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/128339
IBriefly... Ricky Carmichael (4 ) again swept both motos an the way to his 10 co nsecutive win of the season. It appears that seven-time 5uperc ross Champion and former 250cc National MX Champion Jeremy McGrath will compete in the next round of the AMAChevrolet Motocross Championship Series in Delmont , Pennsylvania, September 5. McGrath will compete in the 250cc class at Steel City aboard a factory-supported Honda . Some interesting events unfolded during practice. James Stewart and Ricky Carmic hael hooked up and rode a few laps together. Stewart was able to actually keep Carmichael in sight for a few laps on his KX125. While it was just practice and Carm ichael could have just been cru ising, the fans enjoyed seeing the two riding together. Stewart and Mike Bro wn also had a run in. It all happened as Stewart was atte mpting to pass Brown right before the finish. The two tangled and both hit the ground . Upon getting up, Brown gestured to Stewart as if to say,"What were you thinking?" Both then got up and continued on their way. In the first mota, they came together again. Stewart went to pass Brown for the lead, Brown pushed Stewart wide, and Stewart lost the front end. Since the Canadian Nationals are now ove r, a few of the Ca nadian riders were in attendance. Canadian National champion Jean-Sebastian Royand Blair Morgan were among some of them . Roydidn't have luck on his side in either mota, while Morgan finished out the day 17th overall. Carmichael scr ubs off so me speed w ell ahead of everyone e lse . three laps of the race, the two riders cir cu lated the course not w illing to give an inch of space to one ano th e r. Then it hap pe ned; on the last lap, Tortell i went for the pass and he got tangled up with Fonseca, throwing them both to the ground . " I knew that I had t hird overa ll," Tortelli said. " But it's rac ing and part o f th e ra cing , and fun, is just tryi ng, and if I get closer [to the w in] it would be nice . I pushed hard and came back on him [Fonseca] and tried to make a move on the last lap; I actually got past him at the bottom o f the hill. He went wide and a lappe r was in his way, and I just squeezed in and I pushed him a little . I just slide a little under acceleration, and Ernesto started to come back on the outsi de . 50 I moved over to try to keep my spot and he just stayed wide open . We just tangled bars and I went flying over the bars." Both ride rs immediate ly jumped up and got bac k o n thei r bikes before the fifth-place ride r was able to get by either of them . Fonseca went o n to take the th ird spot in th e mota, wh ile Tortell i took fo urth. However, Fonseca's 7-3 mota score was not as consistent as Tort elli's 4-4 sco re . Tortell i took the final podium position in t hird , wh ile Fonseca took fourth ove rall. In second overall was Reed w ith a 2-2 mota score. And of course, in first was Carmichael w ith another perfect I-I ride. www.cyclenews.com During staging for the second 2S0cc-c1ass mota, all of Tea m Yamaha was nowhe re to be found. As it turns out , they were doing a few last-minute changes to the bikes, and since they were late to the line. Chad Reed and company didn't get the gate picks they earned from the first mota . "It was just one of those things," Reed said. "The guys did some last-minute things to my bike, and I said to Jimmy [the team manager) that , 'Y better get out there ou because the last couple of weeks they have been giving away spots ifyou aren't there.' We were just late - it was kind of my fault, their fault. But we kind of tried to make the best of it." Reed did, and the poor gate pick didn't seem to affect him at all. Team Honda's Nathan Ram sey ended up not racing this weekend. Earlier in the week, Ramsey crashed hard at Chuilla Creek MX Park while testing and injured his shoulder and hit his head pretty good . "I rode practice : ' Ramseysaid, "but I figured the best thing to do was to sit it out ." Before Sunday, the big question on everyone 's mind was if the weath e r would hold up. Before the race, it was reported that seven inches of rain had fallen in the area. While the trac k looked wet on Saturday, the conditions improved dramatically by Sunday, although the riders did agree that it was a little one-lined. "The track was like one big rut: ' Carm ichael said. ':o\nd I knew that was going to be a factor all day." CYCLE NEWS . SEPTEMBER 1,2004 21