Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

(Left) Tim Ferry made the podIum again in third place. (RIght) Dowd (16) had a strong ride a1 Binghamton, finiShing fourth overall. moto two after finishing second in the first contest). MOTO 1 Carmichael knew that Windham was the only thing standing between him and an early title, and the rivals lined up side by side at the two most inside gates for the start. The Kawasaki rider snared the holes hot, with Windham just behind, but TortelIi quickly moved into second and set out after Carmichael. Reynard was fourth, with Ferry fifth, Dowd sixth and Roncada seventh. LaRocco and Roncada had suffered poor starts and were midpack. "I had a bad start and was pretty far back," Roncada said. "I thought the gate was going to drop, and it didn't, so I hit it. I messed up the guys next to me in some way. I was outside the top 10, so I was pretty pissed." "Roncada flinched, so 1 flinched," LaRocco confirmed. "The gate fell while I was pulling back, and I spun. I panicked and dropped a handful of throttle and went sideways. It was a nightmare. " Tortelli was hanging with Carmichael surprisingly well, refusing to allow the champ to develop his usual gap. Windham, however, was off the leaders' pace, and the break between second and third began expanding. Ferry got by Reynard for fourth on the second lap, but partly because of a stomach problem, he couldn't pose much of a threat to Windham. "About halfway through the moto, I started getting stomach cramps," Ferry said. "I don't usually get that. I get a little nervous on race day, and my stomach's usually a little upset, but not cramping." Things remained pretty much the same until the midway lap, at which point lappers began to playa factor. One lap Carmichael would be delayed more by the slower riders, and the next one Tortelli would get held up. The gap between the two varied between four and seven seconds, while the break back to third was over 20 ticks. "Lappers are terrible," Carmichael said. "There's only a couple of them that will get out of the way. If they like you, they'll get out of your way. Oh well, that's the way it goes. They're trying to race, too, and you can't throw stones." Carmichael grabbed the victory, moving one step closer to the title, with Tortelli hanging in there for second. Windham was a distant third. "It was a good moto for me," Carmichael understated. "It's been a while since I got a full-on holeshot. Sebastien [Tortelli] was riding really good, and he was hanging right there." "I was a little bit disappointed with my ride," Windham said. "I was up there with those guys, and they just walked away from me. I'll go back and think about what was going wrong and try to correct it for the second moto. It's fun getting third, but not by that far back." MOToe The next time out, Dowd was the one to take the holeshot, with Windham second and Carmichael third. Carmichael was having none of it, though. After the second turn, he leapt by Windham for second on an uphill double, and just before the end of the first lap, he launched over a jump and landed beside Dowd, forcing his way by in the final turn. LaRocco, meanwhile, completed the first circuit dead-last, the victim of a start crash that also collected Fast by Ferracci Husqvarna's Jason Thomas. "You're supposed to put the thing in neutral, and I kept trying to start it without [it being in] neutral," LaRocco said. "The next thing 1 know, I get it running, and they're already coming down the big downhill. It sucked." Windham was all over Carmichael, with Ferry now riding third. Dowd.was fourth, followed by Tortell!, Vuillemin, Reynard and Moto XXX's Kyle Lewis. Carmichael was jumping a hilltop double way to the inside, and on the second lap, it almost cost him when he bobbled in the soft dirt of the landing - an error he would repeat later in the race. Just half a lap later, it was Tortelli making a mistake, getting out of shape on a high-speed downhill and going down hard in a yard sale. He struggled to his feet, but soon sat back down - too shaken to continue. "He went off-line to try to pass Dowd, and hit some big kickers," mechanic Shane Drew said. "He saved it for a while." With Tortelli out, a knock-down, drag-out battle for fourth developed between Dowd and Vuillemin - fortunate, since Carmichael had shaken Windham and was leading comfortably. "It was tough, because with his bike, all the time he has to go slow into corners with big bumps," Vuillemin said. "You have to stop and then go again, like doing a start from every corner. The track is slippery, and he has good throttle control and has good traction. For us, with twostrokes, we have to have rpm, and it's difficult to pass. It was fun racing." The Frenchman got by on lap six, but he made a mistake on the 10th circuit and allowed Dowd back by. "The big downhill, I was going fast and got kicked a little bit," Vuillemin said. "I went straight, almost off the track, and he passed me." Dowd then had fourth, but three laps later, a miscue on his part enabled Vuillemin to ride back around him and re-secure the position for good. "On that double at the top of the hill, I went to double to the inside, and there was a lapper there," Dowd said. "He didn't double it, and I almost landed on the guy. I ended up landing off the track in a big pile of dirt there. I got all sideways, because it was all ruts. I thought I was going down, for sure." Dowd didn't give up, hammering at Vuillemin through the final few laps, but coming up inches short at the finish. Meanwhile, Carmichael cruised to the victory, raising his fist over the final two jumps in a relatively low-key celebration of his accomplishment. "I really cherish this because of the way I rode," Carmichael said. "I'm not really expecting to have another year like I had this year. These things are few and far between. If I never have another season like this, I never will be disappointed." Windham was second, having turned in a much better performance than in the opening moto. "You lose sight of how good second is when you get pulled away from like that," Windham said. "I'm a little down, but everybody on my team is happy with the way I rode and is trying to lift me up. It's been a good first In the week leading up to the Binghamton National, gossip on the intemet had it that should Ricky Carmichael wrap up the 250cc title early, he was considering riding the 125cc class at the final round. Why? Because the Chevy Trucks Kawasaki rider is currently tied with Mark Bamett for most 125cc outdoor wins, with 25, and if he managed to win the final round, it would give him sole claim to that record. At practice on Saturday, Carmichael admitted that he was considering the idea, but insisted that he didn't want to count his chickens before they hatched: "First things first. I've got to beat [KeVin] Windham tomorrow [to clinch the title early], and he rides good here." Speaking of first things first, Chevy Trucks Kawasaki team manager Bruce Stjemstrom said that Carmichael had not discussed the idea with him recently, which Carmichael confirmed. "I haven't talked to the one who counts, and that's the boss man," Carmichael said. "He'll be the one with the final say." Come Sunday, Carmichael indeed accomplished his goal, posting a perfect 1-1 moto tally to best Windham and wrap up the title quarter-lIter title one round early. This means that the Floridian will be free to switch to the tiddler category next week at Delmont, Pennsylvania. "It's a personal goal of mine," Carmichael said. Of course it's been a while since Carmichael has ridden a 125 - since a losing effort at the 1999 Brazilian Motocross des Nations, to be precise. And the current elite of that division aren't exactly chumps, with title-chasers Grant Langston and Mike Brown not likely to sit back and allow a poacher to pilfer their glory without a fight. That said, Carmichael could end up playing a role in the 125cc title: In order for Brown to take the crown, he'll have to not only finish ahead of Langston, but have someone else finish ahead of the KTM Red Bull rider as well. Will that rider be Carmichael? "He'll have to," Stjernstrom said when asked after the second moto if Carmichael would "Let Brown Bye (sic]" should he find himself leading at Delmont with the Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire rider in second. "That would be part of the deal. He might be our only chance, with Brown and Langston the way they are. If he didn't [pull over in that situation), I'd have to tackle him." "I hope not," Carmichael said when asked the same question. "I don't want to jeopardize their championship. I'm not going out there to take out Grant Langston. For me, it's more of a personai note." "" U "" I - n __ S • SEPTEMBER 5,2001 17

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