THQ U.S. Open
(Above) The pre-race light show at the
U.S. Open was something to behold.
(Left) Mike LaRocco made a lot of
betting fans happy by ending Ricky
Cannlchael's win streak at the THQ
U.S. Open. His son Ryder was thrilled,
too. laRocco is now $100,000 richer.
By STEVE Cox
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
LAS VEGAS, NV, OCT. 11-12
TU1 onda's Ricky Carmichael made a
ill..llargely unpopular Honda debut at
the 2001 U.S. Open after five years
and six National Championships on
Kawasakis, and he didn't seem much
more popular this year than last.
Although the Boo Birds weren't out in
nearly as much force as they were
last year, very few people were
actively cheering the champ on. The
first reason probably stems from the
fact that you can bet on the riders at
the U.S. Open, and it wasn't a worth·
while bet to put money on
Carmichael's highly favored 12/10
odds . so a lot of people were putting
their mouths where their money was.
There may have been a bit of resent·
ment stemming from the fact that he
refused to ride the World Cup of
Motocross (the MXdN replacement
event) as well.
The spectators got what they
wanted, at least on Friday night, as
an uncharacteristic early-moto fall by
Carmichael while leading the race left
him with a fifth-place finish - all but
taking him out of the race for the
overall win, which could have been
his record-stretching third straight at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
18
OCTOBER 23,
2002'
ICl
U
ICl
I
e
n
e
_!IS
At the start of Friday night's main
event, Amsoil Honda's Mike LaRocco
appeared to have the holeshot, but
Carmichael squeaked out with the
lead and attempted to run and hide.
Chasing him were LaRocco, Honda's
Ernesto Fonseca and new Yamaha
teamster Chad Reed.
Before the conclusion of the first
lap, Reed made an aggressive move
on Fonseca for third, and both went
down.
"Well, I mean it's racing and stuff,
but it was kind of a tough place to
pass," Fonseca said. "But I guess it
just happened, and what can I say?
We're both trying to race for the win,
and I just didn't really have the luck."
"I got a little bit overexcited there, I
think," Reed said. "I thought I had the
room. I had a bit of room, but you
know, it's a tight racetrack, and it's a
lot of money, and Ernie just held his
own and it left me nowhere to go."
Conventional wisdom told everyone in the audience that the main
