t's beginning to sound like a broken record,
but Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael won
yet another overall victory in the AMA 250cc
National MX Series, this one notched at
Binghamton's Broome-Tioga Sports Center
in upstate New York. And like so many of his previous 25 straight victories, this one came rather
easily, though he did have a slight scare in the second moto after having another close call with the
returning James Stewart,
Carmichael was qUietly hoping to gain II points
on second-place finisher Kevin Windham at
Binghamton, which would have given him enough
points to clinch his sixth consecutive 250cc championship, but since the Amsoil/ChaparraVHonda
rider went 2-2 on the day for second overall, thus
giving away just six points to the Carmichael, the
title stays alive for another two weeks, when the
series resumes in Delmont, Pennsylvania. All
Carmichael has to do there is finish 16th or better
in either moto and the title will be his.
The day got off to an auspicious start. Riders
were greeted by a relatively clear sky in the morning, but a brief - but heavy - downpour during
practice saturated the already semidamp track.
I
The rain actually forced the cancellation of the
second round of practice and made the morning
qualifiers look more like a GNCC race - almost
Blackwater-like - than a motocross. Even though
the sun came out right after the shower and
shined brightly the rest of the day, the first round
of motos were quite soggy to say the least, which
made getting a good start even more imperative
than usual. But Carmichael was up to the task.
Setting up on his customary far-inside gate at
Binghamton, Carmichael blitzed to the front of the
pack in the first moto.
"I've been starting on that same gate since the
mid-'90s," Carmichael said. "So I nailed the start
and had a big advantage."
Once in front, Carmichael simply rode away to
another decisive victory. Even Windham, who
gated second and normally gives Carmichael
something to think about early in the motos, had
nothing at all for RC on this occasion. Carmichael
opened up a comfortable lead right away and by
the halfway point was breathing easily with about
a 15-second lead - a lead that would grow to over
twice that before it was all over.
"Kevin [Windham) was behind me, and I saw
