Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

High Poinr R..or,voy ,llounl Morris, PA MOTOCROSS Round 2 , ay 24, 2006 Slewort croshed while leoding lhe firsl moto qnd 3ol oul lhe rcst of rhe doy wirh o concussion. aOOE Touota AMA Motocross Championship PP€scnt€d bg FMF Mv Owru Rnce 72 losh Summey Josh Summey sits in nihth overall in the Motocross-class over'all points standings after tak- ing his second top-l0llnish of the young season. At Hith Point, the Unbound Energy/Moto XXX- backed rider rurned in 8-9 moto finishes for eighth overall, despite droppinS ofthe pace at the end of the second moto. "The track was pretty rutted out and with the lap times beinS short, we ran a lot of laps, so it was kind oftouth. lSot overheated in the second moto and lost ollt on 8th Place the storied High Point race. Stewart grabbed the holeshot at the start - and the Racer X Holeshot Award - with Carmichael just behind. However, in the second turn, a riSht-handed off-camber, Stewart slid down. allowing Carmichael to go by. Stewaft took only a few corners to pull back to within striking distance and, on lap three, retook the lead on the uphill before the finish-line straight, known as Bradshaw Boulevard. For a couple of laps, Stewart pulled away from Carmichael and it looked as though he might run away, but Carmichael picked up the pace and was soon back on Stewart's rear wheel, For the next eight laps, Carmichael dogged Stewan, sticking a wheel under him now and then, either in an attempt to pass or to just let Stewart know he was there. Each time, though, Stewart would count- er by shutting the door. lt was certainly a crowd-thrilling battle. "When he passed me, he put in one good lap, and then I started to slowly catch him a liftle bit." Carmichael said- "We definitely stepped it up that flrst moto - we were cruising and we both wanted to win. He had his best sections and I had my best sections, and it iust kind of equaled out, but I was able to iust stay right behind him and pressure him. "We 8or into lappers and I caught him. then lgot held up by a lapper," Carmichael added. "lt felt like forever I was back there and I thought, 'l gotta get in there and make a move.' I tried a cou- ple of times but he closed the door, which was no problem. btrt then I made a mis- take and he got away." Stewart had been pulling away from Carmichael in a triple-triple section on the back side of the track and with the laps winding down, Carmichael decided to step it up in that section. "l was gefting antsy and I tried to put it in on him in some places and he shut the doot" Carmichael said. ''l could see he was gefting a little weak and, in the whoop section, in the triple-triple. he had a way better line in that and he would pull out there, so I iust tried to rurh that sec- tion a liftle more and it caught up with Carmichael's bobble in the triple-triple allowed Stewart to pull seven or eight lengths over the Suzuki rider and with only four laps remaining it looked as though Stewart had the moto in the ba8. But in the step-down secion. just after the finish-line iump, Stewart's rear wheel kicked up, sending him over the bars as his bike cartwheeled down the track. Carmichael motored by for the easy win as track medics attended to the shaken Stewan. Reed crossed the finish over a minute behind Carmichael, with Mallsaps leading Yamaha-mounted David Vuillemrn and I'4DlvMotosporq/Honda's Nick Wey to the checkers. Stewart was taken to a local hospital for observation. With Stewart out of commission for the rest of the day, Carmichael rode unmolested to rhe moao-two win. passing Wey on the first lap and then pulling away to eventually finish with over tlvo minutes to sPare over Reed. Vuillemin thrilled the crowd in moto trvo by running second for a lap before giving way to both Reed and l'lillsaps on the nexr lap. Team Honda's Kevin the last lap to Demuth," Sumrney said. "Overall, I fek 8ood, though. I have finished in the top l0 the last two week, and I am happy with that. I had to ride the 250F in the SuPer- crosses, but I have known all along tlat the bit biket suit me a little better." 686 losn Demuth 7th Place BooKoo Arenacross ChampionJosh Demuth round the High Point track to his liking and turned a 7-8 perfornrance into sev- enth overall. The BooKoo Honda rider capitalized on Sreat starts in his qualilier and in the first moto, en route to his top- l0 finish, and he now linds himself in loth overall in the series points standings after two rounds. Demuth is determined to break into the top fwe by the end of the seri€s. "Last weekend at Hangtown we had to do all the qualiUers and that used a lot o, eners/, but I still tot a ninth in the second moto," Demuth said. "But this week the track was dry and I felt realq,/ comfon- able, afld we 8ot tfie starts that we were looking for: In the sec- ond moto, I 8ot to the gate late and go( a far outside pick, but I worked my wey up from the ba.k to eighth a8ain. I am happy with everythint, but I want to work on a few little things and get up th€re in the top llve." l7 Rouuie Reynard 9th Place Aftertoing 8-37 at HanStown, Robbie Feynard came into Pennsylvania hoping to put logether tlvo solid rides- The Free Nissan.com-sponsored rider posted a consistent 9- I 0 llnish for ninth overall at High Point and moves into | 2th overall in the series standings. "ln the first moto, I should have had the holeshot, but I missed third tear. Then about hali,vay, I jammed rny thumb and had a hard time holdint on but still ended up with ninth," Reynard seid. "ln the seaond moto, I was almost dead-last offthe line after ltot sideways. But I felt p.etty stronS and worked my way up eyen though the track was pretty difflcult. lt was pretty choppy out there so you had to use your heed and flow with the track. The ruts were every which way, so you iust had to be smooth." 12 DavidVuillemin 4th Place After a disappointing Supercross season. Motoworld Racint's David Vuillemin turned in another solid ride in the outdoor series at Hith Point, toinS 4-5 for a fourth overall. Vuillemin ran as high as second place during the second moto and was obviously happy to be back on his game. "lt is very hard to get on the podium with these 8uys. he said. "l am riding well and my toal is not to always be on the podium, but to ride my bert, and try to 8et back in the groove and have fun racing, and I am doing that. I dont have factory equipment, just a modified bike, but I am happy with my bike, and I am happy with my team, and on a Sood day maybe I can tet a podium." 48 Jen ciuson lSth Place Jeff Gibson qualified for the race through the LCQ and therefore had one ofthe finalSate picks for the stan of the fim moto. Consequently, the Subway Honda rider suffered a poor stan and from there things iust 8ot wo.se- "l had a bad start and was trlin8 to come up throu8h the top 20, but I fell over and couldn't get the bike started," Gibson said. "l tot back going atain and flnished 23rd. So in the second moto, I had a beater pick on the start and I tot a really Sood start, but the track was really rough and I faded back to l5th. This was bet- ter than last week, and at least l've tot some poin[s now' and I am Soing to try and break inro the top 20." .*t 15 JUNE 7,2006 . CYCLE NEWS / .,) .< -f IE \ 7 \ ? 7 I I D ./ 6 ! I l 4 7;. I

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