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/128135
Cycle Nelllls Rider of the Year Ricky Cannichael Continued from page 9 We just have a real competitive relationship. I think the racing was really clean. We raced each other good, and I have a lot of respect for Jeremy - I'll never disrespect him. He has done a lot for the sport, and he has won a lot of championships. I know what it takes, and we're just really competitive now. I've stayed with him a long time ago when I was on mini bikes, and now we're so competitive that in fact there's not much talking going on. I respect Jeremy. He does a heck of a job at what he does, and I expect him to be the main contender. A What with his utter dominance of last year's Chevy Trucks National Championship Motocross Series, it was assumed by most that Carmichael would repeat in 2001 - especially follOWing his performance in the stadiums. The Floridian did indeed come through, but as is often the case when assumptions are made (and it should be noted here that Carmichael claims to have made no such assumptions), things didn't exactly go easily. The outdoor series got off to a rough start this year. Yeah, definitely. I didn't win the first three Nationals, and to me, that's unheard of. The first thing was when I crashed at Glen Helen. That's when it hit me - how much I wanted it - was when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to win that mota. I realized, "Well, my streak is over at Glen Helen." So after that, I just tried to put my head down. Actually, to be honest with you, the outdoor series was probably the hardest series this year. I was struggling with my bike a little bit. It was my fault; I didn't do the testing that I probably should have done. Kawasaki hooked me up with everything they could; I just didn't take the time to get caught up. Everyone else is out there testing all the time, and I figured I didn't need to. I think that's why I was having a really hard time up until Millville, because I was a little down on power. After Washougal, I went testing before the last three lt's probably natural to lose some of the friendliness as you become more competitive with each other. Yeah, it is, and having entourages doesn't help anything, that's for sure - what with everything that everyone hears. I try to stay out of that kind of stuff; I don't talk about anybody or anyone. I don't like confrontation at all. I really don't like making a scene. Like at the MGM U.S. Open, they wanted me to come down [wearing] the crown. You know, that's really not me. You think of the king - Q A races, and I was one of the fastest ones out there - just that one week of testing I I should have done it before Glen Helen; it would have made my life a heck of a lot easier, but that was a bad mistake on my part. When I look back now, the outdoor season was really, really hard for me. Here's a look at the season that earned Ricky Carmichael the 2001 Cycle News Rider of the Year award: • • • • • • • 12 Won his first 250cc Supercross Championship Won 14 out of 16 Supercross races (tying Jeremy McGrath for single-season wins) Won 13 consecutive Supercross races (tying Jeremy McGrath's record) Finished no worse than third in a Supercross Series round Won second consecutive 250cc National MX Championship Won seven 250cc National Motocross races Won one 125cc National Motocross race (breaking Mark Barnett's all-time 125cc win record of 25) Won 13 250cc National Motocross motos Won one 125cc National Motocross mota Recorded podium finishes in 10 out of 12 National Motocross rounds Set record for career National Motocross wins with 42 (Bob Hannah is second with 37) Won THO U.S. Open (first rider ever to repeat as U.S. Open champ) Chosen to represent the U.S. on the MX des Nations team (team ultimately did not compete) First rider to win an outdoor National title and a Supercross title in the same year since Jeff Emig did so in 1997 n JANUARY 2.2002' cue I • __ That's what he's always been. Clear Channel wanted me to do it, and it got everybody in an uproar. I don't like to be somebody that I'm not, and when I did that, that was somebody that I'm not. I'm not really into that. I just want to go out there and race be good to the people and try to have a good time and not cause a scene. Living back east is pretty low-key, and you don't get caught up in the hoopla, really. He was considered a shoe-in for the National MX title this year. but Ironically Cannichael had more troubles outdoors this season than in. Was that all of it, or did the competition step it up a bit this year? Definitely. Me not putting the time into making my bike really, really good, I think made everyone a little closer to me because they sensed that they could beat me and that they could run with me. It made it harder on me. I was putting more time in at home and working harder, and I'm just li()'.;;=:=t: thinking to myself, "What's going on here? Something is not going right." I don't like to complain much, but something just wasn't right; it's never been that hard, and if it was, and if those guys were just getting that much better and that much more competitive, well, then that was something that I was [going to deal with]. For a second there, I was, and after Washougal I went out to California and practiced. I said, "Alright, if I go to Millville" - one of my favorite tracks, it's just like my house - "if I go there and anyone got W@@[l @(] li[}i]@ !X1il@@[l @(] li[}i]@ W@@[l • • • • • • • the king of supercross - and you think of Jeremy. OS After his incredible 2001 season, you may wonder what records or accomplishments Carmichael has yet to achieve. We've come up with a few: • Most career National Motocross and Supercross wins (Carmichael has 55 combined wins; McGrath has 87) • Most career 250cc Supercross wins (Carmichael has 14; McGrath has 70) • Most career 250cc National MX wins (Carmichael has 16; Bob Hannah has 27) • Most combined National MX and SX Championships (Carmichael has six; McGrath has eight [at Carmichael's age of 21 at the clinching of his most recent championship, McGrath had just clinched his first title: the 1993 250cc Supercross Championship.]) • Most Supercross Championships (Carmichael has 1; McGrath has 7) • Most 250cc National MX Championships (Carmichael has 2; Gary Jones, Tony DiSte fano, Rick Johnson and Jeff Stanton each have 3) • Most consecutive Supercross titles (Carmichael has 1; McGrath has had 4) • Most consecutive 250cc National MX titles (Carmichael has 2; Jones and DiStefano have each had 3) • Most 125cc National MX titles (Carmichael and Mark Barnett each have 3) • Has a chance of becoming the first rider to win a 250cc National title on a two-stroke and a four·stroke • Has a chance of becoming the first rider since Jeff Stanton to win a 250cc National MX title and Supercross title in the same year twice in a row