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/128405
Knight Stands Last in Texas Carmichael Up For Award Reigning World Enduro and ISDE Champion David Knight laid claim to the title of Last Man Standing at the inaugural Red Bull Last Man Standing extreme off-road race held near the Oklahoma-Texas border near Bulcher, Texas, November 12-13. The KTM-mounted Knight conquered all stages of the 140-mile Team Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael added yet another accolade to his remarkable 2005 season by earning his sixth nomination for AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year. The 25-year-old from Havana, Florida, has the opportunity to become the first four-time recipient of the award. Carmichael moved to Suzuki for 2005, and the company's faith in Carmichael was immediately rewarded when he won his fourth AMA Supercross title in May. It was a remarkable comeback for Carmichael, who missed the 2004 Supercross season while recovering from knee surgery. It marked just the second AMA Supercross title for Suzuki, its first since 1981. "They [Suzuki] hadn't won in a while, and there's no Suzuki curse," said Carmichael, who previously won the series with Kawasaki and Honda. "Not to discredit any of the other riders that they've had on the team. rrravis] Pastrana, he won the outdoor title and a supercross 125 title, so they have what it takes. But their riders just didn't get it done. They have a great team, and they get all of the credit. It changed things around. I think they're confident in themselves and their work, and that's important." Carmichael then turned his attention to the AMA Motocross Championship, and he dominated, going undefeated for the third time in the AMA 250 Motocross series and winning the championship for the sixth straight year. "I had a great season," said Carmichael, the all-time wins leader in AMA Motocross. "Makita Suzuki stepped up to the plate and delivered. We came into the year with an unproven motorcycle and we were able to be successful. Helping this team come back to prominence makes me feel like I really accomplished something." This year's titles marked his 12th and 13th AMA National Championships, a record unmatched in the history of AMA Motocross and Supercross racing. To top off an already successful season, Carmichael led Team USA to victory in the Motocross of Nations, held this September in France. The 2005 AMA Pro Racing Speed Channel Athlete of the Year will be named at the AMA Pro Racing Championship awards banquet on Sunday, November 20, at Paris Las Vegas. Carmichael joins Chris Carr, Tommy Hayden, Mat Mladin and Ivan Tedesco as nominees. race, finishing more than 10 min- utes ahead of GNCC-regular Nathan Kanney. while seven-time AMA National Enduro Champion Michael Lafferty finished third after recovering from a spectacular crash during the nighttime segment. "There was one field in the entire race where you could exhale for about 10 to IS seconds," Knight said. "This is one of the toughest races I've ridden." The race pitted the best riders from different disciplines of offroad racing in a unique format, which called for four elimination stages (one lap each), which narrowed down the B8 original riders into the final 18 that would start the last two laps, which were run under cover of night. The first two "daylight" laps were 40 miles long, while the course was shortened to 30 miles for the two night laps that were run in reverse. The start was a side-by-side, bomb-run-type start, which kicked off the first two laps. After two laps, a one-hour break allowed the 18 qualifiers to install lights for the night segment. Knight quickly took control of the race after each start and was pushed early on by Lafferty. However, a crash during the night segment sent the factory KTM rider back to the pits to repair a broken headlight. Unable to make the repair, Lafferty rejoined the race 8 Great Britain's David Knight won the inaugural Red Bull Last Man Standing extreme off-road race in Texas. in fifth position, using only his small helmet light, and he worked his way back to third at the finish. Yamaha-mounted Justin Williamson ran well during the morning stage and sat in third overall at the break. However, the Floridian derailed a chain in the night segment and wound up in fourth, just ahead of KTMmounted Billy Russell. NOVEMBER 23, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS Shon Moore Elias Hoping For Honda Boost Spanish road racer Toni Elias Is hoping he can emulate new teammate Marco Melandri in 2006 after he made his Honda RCV debut in Valencia dUring the post-GP test session last week, Melandri resurrected his career after two torrid years at Yamaha when he grabbed two victories on his way to second in the 2005 World Championship after his switch to Honda's RCY. Now Elias is hoping a switch to RCV power will spark a dramatic surge in his own fortunes as he struggled to master the VZR-M I in an injury-infested rookie