Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

tender ankle in the incident but was checked out by the medics and released to ride. Walker picked himself up and finished practice. In case you did not know, Doug Henry will be riding the entire AHA Supennoto series this year, and he won a race at the opening round a week ago. "I'm really The hot rumor in the pits is that Team Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Ivan Tedesco will be going to Team Makita Suzuki next year to ride in the 250cc class. Even though there is no official word, many insiders are saying rt is a "done deal." over the bars and onto the soft beachlike sand. "There is a really rough section over there," Carmichael said. "You come out of a right-hander with big rollers. I got a sweet drive coming out of there, and I just hit the tabletop too far and went launching down there. I was trying to put in some good laps and maybe tried too hard. I fell down and I struggled to get back up. I tried cranking the bike in gear and that didn't work, so I had to put it in neutral and just sat there and wasted a bunch of time." By the time Carmichael remounted his Suzuki and got going again, he was all the way back in seventh. He made quick work of his competition and by the IOth lap had moved into second, ahead of Windham and Dowd. His progress, however, was aided by the sudden disappeat1\nce of Stewart. The 250-e1ass rookie pulled out on the eighth lap and would call it a day. Kawasaki team manager Bruce Sterjstrom said that Stewart was complaining of feeling Iightheaded. much like he did at Hangtown at the series opener. He went on to say that Stewart had been feeling that way for most of the day, and that he did not know why Stewart is having this problem. Stewart was evaluated at the Asterisk Medical Unit, and Sterjstrom said he would see his doctor on Monday. Meanwhile, Reed was enjoying a big lead while Carmichael was trying to make up as much time as possible. Dowd was busy attempting to catch Windham, and he eventually did just that on lap 13. The 39-year-old New Englander went on to finish third. "It's my home track, and I kind of grew up riding in the sand," Dowd said. "I've always been able to go pretty fast here. This year wasn't any different. I felt pretty good; I think my equipment was working pretty well, too. I'm just stoked to be here - I couldn't be happier." As for Reed, it appeared to be smooth sailing for the Yamaha pilot, but he actually had one minor miscue when he fell and got back going quickly. "I was kind of nervous," Reed said. "I really wanted to win and really wanted to do well. When I crashed, I kind of thought it was going to be over; I thought he [Carmichael] was a lot closer than where he was. I was really excited to get a race win. I've been trying to for a long time." When the checkered flag came out, Reed crossed the line 16.063 seconds ahead of Carmichael, with Dowd finishing third. Windham took fourth, with :ream Yamaha's David Vuillemin fifth. The Southwick starting gate got a makeover for this year's race. Instead of the launch pad being made entirely from concrete, happy with the Graves Yamaha team," Henry said. "They run a really professional outfit there. I'm just glad I made a decision to go with them, and we have a really good bike." the AMA asked that it be changed to dirt. Since the sand is so soft, the Southwick crew put clay behind the gate and left concrete right after the gate. Overall, most riders didn't mind the new setup. Team Moto XXX's Justin Buckelew was running a steering stabilizer on his bike. The way it was mounted was interesting. Buck- Team Makita/Suzuki's Ricky Cannichael celebrated his elew says he likes it on the front fender better for 100th safety reason. "I've been testing it for a few days now," Buckelew said. "Southwick is the roughest track on the circuit, so I figured I'd try it. I'm actually thinking of running it at all of the fast tracks this year." Team Motoworldracing.com/$uzuki rider Eric Sorby was in the pits at Southwick but did not suit up. Sorby recently broke his left wrist after going over the bars while practicing. He says that it should be six to eight weeks until he is back on a bike. In the second practice session on Sun- day for the 125cc class Team Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki, teammates Grant Langston and Matt Walker came together in one of the numerous rough sections on the course. lzlgston twisted his a1reatly While Doug Henry's bike at Southwick appeared to be just a stock Yamaha YZ250, a doser look revealed more. '~a1Iy, Igot a factory motor for the race," Henry said. "When J was doing my contract with Yamaha for the Graves superrnoto thing, I kind of put a bug in Keith McCarty's ear. 'Is there any chance I could get a motor because supercross season is all done, you've got all those motors. Can I just borrow one, can you keep one together?' He said, 'Yeah, we'll see what we can do, just keep reminding me.' Of course, I did." consecutive National start with a big "J 00" cake in front of his motor home on Saturday. Carmichael, along with Fox Raang's Scott Taylor, went to great measures to invite all of the VIPs from Ricky's past - including Pro Circuit's Mitch Payton, Kawasaki's Bruce Stjemstrom, Cliff White and Erik Kehoe from Honda - and, of course, his current team manager, Roger DeCoster. "This is more of a celebration of durability than it is wins," Taylor said. Carmichael added, "You guys don't have to thank me, I have to thank you." John Dowd decided to sit out Saturday's practice in order to save energy for Sunday. ';As you know it has been pretty hot and humid all weekend," Dowd said. "I was just thinking riding yesterday, I would be sweating all day. I know this track pretty well. I got to ride a local race here last weekend, and Igot to ride out here a little bit this week. I just decided to kind of save my energy, and I think it might have helped me today later in those races. But who knows for sure? But it worked out pretty good." Continued on page 25 CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 22, 2005 23

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