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/128237
FRIDAY Perhaps the b ig g est su rp ri se of th e weekend came during the eve nt's first 250cc m ain event. David Vuillemin , looking l ike th e C obra fans ha ve become accustomed to, gra bbed the holeshot and left with it. The thing is , Vuille min didn 't thin k h e was so much of an underd og. "I think I rode good in supercross [this year]," Vuillemin said. "My last race was In d i an ap o l i s , and I r o d e pre t ty goo d .. I got seco nd b eh ind Ricky .. and after that I bro k e m y back, an d it was a lo ng time fo r m e to recover. After Steel City, , sta rte d a new di et , and I lost 10 pounds in one m onth , an d I've been rid ing su per cross with Chad and testing som e new stuff - some new eng ine and susp ens ion - and i t's been good . It ' s good to push each other out at pra c tice and stuff, and I'd j ust like to say tha t it's j ust the U.S. Open. Ric ky was j ust last week in the sand in Be lgi u m, and it's j ust lik e a race. I wo n. I got like 10 go o d la p s , and C h ad w as ob vious ly just a li ttle faster, and th e last 10 laps I was tense . I go t a good start, an d that's basically it. " But th e fact of the m at t er was , Vuillem in was gone, even though fi rst Carm ichael and later Reed did their best to reel him in. Carmichael started fourth bu t was second by the end of the firs t lap. Reed sat fou rth afte r recovering from a botched sta rt . '" g o t a great jump , a nd th en Ernie, same as in the heat rac e, j ust found traction from nowhere and just k ind of pu ll ed up al on gsi de of m e, an d we got ta ngled, and I went into the fi rst corn er last," Reed said . '" j ust we nt ins ide, in sid e, and I ca me o ut abo ut fourth or fifth, but it 's a lot better tonight th an it was the fi rst night last year - m e and Ricky were looking at eac h ot her wa nti ng t o t ear eac h other 's head o ff [l ast yea r]. But it was a cle an race to nig ht an d a lot of fun ." Carm icha el did his best to c hase down the new fat her, but to no ava il. As Vuill emin began to put som e distan ce o n C ar mi c h a el , the 10-time c ha m p fell in t o th e h and s of Chad Reed . '" had qu it e a few weaknesses - I was stru gglin g a little bit in th e turns ; I wasn't spo t on - an d it go es to show you t ha t t h e se two guys were o n tonight e s p e c i a ll y Da vi d , " Carmichael said . " He went out th ere, and , had t he perfect op po rt unity to t ry to re el him in , a nd I couldn 't respond - he was ju st pulling out, you know? He must'v e felt c om fo rt ab le and was riding good, and there' s not mu ch to say . I go t beat, an d I rode my hardest. I was m aking some mis ta ke s in th e turns and ha d a m ess up on the finish li ne there, and that's i t. I go t i t h and ed to m e tonight, and we' re go in g t o w ork on it and try to get better. I'm not go ing to freak out said . "I ac t ually had him as m y bus driver last ye ar, and m y co u sin had h im th is year , an d h e h ad a freak accident at Millvill e, and unfortunately he's a quadripleg ic , so yo u k now, bein g Au stralian and since he didn 't have a fac t ory co nt ra ct or an yth in g like that , h e didn 't ha ve an y in suran ce. So it 's tough for him. So a lot of the money I'll give to h im and get him ba ck to Australia , and it'll make it a lot easier for him. In the U .S., th e hospitals an d stuff ar e so ex pensive, and h e doesn't h av e in suran ce, so w e're gettin g h im ba ck there where he ca n be treat ed. It's ju st m on ey . I m ean, m on ey 's always great because you ca n get ne w t oys or someth in g , but wh en it goes to a good cause, it's always fun - and what this race is all about is to prepare for nex t year [not about money] ." Reed w as the favorite among the odds - ma ke rs , as the betting l ine opened up with him at an even 1/1. Even though some thought it we ird that Reed had more favorable odds than 10 -time Nat io na l C h am p i o n Ric k y Carm icha el, as it tu rns out, the MGM Grand Sp ort s Book k new what it wa s doing. A lth ou gh it w asn't easy, a 2 -1 show i n g on t h e w e ek en d earn ed Chad Reed his first U.S . Open title. " I think I felt ton ight how Rick y felt at Glen Hel en , af te r being beat and going on to win ," the Yam aha superstar said . " It wa s a good feeling. So, we 've got th ree m on th s, and I think we'll be prep ared , and it' ll be a great su percross seaso n. " Vuillemin shocked t h e fi eld w ith h is Friday-night romp to the win. He was amazing. His third on Saturday gave him second overall. cycle n e _ S • OCTOBER 22 , 2003 7