Carmichael continues the MX win streak in round 1

AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship
Round 1: San Bernardino, California
May 11, 2003


With his mother Jeannie present at Glen Helen Raceway for the kickoff of
the AMA 250 and 125 Motocross Championship series, Ricky Carmichael kept
his outdoor win-streak alive by winning both 250 motos aboard his factory
Honda Mike Gosselaar-prepped CR250R. The event marked Carmichael's 26th
consecutive moto win, a record-setting streak that began a year ago at the
same venue.

Since Mother's Day 1996, Glen Helen Raceway has been host to an AMA 250 and
125 Motocross National and in that time Carmichael has won three 125 and
now three 250 races at the popular Southern California race track.
Coincidentally, Carmichael is the only rider to have won more than one
event in the eight-year history of the Mother's Day Classic. Fresh off his
2003 Championship-winning Supercross season, Carmichael's performance at
this, the year's first 250 National, was a reminder of his spectacular
outdoor skills, but Carmichael did enjoy a little luck this time around, as
he wasn't the only Honda rider to show blistering speed.

Making his return to professional racing since breaking his femur during a
Supercross practice accident in February of 2002, Kevin Windham and his
Factory Connection Honda CRF450R briefly led both 250 motos. Windham took
the holeshot in both motos and led the first outing for almost five laps
before crashing in a sand turn. Behind him was a hard-charging Carmichael,
who suffered a fifth-place start when the 40-man gate dropped.

"I was playing catch-up there for a little bit," said Carmichael about his
push to the front. "I was trying to catch Kevin (Windham) and really wasn't
having much luck. After he went down I took over the lead and the race was
history after that." Carmichael's margin of victory over second-place Chad
Reed was a whopping 15.694 seconds.

"It was going great, but unfortunately I had that crash," said Windham, who
finally got restarted way back in 16th place. "I lost a lot of valuable
points to the toughest competitor out there. It just goes to show you how
quickly things can go south."

The second moto started much the same for Windham, but an improvement in
Carmichael's start rocketed the 23-year old to the lead by the completion
of the fourth lap. "In the second moto I got a pretty good start and I
tried to get up to second as quick as I could because I didn't want Windham
to get out there in no man's land," said Carmichael.

Once in the lead, Carmichael completed the remaining ten laps with another
large margin of victory-10.657 seconds-over second place Windham, whose
14th- and second-place finishes netted him fifth overall. Finishing between
Carmichael and Windham in the overall standings were Reed, Tim Ferry and
Ezra Lusk.

"It was disappointing, but all in all I had a great day," said Windham, who
is actually the last man to have beaten Carmichael in a 250 AMA Motocross
event. The race occurred on September 2, 2001 at Steel City Raceway. "My
Honda CRF450R was working great and my new team definitely had my back.
There was a lot of pressure coming into this race so I'm really excited to
have the first one behind me."

While Carmichael was continuing his outdoor dominance and Windham was
staging his return to racing, Glen Helen was a significant event for
Honda's Ernesto Fonseca and Nate Ramsey. The race marked Fonseca's first
ever AMA 250 National and Ramsey's return to racing since breaking his leg
prior to the start of the 2003 Supercross series.

"I was pretty nervous going in to it," admitted Fonseca. "That may explain
my horrible starts, but once things began to pan out I started picking off
guys one by one.

"I'm glad I survived because that track was rough," continued Fonseca. "Now
I know what to expect out of the 250 class and I can shoot for better
results next weekend." Fonseca ended the day in 11th place with moto scores
of nine and 14, while Ramsey struggled to a 29 and 25 moto tally for 28th
overall.

"It definitely feels good to be out there," said Ramsey, who relied on a
pit bike to get around because his injured leg is still so tender. "It's
kind of hard when you're just testing and not racing because you can't
simulate all those situations that occur during racing. I'm just going to
have to rebuild. I knew it was going to be tough, but you never know how
tough until you actually get out there. I obviously have some work to do
and I'll do it. Things can only get better."

Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection Honda rider Mike LaRocco also made his
return to racing at Glen Helen. Injured at the beginning of February at a
Supercross event, LaRocco posted seventh- and eighth-place moto finishes,
claiming seventh overall on the day. One spot ahead of LaRocco on the
results page was MotoXXX/Yoshimura Honda CRF450R-mounted Larry Ward, whose
eight and seven moto tally barely edged out his fellow Honda rider.

In 125 action Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection Red Riders Chris
Gosselaar and Michael Byrne finished ninth and 12th overall respectively.
Gosselaar's nagging ankle injury was a direct result of his 12 and seven
moto tally, while Byrne's tenth and 18th place finishes were brought on by
poor starts-a habit that Byrne is not normally accustomed to.

The AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship heads north to Sacramento,
California next week. The Prairie City SVRA Park, also known as Hangtown,
has been on the AMA National calendar since 1974. Both Carmichael and
Windham have tasted the fruits of victory at the historic track.

250 Overall Results:
1. Ricky Carmichael (1,1) - Honda
2. Chad Reed (2,3) - Yamaha
3. Tim Ferry (3,5) - Yamaha
4. Ezra Lusk (5,4) - Kawasaki
5. Kevin Windham (14,2) - Honda
6. Larry Ward (8,7) - Honda
7. Mike LaRocco (7,8) - Honda
11. Ernesto Fonseca (9,14) - Honda
14. Kyle Lewis (13,13) - Honda
23. James Povolny (19,34) - Honda

250 AMA Motocross Points Standings:
1. Ricky Carmichael - Honda - 50
2. Chad Reed - Yamaha - 42
3. Tim Ferry - Yamaha - 36
4. Ezra Lusk - Kawasaki - 34
5. Kevin Windham - Honda - 29
6. (Tie) Larry Ward - Honda/Mike LaRocco - Honda - 27
11. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda - 19
14. Kyle Lewis - Honda - 16
23. James Povolny - Honda - 2

125 Overall Results:
1. Mike Brown (1,2) - Kawasaki
2. Grant Langston (2,1) - KTM
3. Ryan Hughes (4,3) - KTM
4. Eric Sorby (5,4) - Kawasaki
5. Michael Brandes (7,5) - Yamaha
9. Chris Gosselaar (12,7) - Honda
12. Michael Byrne (10,18) - Honda
22. Tim Weigand (21,17) - Honda

125 AMA Motocross Point Standings:
1. Mike Brown - Kawasaki - 47
2. Grant Langston - KTM - 45
3. Ryan Hughes - KTM - 38
4. Eric Sorby - Kawasaki - 34
5. (Tie) Michael Brandes - Yamaha/Brett Metcalfe -KTM - 30
9. (Tie) Chris Gosselaar - Honda/Steve Boniface - KTM - 23
12. Michael Byrne - Honda - 14
22. (Tie) Tim Weigand - Honda/Jeremy Chaussee - Yamaha - 4