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"I feel that I got it [the holeshot], but oh, well," Hamblin insisted. "I just drifted a little wide. Ferry got there just barely a millisecond before me, but oh, well. I'm happier than what I was in Dallas watching from the stands. My starts have been great. I think we have the fastest bike out there by far." "Both guys beat me," Ferry confirmed, "but they tangled bars, and I just hit the brakes and went to the inside." Wey was out third, while Reed and Carmichael rounded out the top five as the first lap ended. The champ and the challenger began a rapid ascent to the lead on lap two, as Reed stuffed Mach 1 Yamaha's Wey in the first turn hard enough that it allowed Carmichael by as well. Later that same lap, Reed went inside Hamblin in the first of two adjacent whoop sections, and Reed started the third lap on his teammate and neighbor Ferry's tail in second, with Hamblin third and with Carmichael close behind. All hell broke loose on lap three. Carmichael got Hamblin in the corner following the track's most technical rhythm section, and then, only two straightaways later, Carmichael made an incredible move through a section of linked tabletops to move straight from third into the lead: Reed got a run around the outside of Ferry going into the section, but as Reed was attempting to complete the pass, Carmichael squirted up the inside of both of them in the next turn and took away their line so that all three of them were forced to double the following triple. With Carmichael in the lead, the three barreled into the following corner, and as Carmichael turned into the left-hander, Ferry was aiming for his inside while Reed was on the far outside, out of harm's way. Ferry and Carmichael collided heading into the corner, and while Carmichael managed to gather his CR250R back up, Ferry went tumbling off of the inside of the track and into the Tuff Blox. "The thing was, he [Ferry] kind of let Chad by there on this triple on this side, and when he looked back and saw me, I saw he was going to try and cut in front of me," Carmichael said. "Luckily, I got in front of him. Then I was able to make a move on Chad at the time, and then I looked over to my left, and I saw Timmy do a double and just grab a handful. He was going for me in the turn - no matter what he says or anyone says, I just find it funny how he is here this weekend. They have to make something happen, either way you look at it. We would do the same thing if we had to." "It's pretty much like Ricky says," Reed confirmed. "It seemed like all three of us went together on the triple. I was off to the right and out of the way, and the next thing I see is a red bike go flying across and then a blue bike flying through the air. I looked around, and Red Dog [Ferry] was on the ground." Carmichael's ensuing bobble was all Reed needed to get a drive up the inside through the whoops in the same spot where he passed Hamblin, who had now inherited third, a lap earlier. Reed got undemeath Carmichael exiting the corner and pushed the Honda rider to the edge of the track, where the two collided, sending Carmichael to the ground. "Basically, [the collision with Ferry] messed Ricky up and I and a m good run on him down the whoops, and, you know, I put it in there," Reed said. "I made an aggressive pass, and he went down." "We came together, and I fell," Carmichael said. "I am not going go on about it, I'm not going to dwell on it, but I definitely won't forget it. I am in a tough position. There are things that I think about and things that I have to protect, and Chad is going to have to do that and hope for something on my side to go wrong. He is not just going to come in there and Own Race: 250cc ®® Seanunlikely prodigy had a couple of mistakes Hamblin 5th SoBe Suzuki's cost him his first supercross podium. "I screwed up before the first triple. and I couldn't triple it and had to roll that, and the next section, too: Hamblin said. "I have to get a podium before the year's over with. That's what my team deserves, I feel." i0cD Jasonhe's called, was one of the14thriders to consistently jump the triple-triple. Thomas "JT Money: as few "In the main event, I was conservative, and I didn't do it like the first eight laps or so, and I got passed like five times, so I just said I'm going to have to do it and crash or just whatever, so I finished out the race doing it: said Subway's top rider in Salt Lake. ~{J Nick Wey ®§ Keith R. Johnson ®{J Ryan Clark {]@ Ted Campbell 4th The Mach 1 Yamaha star pulled out a few more points on Ferry for fourth in the championship. He's come a long way since missing the main at round one. "I got fourth at Dallas, as well, but I think tonight I was a little closer to where I needed to be: Wey said. "Being sick for so many weeks, I kind of lost my base, and I've been riding my butt off trying to get my fitness back up." Emesto Fonseca had a fine ride in the mountains, finishing third for the fifth straight week after starting near the tail of the top 10. 9th Star Racing's star rider did what he had to do to minimize the damage to his privateer points lead going into the Vegas finale. "Everything went pretty good considering in practice I was scared of this triple-triple, and I took a bad line up to it so I cased the jump and crashed pretty hard, and I've been scared of it all night: he said. 6th Johnson's privateer rival had his best finish of the year in Salt Lake. "I gained a few points, but I'm pretty much past all that: the Team Solitaire boss said. "I pretty much blew it the past few races." 16th This Subway rider inherited a spot in the main when Clark Stiles and Isaiah Johnson tangled in front of him in the LCQ. "My main was really good: Campbell said. "I rode probably the best I've ridden a main event this year." cu cle n e _ S • MAY 7, 2003 17