Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

THQ World Supercross GP SeriesiAMA Supercross Series Round 3/1 : Edison International Field fXJ@w llDD@W @@f1 llDD@[l@ Qualifying Chad Reed had to work a little bit for hjs heat-race win, passing teammate David Vuillemin with just over two laps to go and then fighting him off fOI1 another lap before pulling away for the win. "I feel great," said the Aussie. "Last year I came here, and I was just a little kid that was dreaming to be here, and now I'm here, and I'm so happy to be here... David's riding great. I think he was just saving some energy." Tim Ferry completed the Team Yamaha 1-2-3, while Mike laRocco got the last direct transfer in fourth. Heat two was the heat of controversy. Ricky Carmichael led pretty much from the getgo, but Travis Pastrana was keeping his pace and gaining quickly through the whoops. Just after halfway, Pastrana made his move to the inside of Carmichaei for the lead. Then Pastrana made a mistake that allowed Carmichael back to his inside two turns later. They collided (see "A Knife's Edge"), and Pastrana crashed. He eventually pulled out to race the semi. Carmichael continued on to win over Pastrana's teammates Sebastien Tortelli and Stephane Roncada, while Ivan Tedesco took the last transfer spot. Emesto Fonseca made good in his semi, winning over Mike Brown, Michael Byrne, Kiwi Daryl Hurley and Moto XXX's Larry Ward, while Heath Voss and company went to the LCQ. Pastrana dominated his semi, winning over Grant Langston, Ryan Cl.ark, Keith R. Johnson and Steve Boniface, while new factory rider Paul Carpenter was sent packing to the LCQ, along with Damon Huffman, Nick Wey, Ezra Lusk and many more. The talent-laden LCQ was basically all Lusk, and the last lap saw Mach 1 Yamaha teammates Voss and Wey going at it for the last transfer, which Voss got, though not for lack of effort on Wey's part. "I didn't realize he IWey! was that close to me on the last lap," Voss said. "And I didn't even realize it was him - I thought maybe it was Rodrigues that came up and hit me, but going undemeath the tunnel we were side by side, and he just didn't let off. He drilled me so hard it stood me straight up, and he kind of slid out, and I cut underneath him. Then I went to the inside for the finish line, and he just blew the turn out. I ended up getting the better end of the deal, but it's too bad it had to be that way. I would've liked to see both the Mach 1 riders in the main." it, and it dropped down to second on Michael Byrne crashed into LaRocco's the takeoff, and I cased it. I landed, bike, as did Boost Mobile/Yamaha/ and I got off, and apparently there Troy Racing's Ivan Tedesco. Byrne's wasn't very good flagging because I bike was too beaten to continue, and just got nailed by Pastrana - he Pastrana dropped out a few laps later jumped off, and I was laying in the - for the second year in a row at the track, and he nailed me. That, and a series opener - with a reported groin couple other guys landed on my bike, injury. Sebastien Tortelli made it by it was pretty big carnage. I'll have unscathed, though, having just passed some serious bruises, but I'll be all Pastrana before the incident, and he right. " sat second. With the closest riders to Reed all 50 Pastrana was also shaken up in the incident. LaRocco's teammate taking soil samples, he had smooth sailing out front. Never seeming to put a wheel wrong, he won by more than Bubba duke it out. It was hard for me to really watch him in the main event 24 seconds. But it's Carmichael's charge that had the audience capti- because 1 was laying on haybales and vated. Carmichael was picking off riders one, and sometimes two, at a time. He was seventh by lap 10 behind SoBe Suzuki's Stephane Roncada, then sixth the next time around, then fourth on lap 12. It was a riding clinic. He passed Roncada's teammate Tortelli for third on lap 14, and then plan. I'm pumped for him to win, and I'm looking forward to next weekend too. It's a long week. That's the one bad thing about not winning for me, is it's always a long week. "[If it weren't for the crashes], I he chased down erstwhile runner-up Tim Ferry, who had dispatched probably never would've gotten second," Carmichael continues. "1 know I wouldn't have caught LaRocco for Tortelli in the meantime. Two laps later, Carmichael caught the Yamaha sure, because I know he'll go 20 laps. I'm almost positive I would've never rider and passed him a lap after that. But It was far too little, far too late to catch the blitzing Aussie for the caught him. But I definitely thought I could get up on the podium. But I knew I had a lot of work cut out for defending champ. "[Reed's] a good rider," Carmichael me. After Pontiac, I have a lot of confidence that I can come from behind, said. "He got a good start and stayed out of the chaos. I look forward to racing him. He's a great rider; I watched and it's good for me to come from behind. It boosts my confidence up and makes me feel that I have the him all last year. I watched him and speed." my Own Race: 250cc 11 § Tim Ferry ~® Heath Voss Team Yamaha's thumper pilot came through from a terrible start to third after avoiding the pileups. "Some of those guys crashed, and I hate to see that happen, but it definitely helped me out," he said. "I came from a horrible start· just my mistake because I dumped the clutch at the gate - but it's good to get my Yamaha up here, and this is a good way to start off the season," This new Mach 1 Yamaha rider had the last pick on the gate after qualifying via the lastchance qualifier, but he made It work for a ninth-place showing. "I was ninth right behind Clark and Lusk on the last lap, and 1 kind of made my move too early, so I kind of screwed up in the main event. But it all worked out." 111111 Grant Langston Red Bull KTM's Langston has been impressive so far this year, and he showed speed in the main, getting as high as seventh, but to no avail. "I actually got a terrible start, like 15th or something, and then there was a bit of a pileup in a couple places and I made some passes, and everything seemed to be going good, and then the one lap through the whoops I just felt like - I think I skipped a whoop and the rear wheel dropped in, and it hit one and bounced and threw me up in the air. The bike landed on top of me, and I hurt my shoulder and my left arm, and I twisted my bike, so there was no way I could continue." He said he'd be back for Phoenix. @ Carmichael pleads his case after his heat-race collision with Pastrana. He fell twice and went off the track once in the main but still recovered for second. stupid things like that, but I would definitely love to get up there and race with him next weekend. That's my Mike LaRocco LaRocco was fast, as always, but his crash effectively ended his night· although he did finish, and he was riding qUite qUickly even after the crash; just a lap behind the leader. "It's like, 'Why do you keep landing on me?'" he joked, referring to Pastrana. "And 1know this one wasn't his fault, but I was in the wrong place. It's kind of a crappy way to start a season." ~~ Ernesto Fonseca @@ Michael Byrne Team Honda's resident Costa Rican had a relatively quiet night on his way to sixth overall. "It was kind of a tough night for me," he said. "The whole night, I was just pretty tight, and I didn't really feel like I was going very good, but that's racing." LaRocco's teammate Byrne is spending his weeks on the West Coast racmg 250s before moving down to the 125cc class back east. "I think I was in fifth, and I was right behind Travis, and we were kind of battling a little bit, and we were trying to catch up to I think it was Sebastien or Mike [LaRocco], or whoever was in front of us, and I think Mike had gone down and there was no fiagmen out, and we both came around, and Mike was just standing there in the middle of the track. We were both committed to doing the obstacle, and he was right there. We just all piled up on each other, and my bike got pretty jacked up, and I couldn't finish, so I'll just wait Ior next week." 10 JANUARY 15, 2003' cue I e n e _ s

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