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/128226
pressure by Carmichael wasn't enough. Windham started gapping the champ right away. KI was up there the first moto, and he railed off some awesome laps the first five laps - he was so cqnsist~.. Carmichael said. " think I Jo~t five seconds in the first five laps. With a guy like that, you can't give him a gap. Once he got out there, I just tried to go, go, go and try to eat him up after the halfway mark. He has been just riding phenomenal in the last two weeks. "I got beat. I was giving it hell, but I couldn't catch him. He pulled away there the first couple laps, and I was trying and trying and couldn't do it, but second is just as good as first [in the first moto J. I want to stay consistent and do the best that we can do and go score the points. I'm just trying to do the best that I can do, and whatever happens, happens. I'm just trying 100 percent. Kevin's riding really good, and I don't have nothing for him." Carmichael was soon essentially alone in second, as was Windham out front, with MotoXXX/Yoshimura Honda's Larry Ward a distant third ahead of White Bros./Shift Honda's Paul Carpenter and SoBe Suzuki's Stephane Roncada. Roncada found his way around Carpenter at the finish line to start the third go-around and then set out after Ward. It took the Frenchman about five laps to actually get around Ward, and by then Mike LaRocco had caught them. In just a few laps, LaRocco found his way by both Ward and Roncada, but he was too far behind Windham and Carmichael to have any sort of realistic hope of making a race of it. "I got a top-10 start, which was nice for me," the Amsoil/Chaparral Honda rider said. "I had a minute to get through the traffic pretty well, and I found myself in third place. There really wasn't anyone. These two [Windham and Carmichael] were gone." Windham went on to cruise across the finish line, hand in the air, just under four seconds in front of Carmichael, while the Honda teamster led LaRocco home by quite a ways for the Honda sweep. Roncada held on for fourth, Ward held on for fifth, and Chad Reed made his way through from outside the top 15 to swinging, and that's what I did," Windham said. "In the second moto, I had a little bit better start and was able to pull a lead. Everything went well for today. I am happy with the way it turned out. It was a little bit hot today, and I was kind of nerved out all weekend. I'm really excited that I was able to focus that adrenaline and put it to work for me out on the track." Carmichael worked his way through the pack quickly until he reached Reed, who sat second by that point, about 12 seconds behind Windham. Reed had his bike working, and he put up a fight. "I'm trying to get better and better grab a strong sixth. Carpenter held on for seventh ahead of Honda's Ernesto Fonseca, Heath Voss and Kyle Lewis. Lewis started off the second moto with a bang, grabbing the holeshot over Mach 1 Yamaha's Nick Weyand Voss, with Windham fourth and Roncada fifth. Carmichael rounded the first lap ninth, but Windham was quick getting out front - he actually passed all three riders in front of him before the completion of the first lap and for all intents and purposes, the race for the win was over. "I went to bed thinking about today, and I thought I would come out cue I e n e _ s • AUGUST 6,2003 31