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/128612
Three-time AMA f 25cc National Motocross Champion Ricky Carmichael Vuillemin , not to ment ion , his own Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki teammates Larry Ward and John D o wd. He ' s alrea dy m ix ed it up w ith all of th ese guys fo r the fi rst time on 25 0s in the 2000 AMA/EA Sports Supercr oss Series and has beat m ost of the m o n a fairly reg ula r basis, b ut some critics fee l tha t Ca rm ic hae l could' ve done even better in Supercross. But at such a young age, he 's in no rush to prove any thi ng , and he doesn 't want to enda nger what should be a long and flou rishing career. Even J eremy McGrath didn 't est ablish his ascendancy until he was 22 . We rec ently ca ug ht up with Car michael whi le he was out te sting in Cal ifornia, getting ready for the opening round of the outdoor ser ies , and he shared w ith us so m e of his th oughts about his progress on a 250 and th e resol uti on it takes to be a National motocross c ha m pion. And he gave us some of his predictions, as wel l. Arguablv the best f 25cc motocross rider ever graduat es to the 25Dcc class. By K IT P ALM ER P HOTO S BY K IN NEY J O NES T here's no doubt that Ricky Carm ichael knows a thing or two about how to ride motocross. At just 20 years of age , the popu lar st ar from Florida already has three outdo or National motocross cham p ionsh ips to hi s name, all of them com ing in th e 125cc class , And he arrived at those three t itles w ithout much d ifficulty ; in 1997 and '9 8, he won eight out of 12 Nationals each year, and he only got stronger in '9 9 when he rac ked up nin e w ins . Many say he 's the best rider to ever throw a le g o ver a 125cc motocross bike , even bett er than Mark Bar nett of the lat e '70 s and early '80s. (Carm ichael and Barnett are tied for all-time 125cc win s.) But that's all behind hi m now ; he 's fin ished wi th the 125cc class and is launching a new career as a full -fl edged 25 0c c contender. . When Carmichael was w inning moto after mota in the 125cc class, he w as bea ting riders mu ch like himself: you ng , inexperienced, enthusiastic , relatively new to the Nationa l m ot ocross scene , some even first -y ea r r ook ies. But now he's graduated to the 2 50cc class, a nd Car m ic hae l wi ll b e going up against ma ny vetera ns and past champions of the sport , suc h as Greg Albe rtyn , M ik e La Rocco, Ezra Lu sk , Se bas tie n T o rt ell i , Sh ayn e King an d D av id 32 MAY 10, 2000ยท cue I e n e uv ", think "lie got what it takes to be a champion in both motocross and Supercross." So how has th e t ran sition been go ing from the 12 5 to the 250? It's been pretty good so far. The [250ccl bike is a little bit h eavi er and has more power [than a 125cc], so it's more bike you have to deal with . It han dles differently , b ut I'm c o m f o r t a b l e [o n it ], There's a lot more speed on the 250, twice the mot or and a lot faster. We've been work ing pretty hard to get thi s thing working pretty good , because I think I have a good shot at th e outdoor championship, so I want it to be righ t. s Three-time 125c c National Motocross Champion Ricky Carmichael will be going into his first se a so n In the 250cc class w i t h c o n f id e n c e , but he k nows the c om p etit io n will b e t o ug h er than ever. Here, his tuner Chad Watts m akes last-minute adjustments to his Kawasaki prior to a moto at la st year's Hangtown National. A re y ou ha ppy as f ar as where y o u 're at in your c areer? As far as the 12 5s , I'm defi nitely content [with his accomplishments], but my 250 career - I need to be better in Sup ercr oss. I'm frustrated a li tt le bit when I know I can do better, and I know I have what it takes to w in. I j ust need to work on some of my sk ill s. You know , it's very frustrating when I don 't w in , 'cause that's all I' ve done m y whole life. In a way I' m content. You 've got people who say I should be winning by now, and you' ve -got other people who say , " ah, it's going to take time." When you look at it at that aspect, I' m co ntent. But th ere 's a part of me that's wishing I should be winning more than just on e Supercross by now. It seems that I've had the chance to win but just haven 't put it to gether, that's just ti m e. I mean, I'm on ly 20, I think when I get 22 or 23, when I really start peak ing , I think it'll be good . I'll get a little bit bigger and broader, and that will be good. Q W h a t do you p refer m o r e. mo toc ros s o r Super cro s s? A little more towa rds m ot oc ro ss, but I definit ely think I've got skills in Supercross; it's j ust taken a little ti me to pan o ut in th e 25 0cc cla ss, b ut I th ink I' v e got w ha t i t takes t o b e a c ha mpio n in both motocross and Superc ross. A