Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~I THQ World Supercross GP Series/AMA Supercross Series Round 5/3: Edison International Field (Above) Ricky Cannichael celebrated with one of his signature whips after winning his first race of the year. It may be unfair to say he's back, but rather, he's stili here. (Left) Signature LaRocco: Mike laRocco charged from outside the top five to second at the finish. By STEVE COX PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN ANAHEIM, CA, JAN. 18 Cfrl wo races into the 2003 AMA LJ Supercross Series, many had written Ricky Carmichael off. The Floridian had a career year in 2002, which is saying something for him, and he came into 2003 with a lot of confidence - and after crashing twice at Anaheim I and crashing again at Phoenix, he still started the year with results that many factory riders could only hope for - a second and a fourth - and he was tied for second in AMA points. That was far below par for Carmichael's extremely high standard, so after Phoenix, Carmichael came out to California and put together a new bike that was set up exactly like his dominant '02 machine. "I went back to my lastyear's bike, and I just figured that I'd have no excuses," he said. "If that's the bike I won on last year, obviously it's good enough, so I could blame it on nothing." That was bad news for the competition at round three. "As soon as I got back on my '02, I was a half a second faster right off the bat," Carmichael said. "So that was it, really. My biggest problem was that I couldn't get comfortable, so I went back to that and made an adjustment on my seat", and I feel right where I was last year." 8 JANUARY 29,2003' eye But it wasn't his exact '02 machine. "[It was] last year's·settings. I would have liked to have ridden last year's bike, but it's got some time on it and some cobwebs [laughs]. My bike was excellent tonight, and I'm really looking forward to getting on some traction." After the gate dropped for the start of the main event, Carmichael's newest rival Chad Reed got bunched up in the middle of the pack, getting his numberplate knocked loose, while Tortelli got the holeshot, followed closely by Carmichael, Mike Brown, Ezra Lusk, Mike LaRocco and David VujlJemin. "It's always very important to get a holeshot, and the SoBe Suzuki got me out there first," Tortelli said. "You cannot get a good race if you don't get a good start. That was my biggest concern, especially with the first corner being so tricky. It's easy to crash and get bumped. I was concerned about the start, but after that I just took some deep breaths and went for it." Carmichael made quick work of To rtell i for the lead, but the FrenchI e n e vv s

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