AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series
Round 1 0: Hubert H. Hu
phrey Metrodome
(Left) 4-1eaf clover:
Rlck¥ Cannlchael
celebrated St.
Patrick'. Day with
hi. eighth win of
the serle. and hi.
seventh In a row.
(Below) Once
again, Jeremy
McGrath (1) found
himself chasing
Tim Fe..,. in a
main event.
McGrath, who was
riding much better
after some valvlng
update.,
eventually got by
and flnl.hed
second, while
Fe..,. held on for
fifth.
added that he "thinks" he is Irish by
heritage. "But there's a lot of races left.
I've won championships, and you never
know what's going to happen until you
get down there to the very end."
Carmichael has won on varying
track styles in stadiums all over the
country, making it abundantly clear
that, in addition to being this planet's
top outdoor rider, he is also currently
its fastest Supercross rider.
As for the rider who held that
honor up until a couple of months
ago, Jeremy McGrath's recent win
drought continued in Minneapolis, but
in a weird way, thing's are looking up
for the Mazda Yamaha rider. He fin-
By CHRIS JONNUM
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
M1NNEAPOUS, MN, MAR. 17
,?'"hat diminutive lad with red hair
'l. and a green bike is no leprechaun, and although Ricky
Carmichael proved about as illusive
as those mythical imps as he scurried
to a St. Patrick's Day win at the Minneapolis Supercross, his success
wasn't due to the Luck of the Irish.
How could it be, when the victory was
the seventh-straight for the Chevy
Trucks Kawasaki rider, and the eighth
in 10 rounds?
"Everything's panning out for me
right now," said Carmichael, who
12
MARCH 28, 2001 •
eye
I
e
neVIl's
ished second to Carmichael, and
while that is not something McGrath
is normally accustomed to celebrating, it came after fourth- and sixthplace results at the previous two
rounds. More importantly, McGrath
looked back on form as he circulated
the Metrodome race course and, most
important of all, he had that old
McGrath look of confidence as he
spoke in the pits after the race.
"We made a fork and shock
change," McGrath said. "You know, I
think we got a little lost on testing,
and the bike's now like it was last
year. I mean, I went out instantly this
weekend and rode great Friday and
great Saturday. Now, I just need to
work on it a little bit and improve
from where I'm at. I feel like I was
struggling a lot the last couple races
with arm pump, and tonight I felt
great. I've got to hand it to Skip [Norfolk) and Larry [Brooks], and the guys
at Yamaha. I think I just got a little
