael to make his way to the front and catch sight of McGrath. "I saw that I was catching up, and you know when you're catching somebody you kind of get into that rhythm," Carmichael said. "When I saw him, it was on. I said, 'This is what it's aU about, let's see what I can do.'" Nearing the halfway point, it was obvious that Carmichael was by far the fastest rider on the track. He had caught up to Windham, who was chasing Lusk. After a few laps went by, Carmichael cut to the inside of Windham and made the pass, and right about then, Lusk suddenly went down in the whoops. Lusk was trampled by his bike, but he still managed to get back to his feet. He dragged his crippled machine off the track, and it appeared something was wrong with the back wheel. "[I'm] totally fine, totally fine," Lusk said afterward. "I got out of it unscathed." Which was more than he could say about his bike. According to Honda's race team manager, Chuck Miller, a rock most likely caused the chain to derail and wedge itself between the swingarm and the sprocket, locking up the back wheel. "We tore apart the engine to make sure nothing was wrong internally that perhaps caused the chain to that I barely even saw you before you were gone! Amazing." Despite still nursing a sore shoulder, Team Honda's Sebastien Tortelli rode well, finishing out the evening in sixth place, ahead of Yamaha of Troy's Nick Wey, who was impressive throughout the race. The Ohioan started off in third and eventually dropped to seventh by the lOth lap. Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin ended up a disappointing eighth after getting off to a bad start and then making a few mistakes. Finishing ninth was Yamaha's Tim Ferry, while TheEdgeSports.com Kawasaki's Michael Byrne rounded out the top 10. MAIN McGrath rode well at Anaheim, but not even he could stop the Cannichael bullet train. Moments later, Lusk took a nasty fall in the whoops when his chain came off, so Windham was right back into third, but this time behind Carmichael. Windham stayed right with Carmichael for a number of laps, and wasn't all that far behind McGrath after Carmichael moved into the lead. It was by far Windham's best ride of the young season. "I was excited, very excited," That didn't necessarily mean LaRocco had a bad race, but he did have a bad start. LaRocco finished out the first lap in eighth place and, as usua( worked his way up through the pack, taking over fourth at the halfway point. By the time he got there, however, McGrath, Carmichael and Windham were long gone. Fifth went to Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada, who started off in seventh. Even Roncada was impressed by his teammate, Carmichael, saying to him inside the team's semi, "You were going so fast McGrath put his Yamaha to the front of the pack at the start of the 20lap main event (earning the SFX $1000 Holeshot Award), just ahead of Weyand Lusk, while Carmichael was somewhere in the middle of the pack. "I got a terrible start," Carmichael said. "The way the first turn was [a short chute leading into a sharp left turn, immediately followed by a section of whoops], I didn't really feel all that comfortable, and I just wanted to make it through there. And when I didn't get a good jump off the gate, I was like, 'Ah oh,' I'm like, 'Man, I just want to stay up, I just want to stay up and let everything thin out the first couple of laps.'" McGrath, on the other hand, had everything going his way. "I got a great start, kind of shut everyone down a little bit, controlled the first corner," he said. Lusk quickly overtook Wey for second, and then Windham got around the Yamaha four-stroke rider for third. But all eyes were focused on Carmichael, who had his work cut out for him back around 10th. McGrath 11) captured the main-event hoIeshot ahead of Ezra Lusk (behind McGrath), David Vuillemln 1934), Stephane RoncacIa 121), MIke Craig 139), Michael Byrne 1990), Heath Voss (26) and the rest of the pack. lbat's Carmichael's front fender to the rear of CraIg. Windham said. "At this point, tonight a third is just as good as a win for me, because I need the mental confidence, and I think I got it. We all finished within the same straightaway of each other. That's a big improvement, and I know I'm there." Lusk was .another rider who was having an outstanding race. He was keeping McGrath in his sights for the first nine laps until chain problems caused the rear wheel to lock up, slamming Lusk into the ground. The bike also slammed into him, pinning Lusk undemeath it. Luckily, Lusk was uninjured in the nasty-looking crash, but his bike was done. Lusk was unable to get his bike fixed, and even if he had, he would've been DQ'ed for receiving outside assistance. LaRocco, in fourth, was the next rider to take the checkered flag, but he, along with everyone else, seemed to be in a different race. LaRocco finished a long way behind the leaders. cue I e n _ _ so • FEBRUARY 14, 2001 7

• Cover