Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

t might have been a new facility and a new track, but the results were pretty much the same at the seventh round of the AMA 250cc National MX Series at the mile-high Thunder Valley Motocross Park in Lakewood, Colorado. For the 22nd consecutive time, Team Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael stood on the top step of the 250cc-c1ass podium to extend his series lead to an incredible 77 points over today's runner-up Kevin Windham. Carmichael could sit out the next three motos and still be in the points lead. Actually, this was not the first time a National MX race was held at the Lakewood facility, but it was the first time since 1987 and the first time for many of the racers. Carmichael, however, made it look as though he had ridden the fast, rough and hilly one-third-mile-Iong track many times before, as he ran away with both motos. But, of the 39 other riders on the start line, only one, Windham, gave I Briefly... After crashing with Ricky Carmichael during the previous round at Unadilla, Team Kawasaki's James Stewart was advised not to race the Colorado round. Stewart suffered a concussion in the fall and spent the weekend at home in the Florida. Kawasaki's new team manager, Mike Fisher, said that Stewart wanted to ride but his doctors did not want him to. Stewart, however, is expected to suit up for the Washougal National next week. The weather, more specifically the temperatures, was a big concern going into the Colorado race. During the week, Denver hit a record high of 106 degrees. Tempera· tures "cooled" off into the low-to-mid 90s over the race weekend, but thunderclouds that formed in the late afternoon both Saturday and Sunday cooled things off significantly. Light rain actually started falling late in the second 250cc moto. him some concern. In the first moto, Windham led the first two laps before Carmichael got him and rode off to victory, taking the checkered nag nearly 19 seconds ahead of the Amsoil/Chaparral/Honda-mounted rider. It was just that simple. But in the second moto, Windham, the early leader again, made the defending champ "a little nervous," in Carmichael's words, for a while. Much like in the first moto, Windham got out front early with Carmichael in his draft. This time, however, Windham, with the overall victory on the line, put up a real fight. Lap after lap, Windham led Carmichael around the rutted-out track and then opened up a good-sized lead when Carmichael bobbled in an uphill switchback turn. "Kevin [Windham] was riding really good, especially the second moto," Carmichael said. "I was having a hard time to get at him. I could make a run on him, but I could never seal the deal. I hit neutral back there when he pulled away." That mistake let Windham get away a little bit and, with this being the tie-breaking second moto, Windham had a real shot at ending Carmichael's overall win streak. But Carmichael wasn't about to see his amazing run end quite yet. '",fter I hit neutral, I just cleared my head a little bit," Carmichael said. "I really had to think and make a good clean pass and just plan out what I could do." And that was to slowly and methodically reel the Honda rider in. After a few more laps, Carmichael was, once again, breathing down Windham's back, and he soon made a pass and quickly pulled away. "He made a little miscake on the backside of the track and, after that, I got a good run on him and put in some good laps," Carmichael said. "I didn't know what was going on," Windham said after Carmichael dropped back. "I was just in my own tempo there, then a couple of laps later, I heard him behind me again." Once Carmichael passed Windham, just before the halfway point, Windham seemed to let the Suzuki rider go. "The second moto, I thought I was riding really strong, but Ricky kept hounding me and eventually got by me," Windham said. "I was changing my lines, and he was changing them as well. He scayed on my heels. After he passed me, he got away from me, and I became kind of content in second." "I was a little nervous," Carmichael admitted. ''''t the beginning there, I was trying a whole bunch of things and couldn't make it. like I said, I could make a run on him but couldn't get around him. When I hit neutral, it kind of cleared my head a little bit and I had to think. I was going to try to sprint by him instead of sitting there and follow his lines." Carmichael eventually sprinted out to about a 13-second lead, slowing considerably on the last lap to cake the checkered nag approximately six seconds ahead of Windham. Carmichael summed up his weekend by saying: "It was a good afternoon for me. The first moto, I made some good, real clean passes [off the scart], got out in the lead and just worked away and put in some good, consistent laps. The second moto was a lot funner for me" For Windham, it was a pretty good afternoon as well. "I just tried to scay [focused] in front of me; I don't worry about what's behind me," he said. "I tried to keep him [Carmichael] at bay the best I could and run the best race as I could, and that's what I did." Having a very quiet day but finishing on the podium in third was Yamaha's Chad Reed. He started both motos right behind Windham and Carmichael but just did not have an answer for either one on this day. In both motos, Reed dropped well back but always had a comfortable lead over fourth. And Reed did not have a definitive answer for the media about his somewhat uninspiring performance, though he was very fast in practice earlier in the day. "I don't know what happened to me in the race today," Reed said. "It was like I didn't show up. I left it all out there in practice, and that's kind of disappointing, because I felt good during the practices. I felt comfortable, but these guys were a step above me today. I just ran around in third." Finishing fourth overall was Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca, who rode well all day. He was behind Reed most of the day in fourth, but late in the first moto, Yamaha's David Vuillemin got him to take that position. In the second moto, Fonseca again found himself in fourth but this time, he held it the entire way, though Vuillemin again was hounding through the last couple of laps and nearly got him in the last turn. Vuillemin, who came from well back in the first moto to finish a respeceable fourth, finished fifth in the second moto for fifth overall. Honda's Travis Preston went 7-7 for sixth, followed by Kawasaki's top-placing two-stroke-mounted rider Michael Byrne, 39-year-old Suzuki pilot John Dowd, Honda privateer Sean Collier and Unbound Privateer Sean Collier made the switch from the 125cc class to the 250cc class and turned a lot of heads at Colorado. As it turns out, Collier discovered in the I25cc class just how difficult it is to run with all the factories. "I've been riding the 125 class all year, but it's tough to compete in that class with all of the factory-backed teams," he said. "Plus, the maintenance on the bikes, it's just ridiculous how much money it cost to keep them maintained - Igo through clutches so quick on those things. With the 450, it's easier to practice, and I really like it. I'm a little heavier now, 163 pounds; that's not too heavy, but I think the 450 really suits my style." The heat, combined with the elevation and the thin air, which made the engines work harder, was a thom in just aIbout every rider's sides, including for Team Honda. Late in the first moto, the factory 4505 of Travis Preston's and Ernesto Fonseca's were making noticeable popping sounds. Even Kevin Windham's bike had a noticeable bog off the bottom. "Yeah, we had some jetting issues because of the heat," Honda team manager Erik Kehoe said. "Kevin said that he felt it but it didn't bother him in the race." Between motos, jetting changes were made to the Hondas, and even Fonseca's and Preston's got venting holes drilled into the front number plate. The altitude and the heat were a problem for everyone, but it affected the flatlanders the most. "We are only at 1500 feet in Tennessee," Kirk Hayes of Jim's ContinuecJ on poge 29 CYCLE NEWS. AUGUST 3,2005 27

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