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/128393
AMA 250cc National Motocross Presented by FMF "I made a nice, clean pass on the inside of a tum in the back section," Carmichael said. But as they headed down one of the track's large downhills, Stewart tried to get the lead back, but the Kawasaki rider overcooked it at the bottom and nearly rear-ended Carmichael. Instead, Stewart swerved to the side of Carmichael and then lost control of his bike, flipping over the handlebars in a spectacular crash. Stewart was shaken up in the fall and was slow to his feet, having knocked the breath out of his lungs and tweaking his shoulder. After nearly a lap had passed and hoping to get loosened up again, Stewart got back on his now rear-fenderless bike and put in one fast lap before retiring to the pits, his shoulder too sore to continue. Stewart was unavailable for comment after the race. "I was coming down the hill, and I just heard [Stewart's] bike wide open, so I'm like, 'Oh no, '" Carmichael said. "So I kind of braced and to my left of my vision, I saw this fender come, and it just kept coming and coming, and it was almost leaning into me, and then it was just elbows and assholes after that. I didn't know what was happening. He was definitely committed, for sure, so I was a little scared. I was pretty much going to give it to him because I knew I could pass him back." After sprinting away with Stewart during that first lap and a half, Carmichael suddenly found himself with another large gap on Windham, and he'd easily go on to record his 18th moto win of the season, stretching out his lead to another 35 seconds ahead of the Honda rider before it was allover. "Once he fell I kind of lost my motivation, rode some laps and just kept my eye on Kevin," Carmichael said. "I just feel bad sometimes, [because] I'm out there by myself. Sometimes it's boring - it's good for me, but it sucks for the sport. But that's what we work hard for. A boring race is good for somebody. I'm just going to take 'em for as long as I can get 'em." For Windham, it was his I I th moto runner-up placing of the year. "In the second moto, James [Stewart] got out quick," Windham said. "I thought, 'Man, [there goes] my shot at second.' It looked like he was going to give Ricky some trouble there for a couple of laps. Then, coming down the hill there, I saw him down again and I couldn't believe it. He's haVing a run of bad luck, and I hate to see that for him. He's probably struggling, but, nevertheless, I went by and just rode in second place. Ricky rode a great race. I'd like to get up there and challenge him." Unlike the first two positions that were pretty much decided well before the second moto was over, the race for third overall came down to the wire, which kept many of the fans glued to the side of the fences instead of making a dash Briefly... Continued from poge 2' to hit the mat that many times. I did it quite a few times in '99 and [still] do it every now and then. I think it still boils down to patience. You gotta have patience. I can understand challenging and wanting to pass me right back, but I think sometimes that you got to really dissect the track and wait for the right time. He has the speed, for sure. He was in front of me for two laps. If there's any advice I could give to him... I mean, we had a talk at Loretta's and kind of patched things up, if you will. After Unadilla and all the mess, we never talked. I figured maybe I should just talk to him, pull him aside, face to face. I just tried to give him some advice. Whether he took it, I have no idea. I just tried to tell him to have patience - 'You're going to be the guy, no doubt. You just let it have to come to you.' It must not have registered with him in the second moto today. Jeremy [McGrath] was always cool like that. He had to tell me to have patience... ah... a bunch. He'd say, 'Slow down a little bit, slow down, slow down.' I think sometimes that your brain is bigger than your throttle and that's wrong; I think it needs to be the other way. I didn't really have that problem in the outdoors, I just had that problem in Supercross." David Vuillemin elaborated a little bit about his new deal for next year with BooKoo Energy and Holigan Racing, where he'll ride a Honda in his Supercross-only contract. "I'm real happy about that," Vuillemin said. "I like the program. The only question mark is to work with aftermarket parts, because I will not have factory support. The rest is all good. I look forward to it; it's a new challenge. I like the program, and it looks like a fun team and a fun thing for me to do." Vuillemin admits that he hasn't ridden a Honda in a long time. ''A lot of privateers ride [Hondas], and they seem to go pretty good," he said. "I can't wait to get started." Michael Holigan added that Vuillemin will be teamed up with Steve Boniface. "It's the French Connection," Holigan said jokingly. Holigan also said that he'd like to sign either one more 250 rider or two 12S riders to the team. to their cars. Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca, who finished eighth in the first moto after crashing in the first turn, held firm control of third place in the moto and was looking good to get on the podium, but his fate was in the hands of Suzuki rider Ryan Hughes, who was holding down fifth in the moto, just inches ahead of Michael Byrne. If Byrne passed him, that would knock Fonseca off the podium and put the Kawasaki rider there instead. As it turned out, Hughes and Byrne sailed 22 AUGUST 31, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS over the finish-line jump side by side, with Hughes getting the nod and Fonseca the third-place trophy. It was Fonseca's third consecutive podium finish. ''After the first moto, I never thought I would've been on the podium," Fonseca said. "I was just trying to make the best out of that first race. The second moto I was just hoping to get a better start and ride my own race." Byrne ended up fourth overall with a 4-6, and Yamaha's David Vuillemin, who After just signing an off-road deal with Suzuki, Ryan Hughes showed up at Binghamton on a Suzuki RM·Z450 having ridden the previous rounds on a Honda in the I 25cc class. "The deal with switching to the 250 class was that it's hard to compete against the factory guys - [like Mitch] Payton - who have unlimited budgets that can just test, test, test, and for me, I don't have the ability to do that," Hughes said. "Plus, I weigh a iot and it's hard for me to get a start. On the track, I get pulled, so that's why I switched to the 250 class. Suzuki got a bike from ECC and got one to me at Binghamton. I Continued on poge 24