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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128095
AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series Round 8: Superdorne take, but thanks to my trainer Aldon Baker, I held on to that baby ... that's the biggest mistake I made in a long time, but I lea'rn from stuff like that, and I know for next time to not try to do something like that." blazing pace. On lap six, the pivotal quad came into play once more, as a lapped rider forced McGrath to triple again and lose ground on Carmichael. McGrath was now close to five seconds back, but he rode fairly smoothly In fact, Carmichael opted not to go for the quad on several occasions after that when he didn't until the halfway mark, when he went down over a whoop-covered hill. Windham squeezed by as the champ remounted, and LaRocco have a good run. By this time, the duo had put a considerable gap on third place, which by lap two was filled by Windham. Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada, who had held third in the early going, was fighting off LaRocco and Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin in fourth. McGrath closed a bit on Carmichael following the latter rider's frightening, high-speed near-bail, but the leader - whose oft-ragged riding has accustomed him to such escapades - quickly collected his wits and refound a McGrath got the holeshot and led the race for the first few laps before getting passed by Cannichael when he messed up a quad and had to doubledouble It. Just past the halfway point, McGrath crashed and lost two positions, finishing ott the podium for the first time all year. "Jeremy got in front of me, and I wanted to see what he could do," said Carmichael. "The last couple of weeks, he's been getting behind me and riding my lines. I got behind him, felt totally comfortable, and got by him." "I messed up the little bump Floridian was kicked in the butt by before it, and I just doubled up," his seat, and he nose-wheelied McGrath said. "He quaded, and that's when he got up beside me." down the following straight before pulling it all back together in time McGrath quickly recovered, for the next turn. and he stayed relatively close to nOh, his rival for another lap, giving him a front-row seat for a lap-five times, but he just doesn't. It's kind of like something you can count on - he's great at saving it from slightly short on the same quad he crashes. " "I almost olew the race," said steep landing ramp. The diminutive cue I see it?" said [Widens eyes seems like he's going to crash at had used to catch McGrath, and his rear tire clipped the top of the MARCH 14,2001 • you in amazement]. But all along, it mishap that had the race - if not the entire season - balancing along with Carmichael's KX250 on its front wheel. Carmichael came up 8 did McGrath. "I was like, • Carmichael. "It was a big, big misn • _ s was close behind. As McGrath tried to get back on pace - banging his clutch lever into place over the finish-line jump - LaRocco put his Honda by for third. "I cross-rutted over on that jump," said McGrath. "I had no choice but to jump off it, kind of like last week in the heat race. It's not too often that you see that, but that rut got me tonight." "I can't really remember the last time he fell," said Windham. "I was happy to be there to capitalize on it." It would be tempting to infer from Ricky Carmichael's Superdome heat-race win being 3.66 seconds quicker than that of Jeremy McGrath that R.c. had M.C.'s number before the main event even started. Such conjecture might even be accurate, but there's more subtle information in the New Orleans 250cc qualifying races, information that casts a faint glimmer of hope for the defending champ. That's because McGrath at least won his heat race in New Orleans, as compared to the previous round in Atlanta, where he had crashed and transferred through a semi, and the round before that in Indianapolis, where he had finished second in his heat to Ezra Lusk. And even if you go back three rounds to Anaheim III, where McGrath won his heat race, his qualifying lap times had been over a second slower than those of Carmichael. So under a four-second differential in six laps whUe not anything that the King of Supercross will be content with - at least is a movement in the right direction. McGrath pulled the holeshot in heat one and set out at a ferocious . dare one say "Carmichael-esque"? - pace for the early part of lap one. Also riding surprisingly fast was Tortelli, who hung with the Mazda Yamaha rider for a couple of laps before falling back slightly, but still maintaining a comfortable margin on Fast by Ferracci's Steve Lamson. That all changed when Tortelli went down in a rhythm section, after which Lamson fell prey to Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada (who finished an eventual second) and to Thousand Oaks Yamaha/Pete's RV/Reynard Modification's Robbie Reynard (who ended up third).. Team Yamaha's David VulUemin also got around Lamson for the heat's final direct transfer. "The track's really technical - more than last week," McGrath said. "I think that's bene· ficial to me. I saw Tortelli behind me, and it looked like he was doing a good job." Team Suzuki's Kevin Windham led the first lap of heat two, but Carmichael put his Chevy Trucks Kawasaki by in the whoop section (after a pair of failed block passes). Windham stayed right on Carmichael's butt until the closing moments, and the two put a huge gap on the Planet Honda of Michael Craig, who was passed near the end for third by TheEdgeSports.com Kawasaki's Michael Byme. "It's going to be a tough main event," Carmichael said. "The track's going to be fast, and we'll see what happens." The Motoworldracing.com/Answer Yamaha of Damon Huffman snared the semi-one holeshot before being passed by TheEdgeSports.com Kawasaki's Casey Johnson in the whoops. Tortelli then zapped both riders in the same spot a lap later for the lead, which he stretched to a comfortable margin before winning. Behind him, Amsoil/Dr. Martens/Journeys/Competition Accessories rider Mike LaRocco tripled by Huffman and Johnson in the same rhythm section on successive laps. Johnson and Lamson both fell over in comers, leaving third position to Huffman. Lamson recovered for fourth, and his teammate Jason Thomas just held off James Povolny Jr. for the semi's final transfer. Despite a scary-looking crash in his heat race, Team Yamaha's Tim Ferry roared to the holeshot on his YZ426F in semi two, then turned in a flawless ride for the win over Team Honda's Ezra Lusk. Back in a distant third was Mota XXX/DGY/Atomic 22's Kyle Lewis, with Nicholson Yamaha's Jimmy Wilson and Santa Fe Motorsports' Ryan Clark completing the top five. Casey Johnson came out swinging in the Last-Chance Qualifier, grabbing the holeshot and leading to the finish. Shenandoah Honda's Kevin Crine and Keith Johnson battled over the night's final transfer spot for much of the race, but when Johnson went down for the second time of the race, Crine decided the spot was his.