Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

THQ World Supercross GP Series/AMA Supercross Series Round B/S: Qualcomm Stadium been doing it for 100 years it seems like, so really my education's in motorcycle racing, but this is a job that I don't know. I know the management part from working with one or two riders in a small team, but this size of team and this many employees and this many riders, it's definitely a new world for me." BRIEFLY••• The San Diego Supercross attendance this year was 67,102. That adds up to a grand total of 241,967 people who attended supercross this year in the Golden State alone. With Grant langston and Joaquim Rodrigues stepping down to the 125cc class next week in Minneapolis, Red Bull KTM will be without 250cc riders for the foreseeable future. "We're just definitely going to do some testing on the 250 - try to get it massaged a little bit better," Brooks said. "I think the motorcycle's pretty good right now, but it can always be better, So right now we're going to take a step back and start trying to make it better if we can and start testing a lot more. We've already addressed [the problem of too much powerl. We had too much power, that was a problem getting the guys in a little bit of trouble and things like that. and we've kind of done some things to make the bike more manageable, more rideable, things like that. I think the next step is to work with the other parts of the motorcycle and try to make it a more rider-friendly bike - and that's not the reason why we're not racing it right now, it's just that Grant feels confident that he can with the 125cc championship, and we're behind him 100 percent. And absolutely he's going to ride 250 outdoors. So we have a lot of work ahead of us, for sure. " Brandon Orr won the KTM Jr. Supercross Challenge, followed by Daren Salazar, who fell and charged back to second, and Cody Politte. Escondido Cycle Center/Red Bull's Davide Esposti won the $250 Asterisk Medic Card for finishing fifth in the 125cc LCQ, while Subway Honda's temporary rider Jason McCormick took the $750 Racer X Gas Card for finishing third in the 250cc LCQ. Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Michael Byme got his second $1500 SXGP.com 250cc Holeshot Award in as many weeks, while Tiger Lacey did the same with his second $1000 SXGP.com 125cc Holeshot Award in a row. The track on the floor of Qualcomm Stadium featured what was possibly one of the longest start straightaways ever. The gate was located undemeath the Jumbotron on one side of the football stadium, while the sweeping first tum was located about 120 yards away on the other end of the stadium. It was extremely fast. but the riders were usually spread out enough by the time they got to the first tum that there weren't many first-tum crashes. Red Bull KTM 125cc East rider Brett Metcalfe was spotted in the San Diego pits with a cast on his right hand. When asked if he'd be ready for the 125cc Eastern opener next weekend, he said, "We're going to wait. Tuesday I'm going to have an X-ray, and hopefully it's all right. [If it's all rightl I'll ride practice Friday and see how it goes. It's not going to be healed: it's still going to be cracked, but I'm still going to try and ride, See how it goes. I don't know though. It's going to suck." Yamaha's David Vuillemin went to France to get checked out by his doctor after his crash in the heat race at Anaheim III. .. last week, I crashed pretty hard with Ezra in the heat race and hit my head pretty hard," he said. "I just stayed in France 12 hours. I went to France to see my osteopath, and he checked me out. I went there because he knows me. He checked me out, and it's fine right now." Two years ago, Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Craig Decker came off of his 12th-place finish in the 250cc main at Anaheim I and headed for San Diego, only to break both of his wrists in practice, casing a huge jump that was later cut down. This year, riding for the same team again, Decker came up short on a triple during qualifying when some other riders caused him to brake before the jump, and he cased it and fell quite hard. He only suffered some bruised ribs but decided that, given his capacity as a test rider, it wouldn't be worth it for him to continue racing. Rick Johnson was decked out in a SoBe Suzuki shirt in San Diego, and we had a chance to ask him about his role with the team. "It gives me a chance to work with Roger DeCoster again that's one of the big motivators," Johnson said. "After working with Sebastien and his training and being around the pits and stuff, I felt that maybe I could be an asset to the team. So it was kind of a package deal through my riding school and the Point X Camp that I'm putting together through them and also the possibilities with the new Saddleback and my riding schools and working with the 125 guys, so... We haven't completely defined my role. I'm an assistant to Roger and lan, and to Ray, and I will also possibly help with some development with riders, media skills, and sort of help out wherever I can until we really define what my role is. I'll still do my schools, and they [Suzukil will be a major backer in that. and also the DVD series that I'm putting together. You'll be able to see me at a lot more races, so I'm back home." The podium backdrop looked completely new this week, with not only the THQ World Supercross GP logo in place at the top, but also the AMA Supercross Series logo right next to it. Yamaha's Timmy Ferry was back aboard his familiar four-stroke this week. "The main thing is, I didn't feel totally 100-percent comfortable on the 250, and I really don't have time to get used to it," he said. "I feel a lot better on my bike, so I just decided to race my bike. I'm familiar with it: this is my third year on it, so ... Obviously, it's not a bad bike, and both the 250 and the 450 are good bikes, but I'm just more comfortable now on the 450. " Johnson also updated us as to why Mickael Pichon didn't race at Qualcomm Stadium: "If he got injured in a supereross, it would jeopardize his GP contract. It was a smart move for Mickael not to run. He came over here to focus and get strong to go after Stefan Everts and do some testing. They're combining the 450s and the 250s to go for sort of a unified title, so both of those guys are taking it very seriously. " After Ferry's crash last week, he's feeling better. "I'm feeling pretty good," he said. "I'm probably not 100 percent yet. but once you start racing, you don't really notice anything. So racingwise, I feel like I was 100 percent - it wasn't holding me back tonight. " The seven-time National champ also said that Stephane Roncada would not be riding the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series. "He's going to stay from what I know," Johnson said. "It's not my decision or anything like that. but hell, Stephane's been the fastest guy a couple weeks in a row - he's got really quick lap times. You know, the Epstein-Barr is a pretty gnarly illness, and he's getting stronger and stronger, closer and closer to the end of the race, so he does everything great. " SoBe Suzuki's Stephane Roncada is beginning to feel like he's getting over the Epstein-Barr virus he's had all year. "It's coming along good; I'm really happy," he said. "The last few races, I've made lots of improvements. The sickness is coming along really good. Doctors tell me six more weeks and I should start feeling like I'm not sick anymore, and maybe a month and a half to two months I should be back to 100 percent. " SoBe Suzuki's Sebastien Tortelli will be out four to six months with a knee injury incurred at Anaheim III. "Fortunately, Sebastien is not suffering any physical pain," Roger DeCoster said in a team press release. "However, emotionally, he's very distressed, Not only is he unable to race, but he's also unable to be there to lead the team. The doctors say he could race, but that would risk further injury and additional complications with his knee. " SoBe Suzuki team manager Roger DeCoster said that there's a chance that Sean Hamblin and/or Danny Smith will race a 250cc in some Eastern rounds. ''I'm going to try them out on the 250 this week," DeCoster said. "Maybe I'll let them ride some 250 events then." AmsoillChaparral Honda's Mike LaRocco decided to sit out the San Diego round. "He has a severely bruised shoulder, but the problem is, he has some issues in certain directions," laRocco's team manager JC Waterhouse said. "So, it's like if he'd ride a certain type of track, he'd have no issues at all, and then at some types of tracks he does have an issue. So he just felt he'd better give it another week. He's expected to be on the track next week." But. according to James Stewart Jr.'s tuner Jeremy Albrecht. Stewart's officially not going to ride 250s this year. "He's only 17; we've got plenty of time," Albrecht said. "No rush, we haven't really tested much on 250s, so, at this point. we're not doing anything. I don't know about next year yet: we haven't even discussed that. We're going to do that probably soon - talk about next year - but nothing so far. " Red Bull KTM team manager Larry Brooks is enjoying his new job. "It's good. It's a lot of work," he said, "A lot of things to try and figure out and learn. I think it's a big learning curve right now for me. I've been putting in some long days· my wife's real happy about that. But I'm having a good time. It's an opportunity that I need to take and actually broaden my horizons. Motocross - I've 12 FEBRURY 19, 2003' cue • e n e Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Michael Byrne feels good about his chances in the 125cc Eastern Series that kicks off next weekend. "The 125cc East Coast - I'm ready, I think," he said, "We'll see what happens next weekend, you know? I've only been riding my _ s 250 on the weekends: I've been doing my riding on the 125 so I think I'm ready, and we'll find out next week." White Bros.lShift Honda's Paul Carpenter had his best showing of the year in San Diego, qualifying for the main via an impressive third-place finish in his heat race and then getting ninth in the main, but it was his last race aboard injured Nathan Ramsey's factory mount. "Ramsey's not coming back: it's just that I run the Western and Eastern Four-Stroke Nationals, and they start next week," he said. "This was just kind of a charity deal - they put me on a bike and gave me some help and wanted kind of to see what I could do. I've got to thank all the guys at Honda and all the guys that have been with me - Ron Wood, Alan Olson, etc. " For the first time this year, all of the MotoXXX riders made their mains. Clark Stiles, Damon Huffman and Larry Ward all made the 250cc main on their CRF450Rs, and Troy Adams qualified for the 125cc main aboard his YZ250F. Team Honda's Manager of Motorcycle Sports Chuck Miller fiatly denied that the absence of Ricky Carmichael tuner Chad Watts had to do with anything other than what the team described as physical issues surrounding numbness in his hands. Some supercross insiders were insisting that Watts had been replaced by Honda technician Mike Gosselaar at Carmichael's request due to friction between Watts and Carmichael over Watts' alcohol consumption. "That's absolutely wrong," Miller said, "Chad is not terminated. Chad is still 100 percent a part of this team. He has some health problems with his hands, some physical issues, and he is dealing with those. There is definitely not any friction between Ricky and Chad. We know there has been some speculation about that, but there are no problems between Ricky and Chad and no problem between Chad and Honda. Chad's going to go to the doctor this week, and we'll be regrouping, and hopefully he will be back and part of this team very soon." Injuries have continued to take their toll on the 125cc West field, the thinning ranks probably grateful for the upcoming break while the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series cranks up. No less than three factory-backed 125cc riders missed the San Diego round due to injury. Team Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Chris Gosselaar suffered what was best described as a "hairline-type" fracture to his left foot after being landed on in the main event at Anaheim III, and it was enough to sideline him at San Diego, according to team manager JC Waterhouse. "Chris tried to ride on Tuesday, but the pain was just a bit too much for him," Waterhouse said. "He's in a cast. but we don't anticipate it being a long-term problem for him. It should take about three weeks_ This will be the only West round that he'll miss." Gosselaar was on hand to sign autographs, though. Red Bull KTM's Josh Woods was also relegated to PR status at San Diego. Woods said that he was simply" too banged up" to be competitive. "I crashed in practice yesterday," Woods said. "I pulled some muscles in my lower abdomen at the last Anaheim, and I think that's why I crashed yesterday_ I'm just going to take a few weeks off, and then maybe I'll try to come back and ride a few 250cc races. I will be ready for the next West Coast round, though. " Boost Mobile Yamaha's Craig Anderson was a no-show at San Diego, the victim of a midweek practice crash at the Yamaha test track, according to team manager Craig Dack. "Craig LAndersonl missed a gear and crashed off a jump on Tuesday," Dack said. "He suffered a laceration to his spleen, and he was hospitalized for 48 hours so they could monitor the bleeding, But they didn't take it out. As far as I know, it's going to take about four weeks for it to heal, so we probably won't have him back until Daytona." Although Anderson won't be able to earn points, he may do several East rounds. "That's a strong option for us," Dack said, "Craig has just lost confidence in himself. We know he has the talent in him; he just needs to get through this rough time." Ricky Carmichael took the opportunity to rib his fellow Floridian, James Stewart, during the post-race press conference, when talk once again turned to the possibility of Stewart riding a 250 at one or more of the Eastern rounds of the series, "I am not really hungry to ride a 250. I am just trying to finish off this West series," Stewart said when asked. "I am going to go home do some outdoor testing for the upcoming season. I really want to ride one, but Kawasaki and my mom and dad don't think I am ready yet so we will see. Hopefully next year will be my first time on a 250: we will just have to see what Kawasaki says. I know I am ready... It seems like we are never going to race again. When is our next race, like April or something? It's a bummer being off so iong." At which point, Carmichael piped up: "Ride the 250 if you don't want to take the time off." Stewart returned the fire. "I have to race now: he's challenging me now," Stewart said. "What's the next race? Minneapolis?" Stewart then clarified his position once again. "When it's time to move up, I will be ready," he said. "I am actually going to have to back down from challenging Ricky. We haven't had any 250 testing, but when it's time to come up, I will be ready. I'm not scareef at all."

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