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/128107
, The problem I'm having is fixable . It's not a qu e stion of whether I have th e s peed: I just need to put it toge th er the first m ot o ." M OTa 1 Vuillemin got th ings sta rted with a ho lesho t, th ough he was ta iled close ly by Windham and the booming KTM 5 20 four-stroke of PC Worldwide /C er r id e r J ohn Dowd . n ic s .com C arm icha e l was ne xt , but h e wa s soon im pede d by his own im pat ience - a tra it he had admitted to und er d ifferent ci rc umst a nces when he sew ed up hi s pr emie r S upercross titl e la st Ap ril. Afte r following Dowd for a lap , he m ade a m ov e to get a round on a d ownh ill, but touched a nd lo st co n tro l, fall ing h a rd a nd rolling qu it e some d istance. Wh en he got up , h e dis c o ver ed that his clutch le ve r h ad b e en broken , and most of th e p a c k passed h im as he attem pted to find ne ut ral a nd re- fire his KX2 50. "He just kind of faded over, a nd I was com mitted t o passing h im , " C arm ichae l s a id . "I could n 't s low te a m its first win of the season last we e k in Hangtown . At Mt. Morris , Tortelli tall ie d consi stent 4 -3 moto fin is h e s to secure the fina l p o d iu m pos ition a nd retain his position at the to p of the points standings. O f course , as this trio would be s ure to attest, cycles go both ways, a fa c t that is curren t ly being learned firsthand by none other than Ricky C a rm ic h a e l, the defending champ and t h e man who had uttered the possibility of winning every outdoor rou nd (assum ing mud weren 't a factor) . Tha t remark (which came only a fte r con siderable prompti ng) wa s n ot id le bo a s t in g , fo r following th e Ch e vy T ru cks Ka wa s ak i ride r's per form an ces over the past yea r or s o m o re or le s s t he sa m e perio d , no t co inc identally , duri ng wh ich the oth e rs struggled - it wa s a ll bu t a fo regon e co nc lusio n t hat C a rm ich a el would wa lk awa y wit h th e o ut doo r ti tle . Ho w e v er , Car mi c h ael has pr ov en human thr ou gh the first three ro u nds , fo r eac h of wh ic h he h as been haunted by a sor t of rno to-one curse. That cu rs e wa s a ga in s ome - down , and I kind of ra n into h im and I h igh -sided." "It wa s a left-ha nd sweeper, and I wa s s ort of drifting to th e right a litt le bit," Dowd sa id. "I don't know, I think h e m ig h t hav e h it m e - I' m not s ure ...lt wa s kind of slick right there. a nd I wa s try ing to g o, beca u s e I he a rd somebo dy . I s ort of dr ifted a little wide, th e re , a nd I thou g ht I felt a litt le bum p on m y re a r wh eel, or someth ing . Th en I he ard th e crowd , a nd I d id n 't kn ow wh o it was , but I knew somebo dy proba bly we nt down th er e ." Windh a m , meanwhil e , wa s a ll over Vuillern in, a nd th e two pu lled a he a d of a four-stroke battle betw e en Dowd , Team Yamaha's T im Fe rry a nd Te am Honda 's Ryan Hughe s . Next were Torte lli, Amso il/D r. Mart en s /Journe ys / Compe t ition Accessories ' Mike LaRoc co a nd Che vy Trucks Kawasa ki's S tephane Ron c ad a . Vuillem in held o ff W indham ' s a tta c k. but Dowd was less successful. getting zapped by Fe rry a nd Hughe s before hit ting th e turf. (Above) Windham (14) ke pt the pressure on Vuillemin throughout t he f irst moto. Windham f inished second overall. (Right) Honda teammates Sebastien Tortelli (13) and Ryan Hughes (12 0) m ill it up. what self-imposed at Hig h Point , where the Flo rid ia n went down ha rd early on while trying to pass John Dowd. The best he could do after th at was an unlucky 13th , and although he recovered to win moto two (a s he had at the previous two rounds) , his position in the points standings currently m a tc he s the number four that he ca rries on his plate - definitely not so meth ing that anyone can say they foresaw one mont h ago . "I'm just fru s tr a t e d ," Ca rmi c ha e l s ai d . "I c an' t get it go ing . But I've al wa y s rode good at S ou thwic k a nd had really good luc k th e re . I like th e sa nd , so it s hou ld be good fo r me . Th is [outdoor s] is m y de a l. Yo u'd s ay I ca n' t com plain a fte r the Super c ros s Se ries , and what a great series it was , but I thi nk it' s time to com p la in , now . I've just got to try to bou n c e ba c k . c u e I e n e _ S • JUNE 6 .200 1 7