Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series Presented by Speedstick Round 3; Edison Internatronal Field 250cc Qualifying @@!i3@ Dfl As usual, there were two heat races at Anaheim II, but there's really only one that's worth talking much about. The first quarter-liter race of the evening was filled with talent, boasting riders such as Team Yamaha's Timmy Ferry; Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada; Team Honda's Ricky Carmichael and Nathan Ramsey; Team Suzuki's Kevin Windham and Travis Pastrana; Dr. Martens/Amsoil Honda's Mike LaRocco; and Boost Mobile/Yamaha!Troy's Chad Reed. About the only riders missing were Bud Light Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath, Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin and Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ezra Lusk. It turned out to be an ali SoSe Suzuki show, with Windham grabbing the holeshot and then riding side-by-side with Pastrana for much of the race. The two went at it lap after lap, drag-racing through the whoops and formation-flying over the triples, with Pastrana eventually getting the edge and pulling a nac-nac across the finish, then high-fiving his teammate. "Man, that was the most fun ever on a supercross track," Pastrana enthused afterward. "K-Dub was awesome out there. It was just like practice," Reed and Ramsey also qualified directly, leaving such aces as laRocco, Carmichael, Roncada and Ferry to compete in the semi. The other heat was relatively hum-drum, with Vuillemin quickly passing Amsoil/Dr. Martens Honda's Michael Byrne and cruising to a win over Lusk. McGrath got by Byrne for third. "The track is very slippery, so it's hard to pass," VuHlemin said. "The start is going to be very important in the main," Roncada took the semi-one holeshot and never looked back, while Carmichael nipped LaRocco in the frnal tum for second. Ferry was fourth ahead of Escondido Cycle Center's Mike Craig. Semi two saw Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Mike Brown secure the lead early and win comfortably over Fast by Ferracci Husqvarna's Travis Preston. MotoworldRacing.com Suzuki's Damon Huffman, Moto XXX/DGY's Nick Weyand Blackfoot Racing's Jean-Sebastien Roy also qualifred through the semi. The LCQ saw Blackfoot's Heath Voss and Moto XXX's Kyle Lewis go one-two to take the last two transfer spots. appeared that they were set; LaRocco and Vuillemin would both keep their podium streaks alive, and Ramsey would get the CRF450R its first podium finish in a supercross. Pastrana, however, was intent on making up for his mistake, and he charged up to Ramsey and made a questionable move on the final lap. '" shifted to fourth, closed my eyes and pinned it," Pastrana said. "I was thinking I was going to be well ahead of Nathan at the end [of the straight], but he had a good run down the whoops. , was so far back, he didn't know I was there, so instead of looking and cutting back underneath, he was railing, and' was in fourth gear, with no possible hope of stopping. He never knew I was there, and I never had a prayer of stopping." "I was just riding," Ramsey said. "I thought I had pretty good distance between me and Travis, and I guess he just came through the whoops feet off the pegs and out of control. He kind of pointed at me, so I tried to slow down, and when he hit, I fell. I'm okay; it just made me mad." LaRocco, however, was on top of things; "I was a little nervous in the last lap, but I felt pretty good," he Jeremy McGrath posted his best finish of the season thus tar, but unfortunately, It was only ninth place. On the positive side, the _time champ has identified his problem as arm-pumpcausing Compartment~, and he's -"ing to have It eliminated so he can get back up to speed. The frrst round was an eyebrow-raiser. The second round was a head-scratcher. But we're now three rounds into the 2002 season, and the only two riders to have won a supercross round in 2001 have yet to frnish on the podium. What, pray tell, is going on? Though bizarre, the situation can now be explained. In the case of defending champ Ricky Carmichael, it's fairly straightforward, and it's mostly caused by the The Team Honda rider's hard round-one crash, which resulted in a DNF and a concussion. Carmichael placed fourth at the following round, and at the annual Oakley basketball game during the week between San Diego and Anaheim Ii, he said, "With your head, you're kind of vulnerable for two weeks. I rode hard at San Diego, but I didn't want to take any chances. Anaheim II will be two weeks [since the injury], so everything should be good then." At Anaheim II, Carmichael flOished fourth, but he attributed this less to any ailment than he did to poor reflexes out of the gate. "I feel fine, it's just that my starts are terrible," Carmichael said. "Everyone's riding really good, and obviously now the start's everything. My lap times are good, but when you get a 15th-place start, that's not going to cut it anymore. People have stepped it up from last year, but my lap times are as good if not better than a lot of people's. I just need to get a better start. I need to start putting a thorn in these guys' sides. The top guys are running good, and my hat's off to them, but I've got to get on it, bad." Now that the two weeks are up, Carmichael can spend more time on the bike, and for now, he'll be doing that in California. '" just need to start winning races," Carmichael said. "I still haven't got to ride like I normally ride. I'm going to stay out here this week and try to get something going. I have what it takes to win. 1believe if I get a start, I can win. The two weeks are up, and' can ride all the time. I'm going to try and get back on my deal and start it at Phoenix. That's where' had my first podium [in 2000), so it gives me a little bit of confidence," McGrath's case had been a little more mysterious, but the Bud Light Yamaha rider, who has frnished 13th, 10th and ninth thus far, now believes he has identified the culprit. "At least I found a problem this week," McGrath said in the Anaheim II pits after the race. "I've got Compartment Syndrome [a condition in which the muscle is restricted by the surrounding fascia, resulting in arm pump). I just got it. I think it's gradually been coming on. I've been feeling arm pump for like a month before the season, but I thought I could ride through it. Then' got diagnosed this week. It's like my muscles are just locked up, so anything 1do, I get arm pump." Now that he has identified something to work on, McGrath has been undergoing Rolfing - deep-tissue massage - in order to relax his muscles. "The guy just wrenched me, and I've got to go back for more," McGrath said. "I just need to bring the level back down because anything I do now, it just goes over the level. I get it during practice and everything, so I'm not going to ride this week. I've got to get the level down. I had work done Thursday; I've been trying to figure it out all week. It's not a mental thing. A lot of people have been saying, 'Oh yeah, you're mental.' But something's physically wrong with me. I can't even ride. Something's physically wrong." When asked if he would consider haVing surgery performed on his arms, as have several other riders (inclUding Bud Ught Yamaha manager Larry Brooks), McGrath replied, "No, I ain't doing that. I won't ever do that."

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