Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

would steadily increase that margin up to roughly 15 seconds before backing off on the last lap, officially taking his sixth consecutive win 6.20 seconds ahead of Mike LaRocco, on the Amsoil/Dr. Martins/Journeys/Competition Accessories Honda, who had a few more bike lengths over third-place finisher Ezra Lusk, of Team Honda. "Everything was going good, and I felt comfortable," Carmichael said. "Winning last year here and winning five races previous to this race and having that momentum, the confidence was really kicking in. Daytona is awesome; I like coming to this track because it resembles outdoors, and I'm an outdoor kind of guy." If there was one rider who many thought had a chance of beating Carmichael at Daytona, it was Mazda Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath. Beating Carmichael on his home track, where Carmichael was so heavily favored to win, would have been a huge mental victory for McGrath and a mental blow to the Kawasaki rider. Plus, a McGrath win right about now could have changed the complexion of the rest of the series. But McGrath never even got close to Carmichael. The Californian gated poorly and could never mount a serious challenge on the super-rough (even by Daytona's standards) track, finishing out the long 31-plus-minute race in sixth place. It was his worst SX finish since placing 14th at the Charlotte Supercross in 1998. "I just got a terrible start, and you can't do that here," McGrath said. "Actually, you can't do that anywhere these days. Everyone is so fast, you gotta get out in front; if you don't, you're pretty much screwed, to say the least." Even though the winner was never in doubt, there were a few good battles that did develop throughout the main. One of those involved LaRocco and Lusk, who held down second for most of the race. laRocco had gotten off to one of his typical so-so starts and spent the entire race charging up through the pack. He eventually got into third late in the race and started challenging Lusk, but Lusk made it easy for LaRocco when the Georgian (RIght) Lusk rode well but had to fight his way around Tortelll and Tim Ferry early on. He made the podium In third place. (Below) Yulllemin had his best race of the year, finishing fourth. bobbled and nearly went down, giving laRocco a clean shot around. laRocco went on to finish second, though Lusk continued to chase him to the checkers. LaRocco's fine ride also put him seven points closer to second-placed McGrath in the series points standings. With the series now more than halfway complete, Carmichael enjoys a 26-point lead over McGrath, who now has a smaller 20point cushion over LaRocco. Suzuki's Kevin Windham, who looked strong all day but hit the proverbial wall halfway through the main while running near the front and finished seventh, is fourth in the series with 145 points. Lusk rounds out the top five with 142. of the pack and had to start to work from behind." Carmichael, however, checked out right away, leaving everyone else to fight for the scraps. "My lap times were good all day, right from practice," Carmichael said. "I knew in the main event, all I needed to do was get a good start and try to get out there quick and build a lead." And that's exactly what he did. "After that, I was able to relax and get into my own pace," Carmichael said. "I was turning [one minute and) 28s and 29s for 13 and 14 laps, and after that, I put it on cruise control." The rest of the main was strictly a race for second. After the first lap, Tim Ferry had his big Yamaha four-stroke booming along in second place, followed by Honda's Sebastien Tortelli, Lusk, Yamaha's David Vuillemin, Windham, LaRocco, McGrath and KTM's Grant Langston, who was competing in the 250cc class for the first time. T ortelli hung on to third for a coupie of laps until both Lusk and Vuillemin got him, and from there on out, things only got worse for the Honda-mounted Frenchman. Tortelli just couldn't get onto the lead pace and gradually slipped back, eventually finishing eighth. Meanwhile, Lusk went to work on Ferry but, at first, he didn't have MAIN When the gate dropped for the start of the 250cc ma in, and Carmichael quickly launched his Chevy Trucks Kawasaki to the front of the pack, the large Daytona crowd knew that this one was over pretty much before it even began. And when McGrath came out of the first turn buried in the pack about 10th, their suspicions were even more solidified. "It seemed like I got a good jump, but I got popped up in the air and did little bit of a wheelie," McGrath said of his start. "And then I got closed out pretty big and got stuck in the middle c U a I e n e _ os • MARCH 21. 2001 13

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