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lAbove) Reed charged hard for second, but he couldn't catch Carmichael. (Right) Vuillemin got third again. It seems, no matter what the circumstance, he's always near the front. (Left) Ferry started 13th but came back for fifth. It was an admirable ride. ng to go for the win." would have been hard dirt, it would Despite being first and second in the championship, Carmichael and Reed haven't really had a head-tohead race since Anaheim III. have been really easy. But the way it was, made it a little technical. Every- "It would be fun," Reed said. "Everyone speaks about it every week. I am sure he wants to race, and the past, Jeremy [McGrath] was jumping a triple nobody else was, but right now it comes down to speed and fitness. " I want to race. It's unfortunate that we haven't went bar to bar yet. 1 think it's going to happen. It's going to be fun. I am looking forward to it." Vuillemin got a better start than Reed and followed Carmichael forward. Fourth on lap one, the Frenchman was into third on the third lap and past Fonseca in the final corner for second on the fifth lap. Vuillemin said he was injury-free, but his fitness level wasn't where it should be. "Yeah, I think I am 100 percent [over the injuries]," Vuillemin said. "I am not fitness 100 percent - I could be stronger. It will come in the next few weeks. My shoulder has been better. I think the track was good. If it one is doing everything, and it has been like that since the first race. In Vuillemin said that he needs to get a little faster and improve his fitness to stay with Carmichael and Reed. "I was in third, and they were getting away from me because they were going a little faster," he said. "My lap times have been pretty good for a couple of weeks. They were good until we got to that triple. It was good for me to show some speed after some injuries." That's a feeling that Fonseca's looking forward to. Fonseca was steady - never worse than sixth - and able to move up and pass Ward on the ninth lap. He maintained the spot to the end. [J{}®rm [l[fu@'ll @®11 [l[fu@[?@ Qualifying Yamaha's Chad Reed had nearly a three-second lead after the first lap of his heat race. The margin doubled on the next lap and kept growing until it ballooned to 15.982 seconds at the end of the eight-lap race. Teammate David Vuillemin was second and clearly not up to pace. The French rider was losing ground in bits and pieces until the final few laps when he couldn't complete a few of the multiple jumps, instead rolling through and losing time. Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Mike LaRocco was third in front of Team SoBe Suzuki's Sean Hamblin in his first outing in the 250cc class. Reed's heat-winning time of six minutes 46.648 seconds and margin of victory were impressive, but they'd be eclipsed by the second-heat numbers. Honda's Ricky Carmichael didn't get the holeshot; that went to Georgian Ezra Lusk on the Chevy Trucks Kawasaki KX250. It was clear that Carmichael was the fastest rider on the track, the defending champion skimming across a long whoop section on the west side of the course, Lusk taking more time to roll through some of the early bumps. Carmichael closed in the whoops on lap one then passed Lusk in the same section on lap two. By the halfway point, Carmichael had nearly six seconds on Lusk. He'd stretch it to 13.533 seconds at the end, clocking the faster of the two heat times by three seconds, as well as the fastest lap of the night. Carmichael's best was a 50.067-second lap, marginally quicker than the 50.115 turned in by Reed in the first heat. Behind Lusk came Honda's Ernesto Fonseca, who took over the spot on the fifth lap, with the final transfer from the second heat going to Yamaha's Tim Ferry. Tyler Evans of Team ECC Suzuki won the first semi by passing early leader Damon Huffman (MotoXXX/Honda) on the third of six laps. Huffman fell one more spot to third, losing out to Team SoBe Suzuki's Danny Smith in his first 250cc ride of the year. Smith put a charge on Evans, losing out by .207 seconds. Star Racing's Keith Johnson was fourth, with A.J. Gomez Racing's Joseph Oehlhof taking the final transfer from the first semi. The second semi wasn't decided until the final lap. Mach 1 Yamaha's Nick Wey passed MotoXXX's Clark Stiles, who'd led from the start. Just as it looked like Stiles had second wrapped up, Wey's teammate Heath Voss jumped by Stiles at the flag. Motoworldracing.com Suzuki's Andrew Short and Team Solitaire Yamaha's Ryan Clark were the fmal two into the main from the second semi. Larry Ward was in position to transfer out of the second semi when he dropped out with machine problems. He was second, with less than two laps to go. But he'd not only have to race at least six more laps to get into the main, he'd have to replace the motor in his CRF450R. Ward rolled up to the worst starting position on the line, the very inside left, less than a minute before the gate dropped. When the gate dropped, Ward dropped the hammer jetting into the lead with such decisiveness that he looked to his right approaching turn one and saw no one challenging. So it would go for the rest of the race: the MotoXXX Honda rider never threatened. "My mechanic comes up bleeding and hands me the bike and says 'Good luck,'" Ward said after the win. Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Travis Preston took the final transfer. cue I e nevus MARCH 5, 2003 9