Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~@@@@ @[Jj]@D5fJ;J5fJD® @[JD@ U@ !i1@!JiJD@[Jj]i]@@[l Team Honda's Nathan Ramsey cleaned up in the first 250cc heat as he snared a massive holeshot on his CRF450R. "Halfway down the start, I was like, 'Where's everybody at?" Ramsey said. Sebastien Tortelli, Ezra Lusk and Emesto Fonseca followed, while David Vuillemin started back in seventh. As Ramsey pulled away, Tortelli, Lusk and Fonseca battled. Fonseca soon moved into second and settled in, and Lusk and Tortelli diced, as Vuillemin snuck up and then caught and passed both of them for third. The battle was now for the final transfer, and Tortelli put a strong block-pass on Lusk on the final lap that put Lusk into the bales and back to fifth and the semis. Heat two was a memorable one. Jeremy McGrath pulled a huge holeshot over Tim Ferry, Ricky Carmichael, Blackfoot Honda's Heath Voss and Stephane Roncada. Carmichael moved into second on the fourth lap but had some ground to make up. Ferry held third for the race, and Voss dueled with Roncada for the final spot. Carmichael closed in on McGrath on the final lap, which brought the partisan MC crowd to its feet. Carmichael made several incredible moves, but McGrath held on to beat Carmichael by inches - the crowd loving every second of it. McGrath said, "I've got to work on a few spots, and if I have a ride like that in the main, it's on'" Roncada got by Voss for the final transfer, sending Voss to the semi. Their heat was eight seconds faster than heat one. Lusk led the entire first semi, while Blackfoot Honda's Jean-Sebastien Roy settled into second and ended up finishing there. LCR/Fly teammates Keith Johnson and Ryan Clark battled it out, with Clark getting the upper-hand and third place. Johnson held off Moto XXX/DGY's Nick Wey, who block-passed MotoworldRacing.com's Damon Huffman in the final comer to take fifth. Yamaha-mounted 3-D/So Cal's Jason Thomas held off a fierce charge by Moto XXX/DGY's Kyle Lewis in semi two. WSA Snowcross/FR2's James Povolny rode in third, and Voss and RRP's Kevin Crine battled for the final transfer. Pro Caliber's Isaiah Johnson crashed hard and out of contention while running third on the third lap. Nicholson's Jimmy Wilson took the holeshot in the LCQ, but Huffman gave him a challenge before passing for the win. Wilson held off Husqvama's Tyler Evans for the final spot of the night. Evans collected the $250 Racer X Gas Card for his efforts. MAIN was eighth behind Honda's Sebastien Tortelli. Carmichael just edged out Fonse- Several laps in, McGrath put some ca for the $1500 Powerade Holeshot award and said, "I rocketed out of the heavy pressure on Fonseca. The gate. It's nice to get that holeshot and 250cc rookie did well under the heat be up front early." Fonseca, McGrath and Roncada were quite close to getting the holeshot as well. Vuillemin was way of the seven-time champ, but on lap seven, McGrath made a move that put himself into second. Carmichael was now about four seconds ahead of McGrath, and back, and at the end of lap one he I feel that I can race with him. He's now 20 points ahead of me, and there's only four races left, so I think I need a lot of luck. I'm going to give it a shot, and maybe I'll get lucky." Filling out the podium in third was Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca. The two-time 125cc Regional Supercross Champion now has what it takes to be a front-runner in the premier class, as he started in second and only lost one position throughout the race. The Costa Rican battled with McGrath for several laps early and then with Vuillemin in the later stages. "I had a good start and had a good race, too: Fonseca said. "I know that I'm not the fastest guy out there, but I'm not the slowest, either. I'm glad to run with those guys. Hopefully, I'll get some more podiums.' Bud Light Yamaha's McGrath was fourth. The Californian held second for some time before dropping a few positions. An intense heat-race battle with Carmichael had McGrath's head in the right spot, but maybe his body was not. "I think that week-off break really helped: McGrath said at the end of the night. "The heat race was awesome - I felt really good. I think I kind of had the holeshot in the main too, but Ernesto came over a little and Though his strong comeback rides are impressive, David Vulllemin is going to need better starts to present a serious challenge to Carmichael In the last part of the season. He's currently 20 points behind the champ. Vuillemln was second In St. Louis. blocked my line. I ran in third for a while and then passed him and was in second. On lap 13, I just tensed up. It was weird because it only lasted a lap. Then at the end, I caught back up to him." Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada finished a quiet fifth, with Team Honda's Nathan Ramsey following in sixth. Ramsey's heat-one victory opened some eyes, but his performance was not repeated in the final. Team Yamaha's Timmy Ferry was seventh, and Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ezra Lusk suffered through a rough day (see Briefly ... ) to finish eighth. Rounding out the top 10 were Moto XXX/DGY teammates Nick Wey and Kyle Lewis. Vuillemin needs to win the next few races to close in on Carmichael for the championship. Lusk still holds third but needs to fend off a charging McGrath and Roncada in the final races. Bud LightlYamaha's Jeremy McGrath (pictured) bad a busy few days prior to the 51. Louis Supercross. MC attended Anheuser·Busch's (the manufacturer of Bud Light) brewery in town and met with many of the company's executives. "We got to see the Clydesdales and all these huge tanks where they mix up the beer. It was awesome: McGrath said. "It's a huge place: On Thursday night, McGrath attended the St. Louis Cardinals baseball home opener and threw out the honorary first pitch. "I was a lot more nervous throwing out that first pitch than I've ever been on the starting gate: McGrath said. Many of the employees and higher-ups were in attendance at the race, and McGrath put in a strong and very popular heat-race win, finishing just inches ahead of Ricky Carmichael. "That was a fun race: McGrath said. "I had good a great start and pulled away, but then Ricky closed in at the end. I'm glad I was able to hold him off to the finish. We were all pumped.' McGrath didn't fare as well in the main, but he did run toward the front and eventually finished fourth. "I got real tight around lap 13: McGrath said. "It was a good weekend, though. It was a good experience for me and I'm sure for a lot of the people that are new to the sport.' On a side note, Bud Light signs were seen on the track for the first time this year. It was rumored that it was not just a one-race deal and McGrath confirmed that fact. "They signed on for the rest of the year and will have signage at the rest of the supercrosses this year: After the supercross series is over, McGrath is thinking about racing a few Nationals. "I would love to race some of the Nationals, but it's a double-edged sword for me: McGrath said. "If I go out and just want to have fun and race it would be cool, but when I don't do good, I just get chopped by the magazines. I might as well stay home and ride there. I know that I won't be at Glen Helen, because I have a wedding to go to that weekend, but we'll see after that.' cue' e n e _ os • APRIL 17, 2002 35

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