Round 5
MOTOCROSS
July 3, 2005
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2005 AMA 250cc National Motocross Championship Series
Presented by FMF
After the first mota where a rack derailed the chain on Chad Reed's YZ450F,
ultimately breaking the cases, Yamaha technicians scramble to swap out the
motor.
screaming wildly.
The fun started on the second lap,
when Windham attempted a pass on
Stewart only to have Stewart close the
door and hold on to second.
On the next lap, the drama continued.
Just as Windham attempted another
pass, at the same point on the track, the
18 JULY 13, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
two sped into the next turn, with Stewart
pushing Windham wide and Windham hitting the dirt.
"I had the pass not made obviously,"
Windham said. "I had about a half bikelength, and I did the same thing that he
did the lap before - I just pinned it and
landed about in the turn. Iwas on the outside of the turn, but I thought since I did
that, I had the momentum to get in there
on him and keep up. But I didn't have the
momentum to get in there. We collided
and I went down. It bummed me out, but
I was just glad to get back up.
"But we were just both gunning for the
same line at the same time, and I was on
the outside, so I got the boot," Windham
added.
Cheered on by the crowd, Windham
rode like a mad man. In just three laps, he
made up the IO-second deficit between
him and Stewart, and he eventually
passed the Kawasaki rider.
"The bikes are loud," Windham said,
"but not as loud as the thousands and
thousands of people that are here. It felt
great for me to be on the bike. Ricky even
commented that he was watching the
race. He was out in front. I wasn't in the
lead, but it sure felt like it."
As for Stewart, he claims to have held
back. He felt bad about what happened
earlier with Windham and did not want to
benefit that way.
"I just don't want to do good like that,"
Stewart said. "I'd rather get ISth than
knock somebody down and have them
finish behind me. So I just kind of let him
go. I was kind of bummed with the reaction from the crowd. It kind of bummed
my whole race out. But no excuses. Kevin
definitely rode good, and I got third."
Meanwhile, Carmichael seemingly
casually circulated the track all by himself
- 2S seconds ahead. By the end, he was
on cruise control.
