Carmichael Takes Win In Minneapolis!
AMA Supercross Series 250cc/125cc East
Round 7: Minneapolis, MN
February 15, 2003
Below freezing temperatures in Minneapolis didn't stop Red Rider Ricky
Carmichael from heating up the inside of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
on Saturday night. After getting a third place start, the defending
champion from the Sunshine State put his Honda CR250R in the lead on lap 6,
and was never challenged again. Team Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection
Red Rider Michael Byrne experienced a more eventful night in the kick-off
of 125 Eastern Region action. Byrne started the 15-lap Main from beneath
the pile of a first turn crash, but worked his Honda CR125R up to third
overall.
Carmichael showed more than just sheer speed in Minneapolis while
collecting his 30th all-time Supercross victory. He demonstrated maturity
and patience, wearing down his fellow competitors before moving into the
lead and turning up the heat.
"I tried to do things right this weekend," said Carmichael, who was
personally disappointed with his own third place performance at the
previous round in San Diego. "I didn't get too anxious tonight. That takes
a lot of focus. Everyone was riding really fast, but I stuck to my main
focus, which is racing the track."
With clear sailing, Carmichael raced the track from lap six to 20 with no
one in front of him but lappers. He ended the evening with a 7.999-second
advantage over second place, stretching his points lead to 14. In addition,
Carmichael won his heat race with a cushion of 13.709 seconds. It was in
the same heat race however, that his teammate, Ernesto Fonseca suffered a
devastating crash, making his return for one of the evening's semi races
doubtful.
Between practice and the first heat race, track workers re-sculptured the
rapidly decaying track, changing the jump face of a tricky rhythm section.
During practice Fonseca was one of few racers able to conquer the section,
but in his heat race he attempted to seat bounce the jump, and came up
short hitting the ground instead.
Carmichael was another rider able to clear the section during practice, but
not after the track conditions had changed. "The dirt was really moist and
tacky with awesome traction," said Carmichael about the beginning of the
weekend. "By evening the track started getting harder and dryer with less
traction. The conditions definitely changed throughout the weekend."
"Ernesto was checked out by the mobile medical unit, which is a great asset
to the series," said Honda Motocross Team Manager Erik Kehoe. "His hand was
sore and he was able to go right in, get an X-ray and in five minutes they
were able to rule out any possibility of a broken bone in his hand.
"He was pretty sore and beat up but he went ahead and raced his semi and
got second," continued Kehoe. "He rode to a 10th place finish in the main
event, which is pretty good considering he was pretty beat up."
Team Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection Red Rider Mike LaRocco came to
round seven in Minneapolis recovering from a shoulder injury suffered at
round five in Anaheim, California. The Rock chose to sit out the following
round in order to let the shoulder heal, but a first turn crash in his
Minneapolis heat race left the shoulder even more tender. LaRocco was not
able to continue and will be out of action indefinitely.
LaRocco's Factory Connection teammate, Michael Bryne, continued to show
blistering speed?this time on a CR125. But the first lap of his heat race
and main event were not kind to him. Byrne, who is a favorite for the 125
Eastern Region Championship, crashed in his heat race when he and another
rider tangled going over the finish line jump on the first lap. He got up
and finished a respectable fifth, but in the main event, Bryne wouldn't get
past the first turn before going down.
"I didn't get the start I wanted, so I was caught in the middle of the pack
going into the first turn," said Byrne. "Two guys on the outside of me hit
each other and fell over on me. I got dragged down with both of them and
then had to get up and make the most of it."
Byrne made the most of it indeed, slicing his way from 16th place on the
first lap to a remarkable third place on lap eleven. With four laps
remaining, Byrne was unable to climb any higher on the podium than third,
but based on his blistering speed throughout the evening, he doesn't seem
to be worried. "Next week we'll be back in business," said a confident
Byrne.
Factory Connection's newest recruit, Ryan Mills, is obviously enjoying the
fruits of riding beside Byrne and LaRocco, as he finished a respective 11th
in his first race of the season. Mills will try to improve on his results
next week as he and his fellow Honda Red Riders will heat up the South on
February 22 in Atlanta, Georgia.
250 Main Event Results:
1. Ricky Carmichael - Honda
2. Ezra Lusk - Kawasaki
3. Tim Ferry - Yamaha
4. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
5. Nick Wey - Yamaha
7. Damon Huffman - Honda
9. Larry Ward - Honda
10. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda
11. Jason Thomas - Honda
14. Clark Stiles - Honda
18. James Povolny - Honda
19. Marco Dube - Honda
250 AMA Supercross Point Standings:
1. Ricky Carmichael - Honda - 160
2. Chad Reed - Yamaha - 146
3. David Vuillemin - Yamaha - 127
4. Ezra Lusk - Kawasaki - 120
5. Tim Ferry - Yamaha - 114
6. Michael Byrne - Honda - 75
11. Mike LaRocco - Honda - 60
12. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda - 59
13. Larry Ward - Honda - 53
15. Damon Huffman - Honda - 42
125 East Main Event Results:
1. Branden Jesseman - Suzuki
2. Brock Sellards - Yamaha
3. Michael Byrne - Honda
4. Michael Brown - Kawasaki
5. Kelly Smith - Yamaha
11. Ryan Mills - Honda
125 Eastern Region Point Standings
1. Branden Jesseman - Suzuki - 25
2. Brock Sellards - Yamaha - 22
3. Michael Byrne - Honda - 20
4. Michael Brown - Kawasaki - 18
5. Kelly Smith - Yamaha - 16
11. Ryan Mills - Honda ? 9
For complete results please see Honda's website at www.honda.com