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/128105
abs o lute ba ck of the 4 0 -rider pac k . "I d on 't k now what happened , " Ca rm ic hael sa id . "T h ey said it was the re for m y hot lap . I didn't loo k ; I figured the tra c k was the s a m e , pretty much [as in pra ctice j. I was taking that line in pra ctic e , and I came over the re , and th er e was a hay ba il. I went over the edge, and they had a fence the re . It was a bad thing, a nd I lo s t like 20 more seconds bec a u se I ha d to go around a nd play catch -u p." T h a t left David Vu ill e min at the head of the pack , whe re he led the first two la p s on his factory Yamaha, but the Frenchman was m issi ng from t h e fron t on t h e n e xt go-around . Vuillemin ev e nt u a lly ca me c ru ising out of the ba ck section with a flat re a r tire, a nd he pulled into the mech an ic s' a rea to ha ve a n ew wheel insta lle d, e ventu ally rejoinin g the fray a la p down . "I think I d id it on th e b ig uphill ," Vu illem in sa id. "On tha t big step-up, I With a perfec t e igh t m oto wins a t the facil ity com ing into the Mothe r's Day race, Ca rm ic ha e l wa s easily the odds -on fa vorit e fo r the ov era ll win , a nd ind e e d , h is m oto -t wo runa wa y bodes ill for his co m pe titio n thi s s ea s on . T h e C h e vy Tru c k s Ka wasak i rider was al so posting the fas test la p times in m oto one, but not before he s ai led off the tr a c k (litera lly) o n th e first la p , p utting h im a t th e ba c k of the pac k a nd int o a s ituation whe re he had to mount an in s piring cha rge one th at wa s te m po ra rily interru pt ed by ano the r c ra s h partway through the moto. "I ' m re all y di sapp o inted - I' m bummed o u t ," Carmich ae l s a id a t da y's en d . "I wanted to ke e p it go ing . I would ha ve ra the r s a cr ificed a m oto at Ha ngtown tha n here , but it's good for me . I ne ed th at kic k in th e butt. I have to p lay c a tc h -u p for th e next co uple of weeks , I guess . I'm onl y six po ints o ut of th e lead." The other moto win on th is warm May day went to the rider who repre sented Carm ichael's primary compe tition (such as it was ) in last ye a r' s title c h a se. F re n c h m a n S ebastien T o rt ell i led most o f th e first outing and finished firs t , only to encounter problems in moto two and finish fifth - st ill good e nough for the runne r-up po s ition in the overa ll resu lts . "I was fee ling good o n the b ike, and it was working good ," sai d the T e a m Ho nd a ride r, who , iron ica lly , fe lt that he rod e better in moto two . "That was k ind of odd , bu t I'd ha ve done better in the second moto if the c rashes d idn 't ha ppen ." Co mplet ing the podium was a s ur pr ising ly strong Ke vin Windh am , the Team Suzuki rider ridin g im pre ssive ly to 3 -3 m oto finishe s . Th o ug h Wind ham's day wa s n't exactly exciting, his pa c e wa s ne ar-equal to that of bo th moto winners, a nd th e pe rformanc e is a bre ath of fres h ai r fo llowing a disappoint ing Su pe rcross S eri es . "I wa s consistent," sa id Windham , who was s porting a na sty blister on his h a n d . "F erry ro d e rea lly c ons is t ent toda y too , and I think that's go ing to be th e ke y. I'v e left he re in a lot wor s e s h a pe a nd got c lose to the c ham p ions hip , so I'm a lrig ht. I'm happy with m y bike 's performance . It fee ls like a w ho le new life . No ma tter how bum med you were la st weekend , you come here and it' s like a clean s late . I'm not tire d at all. I've been working really hard . All m y sponsors have been work ing reall y hard , and it means a lot to m e that eve n though I've been hav ing an off-se a so n in . Sup er cro s s , th ey 're stayi ng behin d me." Rounding out th e t op fiv e was Amsoi l/Dr . Martens/Journeys/C om pet it ion Acc ess or ies rid er Mik e LaRocco , who went a consiste nt 4 -4 in the two motos . "Co m p a red to la st ye a r, it' s a lot better," LaRocco sa id. I'm alright wi t h it. I fe lt my bik e worke d tons better this year. I spent a lot of tim e [testing ] out here in Cali forni a this ye ar, and tha t helped a lot. I a ctually felt prepar ed. Th is ha s been a tough "track for us in the past, so I'm pretty happy. " (Above) Thi s fri ght ening-looki ng mot o-o ne crash might well have cost Ricky Cannichael his unblemished win record at Glen Hele n. He re mounted to fin ish e ighth In the moto, then went out and won molo two. (Right) n m Feny styled his big VZF t o a pair of second-p lace fi nishes, w hich was good enough for the ove ra ll w in. M OTO 1 When Ca rm ic ha e l shot to the front o n t h e s we epi n g start s t r a ig h t , it loo ked like he 'd be dishing out another da y of Gle n Helen abuse , but whe n the p a c k shot o ff the to p o f a hi ll m om en t s la t e r , t he num b e r -f ou r Kawas ak i was nowhere to be seen . Ca rmic hael h a d clip ped a h a y ba il a nd s hot off o f a steep inclin e , a nd by the tim e he go t up s ide -up a nd wres tled h is b ike ba ck onto th e track , he wa s o n ly thr e e r ide rs from the c ue I e n e _ s • MAY 23 ,200 1 7