Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128212
(~I ~ - THQ World Supercross GP SerieslAMA Supercross Series Round 16/15: Rice-Eccles Stadium pass me fair and square and blow me away. He is going to have to come in there and take me out and hopefully I fall down and smash my pipe or something so I can't finish." "I was just watching the carnage going on in front of me and kind of had a front- row seat to Chad and Ricky's little mishap," Hamblin said. After Reed got out front and Carmichael hit the dirt, the race for the win was over, but Carmichael remounted in sixth and began his charge back through the field wounded bike and all. Hamblin kept Reed in sight for a while in second, while Fonseca and Carmichael relegated Ryan Clark to sixth when Clark doubled a triple. Then Carmichael went inside Fonseca in the first turn, and the two began putting pressure on Wey in third, both getting by shortly thereafter. That same lap, Carmichael got Hamblin in the whoops, and then Fonseca got him for third when Hamblin messed up in a triple-triple-double rhythm section, although Hamblin fought back by Fonseca in the linked tabletops and took the final podium spot back - albeit temporarily. The halfway mark saw Reed gone out front, with Carmichael already all alone in second and Fonseca still pressuring Hamblin for third. Fonseca got by in the tables for good, and then Hamblin was forced to double a triple the following lap and not only fell back to fifth behind Wey, but also ultimately fell back too far to catch the Mach 1 Yamaha rider again for fourth, and the top five was set. "I saw Ricky and Fonseca closing up on me little by little, and they ended up getting by me, and I could see where they were catching me in the rhythm section by the start-line there, and I started doing that once they got by me, and I stayed right with Ernie and kind of got right by 18 MAV7,2003' cue I e (Left) Hamblin charged hard early in the race, but a few bobbles while running in a podium spot allowed Fonseca and Wey by. He finished a strong fifth. (Right) Nick Wey matched his best ride of a week ago with yet another strong fourth-place performance. This time, though, he caught Fonseca at the end but couldn't do anything with him. Hamblin," Wey said. "He wasn't doing the section, and we kind of left him, but I switched my line up and started to do it like Ernie and kind of stayed right on him until the end. I kind of just needed that little bit extra to get in front of him." It wasn't to be, though, as Wey got near Fonseca at the end but could do nothing with him. "I knew how close he was," Fonseca said of Wey. "I made a mistake in a triple going into the tabletop section, and he got really close to me there, but that was the last lap, and I stayed in front of him. It was a long race for me. I came from really far back. It was tough." Reed had over 14 seconds on the resilient but angry Carmichael, who had another good margin over Fonseca and Wey, with Hamblin finishing as the last rider on the lead lap, probably a little more than half a lap behind Reed. Carmichael needs a fifth place or better finish at Sam Boyd Stadium next Saturday night to clinch his third n e _ so straight AMA Supercross title, no matter what Reed does. "If I have to settle for that, I will, but the perfect thing would be to pull the holeshot and get away from all of that," Carmichael said. "Timmy goes good for about 10 laps, and that's about it. He hasn't been racing, too, so you know he's not going to go the whole time. Ernie's riding well, and I've got to make sure I can beat him, but I want to win. I don't want to be a chump and get second, but the last seven races, or six races, the championship's the main thing. I just need to stay out of trouble. "Anything can happen. But I just need to not subject myself to all of the chaos and get a good start. My starts were terrible. I was sideways, and I ran into Chad, and it was just terrible. My starts were ridiculous this weekend. We get next weekend to work on it, and I'm just out there trying to stay out of trouble. I don't want to settle for second, and I won't, but I also need to be smart and be safe." Reed has his plans for Vegas as well. "The plan is to get a holeshot and just do 20 good laps," Reed said. "That's my plan once I'm ahead. Like I said, we're at the point where this championship is down to like 1 0 points, and I've said it before that I was the one that really ruined it for myself. Rookie mistakes, got two sixth-places, and that's the reason why we're so far behind. After Daytona I went home - and you know I was somewhat embarrassed - I went Qualifying Timmy Ferry got the holeshot at the start of the first heat race, but Emesto Fonseca and Chad Reed tripled by him in the rhythm section on the third lap. Reed got Fonseca shortly thereafter and set sail, winning the fastest heat of the night by almost J 3 seconds over that of Ricky Carmichael. Fonseca kept second, while Ferry got third, and Keith R. Johnson qualified out of the heat for his first time. "We worked really hard all week on the bike, but we've got it sorted out now," Reed said. "Now we're just going to go try and put 20 good laps together." Heat two was a bit more action-packed, which undoubtedly accounted for a good portion of the race-time difference, as Carmichael started the second lap in eighth place, and Sean Hamblin led Tommy Hofmaster and Larry Ward. Hamblin slid out before the fmish straight and picked himself up in seventh, just behind Carmichael. "I should·ve won my heat race again, and I kind of screwed that up and went down, but I think I would've won it hands down," Hamblin said. "Ricky was definitely going faster, but I don't think he would've caught me in time. Oh well, things happen. I guess you crash when you're pushing it a little harder than you need to." That left Hofmaster out front, and he led until lap five, when Carmichael finally caught him and then set sail for the win. Josh Demuth and a battling Nick Weyand Hamblin rounded out the qualifiers. "My bike was working really good," Carmichael said. "I need a little bit better start that's not going to cut it. Chad's riding really good, and my bike's working really well. Man, I just want to get a win." Ryan Clark led every lap of the first semi to qualify for the main event ahead of Casey Lytle, Heath Voss and James Povolny, while Doug DeHaan edged out Greg Schnell for the final transfer. Larry Ward also made short work of his semi, leading the final four laps to lead home Jason Thomas, Brian Mason, Tyler Evans and Tommy Hofrnaster. Joe Oehlhof endoed out of the lead in the LCQ on the fifth of six laps, handing the lead to Schnell, followed by Clark Stiles, Isaiah Johnson and Ted Campbell. On the final lap, Johnson and Stiles collided in mid-air over a triple, and Stiles went down in a heap, while Johnson couldn't separate his bike from Stiles'. Schnell won, while Campbell got the final transfer spot.