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/128153
have caught up to Ernie and Tortelli at least. It was a good ride. I only have one week to do it [win a race]. Vegas is usually good to me." The top 10 were rounded out by Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ezra Lusk, Team Honda's Nathan Ramsey, Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada, Blackfoot Honda's JeanSebastien Roy and Mota XXX/DGY's Nick Wey. MAIN Honda riders have been raving of late about how fast their bikes are, and Red Riding cohorts Carmichael and Fonseca proved it on the start, streaking ahead of the pack down the start straight. The holeshot went to Carmichael (despite the fact that he hadn't used his fork hook), and he and the Costa Rican took the long, lBO-degree first tum wide. VuiUemin, on the other hand, used the far inside line and it worked as he moved by the two Hondas, emerging onto the next straight with the lead in-hand. If he could keep it for 20 more laps, Vuillemin would at least forestall Carmichael's title celebration until the final round. It was not to be. The Frenchman led for two laps, but Carmichael was all over him. When Vuillemin bobbled in the rutted rhythm section, Carmichael capitalized by passing for the lead. "I got stuck in a rut," Vuillemin said. "There was a deep rut, and I went in there and jumped sideways." McGrath had started decently and was fourth after one lap, and about the time that Carmichael moved to the front, the Californian passed Fonseca for third. Tortelli followed him by the Costa Rican to secure fourth, then set about pressuring McGrath. The top two already had a bit of a gap on McGrath, but he successfully fought off the advances of Tortelli, pulling ahead a bit. It appeared that the top three were set. Just before the midway point, however, an accident occurred that had the potential of altering things a bit. Going over the finish-line jump, Blackfoot Honda's Heath Voss and Mota XXX/DGY rider Kyle Lewis came together. Voss went down hard, while Lewis shot off the track'and into a deep mud bog where soaked dirt had been pushed off the track. Voss lay unconscious in the middle of the track, while Lewis tried unsuccessfully to extract his CRF450R, which would ultimately remain stuck for the remainder of the main event. "Heath went outside-inside, and crossed over a little bit too close," said Blackfoot tuner Cameron Baird. "He landed in between his rear fender and his seat. Lewis went one way, and Heath was pretty much bodyslammed and bounced like three times." "( have no idea what Voss did," Lewis said. "I landed and was setting up, and he ran straight into me. It's ®GDffJD50J5fil@ @@~ (]@f? [lj]@fJfll~@J_[jfJ _ _ fd@@@@ Canadian Blair Morgan (pictured) came oh, so close to qualifying for his first supercross since winning the White Brothers Four-Stroke race at last October's U.S. Open, but in the end, he had to settle for the Racer X Gas Card. That may help him next week. The Blackfoot Honda rider, who races snowmobiles for his day job, put in a lot of laps on the Salt Lake track, and although he showed some respectable skills, he ultimately appeared to run out of gas before he could transfer. In the first heat race (Morgan's), Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin took off on a flyer, grabbing the holeshot and leading all eight laps. The Frenchman avoided a first-tum crash that saw teammate Timmy Ferry get his head stuck under his bike (good Samaritan Scott Davis lifted it off before rejoining the race). Team Honda's Emesto Fonseca passed teammate Nathan Ramsey to secure second, and Bud Ught Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath displaced yet another Team Honda rider (Sebastien TorteUi) to take fourth place (the heat's final direct transfer) after a horrendous start. Morgan was 10th. In heat two, the other Team Honda rider - Ricky Carmichael· turned in a win even more impressive than that of VuiJlemin. The champ holeshot and posted a winning time nearly 11 seconds faster. The runner-up was Ezra Lusk, well ahead of Chevy Trucks Kawasaki teammate Stephane Roncada and Blackfoot Honda's Jean-Sebastien Roy. Tortelli walked away with the semi-two win, with LCRRacing.com rider Ryan Clark posting an impressive ride to second. MotoworldRacing.com Suzuki's Damon Huffman gave Clark a run at the end, but settled for third over Richmond Kawasaki-mounted Canadian Darcy Lange and Ferry. Morgan was sixth behind MotoworldRacing.com Suzuki's Ben Riddle - two spots shy of a transfer. The second semi was dominated by Team Moto XXX/DGY, as teammates Nick Wey and Kyle Lewis took the top two positions, with Tyler Evans bringing his Fast By Ferracci Husqvama to the line third. Blackfoot Honda's Heath Voss and Nielsen Enterprises' James Povolny Jr. also transferred through the semi. In every 250cc qualifier until that point, the winner had grabbed the holeshot and led every lap, so when Morgan exited tum one of the last-chance qualifier at the head of the pack, it appeared that he would finally make it through. In fact, the Canadian stayed at the point through four of the six laps, but after a couple of slams by Riddle, he appeared to lose steam on the penultimate go-around. Riddle moved by for the lead, and on the last lap, LCRRacing.com rider Keith R. Johnson moved by through the whoops for the night's final qualifying position. Morgan collected the gas card, and with its help, expect him to make the final in Vegas. cue I _ n _ _ s ' MAY 8, 2002 9