Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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AMA EA Sports Supercross Series Round 15: Rice-Eccles S By CHRIS JONNUM PHOTOS BY. STEVE BRUHN SALT LAKE CITY, (IT, APR. 27 hen it rains, it pours, and although the torrent of precipitation that hit Salt Lake on Saturday morning cleared up in time for relatively normal racing conditions (with the help of track-builder Dirt Wurx), a veritable deluge of championships ended Honda's six-year title-less streak in supercross and motocross. Ricky Carmichael and Travis Preston both celebrated new crowns in Utah, but the quarter-liter trophy was, of course, the more significant of the two. It came one round early, and with that - and 10 wins in hand Carmichael can now go to the Las Vegas finale enjoying a brief respite from pressure before the outdoor series kicks off in two weeks. "The bike was great," Carmichael said. "When I crashed at Anaheim, everyone probably thought, 'Oh, the Honda's not so good.' Those guys have been in a drought for a long 8 MAY 8. 2002' cue • e iurn time. and they put forth the effort to try and win·again, for sure. I'm happy I could be the guy to put them up top." The Honda personnel - haunted since letting Jeremy McGrath slip away after his 1996 title on a red bike - were obviously ecstatic with the turn of events in Utah, including relative newcomer Erik Kehoe, the team's manager: "I really believe that [Honda Racing Director] Chuck Miller had a vision, and this is the result of his vision," Kehoe said. "He wanted to make the changes to make this happen, and all of the pieces are in place. Everybody's putting out the effort. Cliff White is doing an awesome job with bike setup and technical development, so it's just all of the pieces coming together. Everybody on the team is yelling right now, and everyone's working together. It's just a real positive attitude." The title - Carmichael's second straight - appropriately came about via a near-flawless performance that saw him win his heat race 11 seconds n e _ s more quickly than series-rival David Vuillemin won his, then pull the PowerAde holeshot in the main even and lead aU but two laps to win over the Team Yamaha rider. Vuillemin rode well himself, but the Frenchman just couldn't quite hang with Carmichael (tonight, or for the bulk of the season), a fact he acknowledged after the race. "I think even without my injury, Ricky would have won," said Vuillemin, referring to the injured shoulder that caused him to miss the Daytona round. "He won a lot, and he was the best guy this year. I just have to come back faster next year." Taking the final podium slot was another Frenchie, as Sebastien TorteIIi rode about the most skillfully he has all season. The Team Honda rider also rode intelligently, starting decently and moving past a couple of riders who made mistakes before he ultimately arrived on the podium. "I was trying to ride aggressive in the corners," Tortelli said. "That's basically where you can gain time." For the tint time since 1998 Iwhen Jeremy McGrath won the Supercross Championship and Steve Lamson won the 125cc NatIonal MX Championship), Team Honda got the opportunity to celebrate a maJor SXIMX crown. Here, personnel from the Honda team enjoy the moment with Ricky Carmichael. Yet another Team Honda rider Ernesto Fonseca - followed Tortelli across in fourth, and Jeremy McGrath completed the top five. The Bud Ught Yamaha rider actually merited a podium spot, and it appeared that he would get one. But after he and arenacross racer Darcy Lange collided just past the midway point, McGrath went down and lost a couple of spots. With a relatively short track, there was little he could do to rectify the situation. "I felt strong all the way to the end," McGrath said. "I felt like I was fast. I definitely caught up a long ways from when I crashed. Nathan [Ramsey] and Ezra [Lusk] were right behind me, and I pulled away from them. I wish I could