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/128223
AMA/Chevy Trucks 250cc U.S. Motocross Championship Round 6: Red 6ud Track 'n' Trail Ricky Carmichael flew high once again on his way to a 1ยท1 sweep at the Red Bud National Motocross, remaining undefeated at the halfway point in the series once again. Carmichael's still undefeated with the series at its halfway point 10 JULv16,2003' cue I e n e _ s By STEVE Cox PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN BUCHANAN, MI, JULY 6 n undefeated season was considered impossible until Ricky Carmichael pulled it off last year. If it was impossible to do it once, certainly it can't be done twice, right? Well, although he's lost two motos, Carmichael has won all six races again so far this year. Six down, six to go, but just like last year, the Honda star isn't counting on winning them all. "I need to win the title, and if I need to take a second, I'll take a second," he said. "I'm not worried about trying to win." It may be that he's not worried about winning because he does it so much. His win at the 30th running of the Red Bud National Motocross was his 93rd AMA National Victory in less than seven years. If he does go undefeated again this year, he'll sit through the off-season on the verge of another milestone, with 99 career AMA National victories to his credit. Most people agree that, if there is a guy who can end Carmichael's streak, it looks likely to be Red Bud's runner-up Kevin Windham. The No Fear/Factory Connection/Lee Dungarees Honda rider led briefly in the first moto before falling but still scored a consistent 2-2 score on the day, well ahead of any other challengers. Windham thought he could've had something for the champ if it wasn't for some physical issues. "I got two decent starts, and unfortunately I got dehydrated, and the second moto I locked up, and I had to back it down and take what I could get," said the popular thumper pilot. "I want to get that happy medium of being fast enough to run with the guys up front but not hit the ground." Team Yamaha's Chad Reed grabbed his first holeshot of the outdoor season in the first moto, followed closely by the MotoXXX 450s of Clark Stiles and Larry Ward, Mach 1 Yamaha's Nick Wey, Windham and Carmichael. John Dowd and Stephane Roncada went down in a heap in the first turn, and Roncada was done for the day (see Briefly ... ), Windham put in a scorching first lap, working his way past Stiles and into second with Carmichael right on his tail. At the completion of the first lap, Windham sat just under two seconds behind Reed, and Carmichael was right on his rear wheel. For the next lap, the top three ran in formation about seven seconds in front of Stiles in fourth, but Windham made his move around Reed at the top of an uphill early in the third lap, and Carmichael used the opportunity to zap the Aussie at the same time. Reed seemed to get a little overanxious after the double pass and made A