Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

THQ World Supercross GP SeriesiAMA Supercross Series Round Bl6: Qualcomm Stadium REED CHALLENGES CARMICHAEL'S DOMINANCE WITH ANOTHER WIN other begins building and stuff it back into his own pocket. Reed went nearly unchallenged at Qualcomm Stadium on the way to his win, while Carmichael spent most of the race recovering from his early fall for third. Reed's Yamaha teammate David Vuillemin put in his best ride of the year for second after showing throughout the weekend that he at least had the speed to run with the Reed/Carmichael juggernaut. "Ricky was a little faster than me tonight, and he made a mistake, and I capitalized on it," Vuillemin said. "I just need to pick it up. My confidence is getting better. The last two weeks, I did not get starts and caught up to third both times." This time he got a start and was rewarded with second. Carmichael has proven in the past that he knows how to handle pressure, having won eight National Championships to date, but his challenger Reed seems to have his own way of dealing with the pressure of racing for the most important off-road BY STEVE COX PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN SAN DIEGO, CA, FEB. 8 ix rounds into the AMA Super~ cross Series, the top two riders, Ricky Carmichael and Chad Reed, are separated in the championship by a mere four points. Perhaps more intriguing, however, is the fact that Carmichael is now three for six, and all of the races he's lost, he's lost due to falls. "It's pretty embarrassing for me, to be quite honest with you guys," the champ said. "To be doing stupid stuff like that for three races - three out of three times when I crashed, I lost. It's really frustrating. I know I have what it takes to win at this. I can't make mistakes like that. I will go home and regroup ... I made the mistake and lost the race because of it. I just need to race the track. You can't win when you are on the ground." Neither Reed nor Carmichael is giving an inch, and each is doing his best to take whatever momentum the ~ 8 FEBRURY 19, 2003' cue I • n e _ s motorcycle championship in the world - he just doesn't recognize that it's there. "There is no pressure," said the Aussie. "This is my first year in the 250s, and there has been a lot of talk about if I can or can't do it. For me, it's just fun to be here racing with these guys." Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's lone 250cc rider Michael Byrne sped down the longest start straight in recent memory and stole the holeshot ahead of a whole slew of heavy-hitters. Vuillemin followed Byrne through the first turn in second, with Reed, Ernesto Fonseca, Carmichael and Ezra Lusk immediately following. Unlike last week, though, Byrne's lead was short-lived. "I got a very good start," Byrne said, "and I went into the whoops in the middle, and it wasn't a very good line, and both Chad [Reed] and Vuillemin went down the outside, which was a better line, and they both just blew right by me because I hit the steep part and just lost all my speed." Carmichael got around his Costa Rican teammate right away and set off after Byrne. Coming toward the finish-line jump to complete the first lap, Carmichael got under the Aussie, only for Byrne to get him right back briefly. Byrne couldn't quite get all the way over the finish jump, and Carmichael zapped him again in the following corner. Reed made his move by Vuillemin on the third go-around as the two entered the first major rhythm section following the whoops, and he made the pass right as Carmichael began closing in. The 250cc rookie had the track wired, and once he was out front, he just plain took off. "I knew tonight was going to c::ome down to a good start," Reed said. "I was pretty happy to see David in second. I just tried to ride aggressive." Carmichael got around Vuillemin on the fourth lap with an inside pass three turns before the finish, and Vuillemin didn't seem to put up too much of a fight. However, Carmichael only held on to the runner-up spot for a few corners before he got off exiting the whoops. "I went by David and went too fast and actually missed a whoop," Carmichael said. "My front end went over, and I was in third gear, and I usually do second gear through the whoops. I got third this time. I made a mistake. I knew that was the only place where I was not on par. I was just trying to look for a good line. It's frustrating. I don't come to a race to make a mistake like that. I don't like to do that." Vuillemin actually hit Carmichael's bike as they went into the corner and was pretty lucky to stay upright himself. "Ricky just crashed a second after he passed me, and I almost crashed, too," Vuillemin said. "I couldn't catch Chad, so I just rode my own race and had to take second." Carmichael remounted just in front of Fonseca when the Costa Rican suffered his first of two pretty hard crashes as he tried to jump by Carmichael and Nick Wey. Carmichael sat seventh once he got up to speed. "My bike was good, no problems," Carmichael said. "[Crashing] takes a little steam out of you. I felt good in my heat race and even in the main event. I was a little sore, for sure. [When I crashed] my clutch lever was bent down a little." By the time all of the action sorted out behind him, Reed was checked out. He had six seconds in hand after five laps and would eventually extend that to well over 18 seconds at the finish. Yamaha's Timmy Ferry got around Byrne, and after the Carmichael

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