Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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AMAIChevy Trucks 250cc U.S. Motocross Championship Round 3: High Point Raceway This is the sport; it's motocross and By STEVE COX supercross. Now I have 90 wins, and I PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN am just glad to be out there with MoaNT MORRIS, PA, MAY 25 IT.T1hat else can be said about IJ.I Ricky Carmichael that hasn't been said already? With his wrapping up of this year's AMA Supercross Championship, he grabbed a hold of the record for the most AMA National Championships by any rider. Now, with his 90th win, he pulled ahead of Jeremy McGrath yet again, this time in the category for most combined AMA National wins. Add this to his records for most 125cc National wins, most 250cc National wins, most 250cc National wins in a season, in a row, etc., and what else can you say, except that numbers never lie? "I don't know if [the record] is a weight off my shoulder, but I definitely have some room to talk now," Carmichael said. "I have never been big on saying who the greatest is in the sport. Jeremy has 72 supercross wins - I could probably never do that. But if you ask Jeremy if he could win 31 consecutive motos and races and 25 125 races, he would probably say no. You have to go by all combined. Carmichael (4) had to fight for the win with Kevin Windham (14) in both motos. Windham's the only rider with Carmichael-like speed right now, probably in the world. 26 JUNE 4, 2003' cue I e Jeremy and guys like Bob Hannah. It's awesome. It's something I never thought I would do." The High Point MX National itself wasn't an easy one for Carmichael to win by any means. The champ's newfound rival Kevin Windham gave him a lot to think about in both motos. Carmichael's holeshot drought (which has lasted all year) ended at the start of the first moto, as he led the pack up High Point's start hill and 90: To put the number 90 in perspective, Jeremy McGrath got number 89 at 29 years of age, and Bob Hannah won 70 races (including Trans-AMAj in his career. At 23, Ricky Carmichael is the most successful motocross racer in the history of the sport. around the left-hand sweeper with SoBe Suzuki's Sean Hamblin immediately behind right off, although he swapped out and almost crashed, putting Chad Reed and Windham between himself and the leader. Windham made short work of the Yamaha rider for second and then set out after Carmichael. Halfway through the first lap, the Factory Connection/No Fear/Lee Dungarees CRF450R pilot charged up Carmichael's inside after a Mount Morris downhill and made a clean pass for the lead, only for Carmichael to come right back at him and steal the lead back before the completion of the lap. "I got passed in the first time in a while," Carmichael said. "That's racing. We are just out there racing." Windham kept the pressure on the defending champ, while Reed immediately fell a way behind in third and was being pressured early from teammate Timmy Ferry. Hamblin held fifth ahead of David Vuillemin, Ernesto Fonseca, John Dowd, Joaquim Rodrigues and Ezra Lusk. Windham lost a bit of time on the second circuit as he got hung up momentarily in a rut, and Carmichael got away. Then on the third lap, Windham lost even more time after he cased the Dunlop jump, which looks like a large single jump that Carmichael, Windham and eventually Reed were turning into a double, and then even more time the lap after that as he didn't attempt to jump the obstacle at all again until lap five. By that time, Carmichael had pulled out to a little more than a three-second lead, while Windham had a further eight seconds on Reed, who had cleared himself from Ferry. Vuillemin began pressuring Hamblin for fifth. Not too far into the sixth of 16 laps, Carmichael went down, handing the lead to Windham. "I was really charging my turns, and I was going into a turn, and I got on the gas too fast, and my back end came out of the rut, and I just tipped over," Carmichael said. "The bike