Carmichael Clinches 4th Consecutive AMA 250 Motocross Championship

AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship
Round 11: Delmont, Pennsylvania
August 30, 2003
From the perspective of AMA officials, the thousands of fans that flocked
to the track to watch pre-race action, and most everyone in the pits, Round
11 of the U.S. Motocross Championship wasn't exactly going as planned. A
huge rainstorm had swept through Delmont, Pennsylvania, transforming Steel
City Raceway into a muddy mess and a physical challenge for the AMA's
finest racers. The storm was so brutal, it forced the cancellation of
Saturday's normally scheduled practice sessions and qualifier heats and
even affected area residents by knocking out phone lines temporarily.

But from Ricky Carmichael's perspective, everything was going as planned.
Come rain or shine on Sunday, the Honda Red Rider was one win away from his
fourth consecutive AMA 250 Motocross Championship. And historically, when
race conditions get tough, Carmichael only gets tougher.

A recent memorable Carmichael mud performance occurred in Daytona at Round
10 of the Supercross series. The sodden track proved to be a nightmare for
every racer except Carmichael, who went on to not only win, but also lap
all of the competition up to third place. As Carmichael stood on the wet
Daytona podium that day, Kevin Windham was nowhere in sight or mind. But as
experienced racers know, anything is possible. And now on the eve of
Carmichael's anticipated 2003 outdoor MX title, Windham, the spoiler, was
present and like RC, when race conditions get tough, Windham gets tougher.
So, the stage was set for what could be a glorious championship or a
glorious upset, sending the title chase to the rescheduled 12th and final
round in Troy, Ohio. In the end, Carmichael took center stage. However,
Windham, in his comeback season, proved he's understudy to no one.  "He
really made me earn this one," said Carmichael about the pressure that
Windham put on all season. "That fact makes this championship one of the
most fulfilling."

As the first moto began, Carmichael quickly took command of the pack.
Windham, normally a strong starter on his Honda CRF450R, gated outside the
top five and was forced to work his way through a handful of slower riders
before taking over second place on the fourth of 14 laps. With four laps of
clear sailing, Carmichael had already opened up a comfortable lead of more
than 20 seconds, but Windham showed unbridled determination throughout the
moto, proving that not even a mediocre start can stop him from challenging
for the lead. The 25-year old Cajun, who has also earned his pilot's
license, flew around the Steel City circuit until he cut Carmichael's lead
to about 15 seconds. The Honda teammates were nearly in a moto of their own
as third-place Tim Ferry finished another 15 seconds behind Windham.

The impressive come-from-behind effort Windham displayed in the first
outing was not needed in the second moto. As the gate fell, the #14 CRF450R
nabbed second place at the start, with Carmichael right behind him in
third. Before the moto was a lap old, Windham and Carmichael had once again
established a one-two running order that saw the four-stroke with a slight
advantage over the #4 Honda CR250R of Carmichael. For the better part of
the moto, Carmichael chased his Red Rider teammate before finally making a
pass on Windham. The pass stuck, and with just three laps remaining
Carmichael pulled out a nine-second lead over Windham, who had been
threatening to delay RC's celebration of his tenth AMA championship. Ferry
finished the moto in third place, this time 35 seconds behind the race
winner.

A disappointed Windham was vocal about his plans to send the championship
to the final round. "I really wanted the championship to be decided at the
final round in Troy," said Windham, who secured runner-up in the series
with his second-place showing at Steel City Raceway. "I thought I was going
to, so I'm disappointed that Ricky caught and passed me in the final laps."
Regardless of his disappointment, Windham still had a storybook season and
definitely made for more exciting racing, considering that he broke
Carmichael's moto-win and race-win streaks during the second round of the
series.

Their Honda cohorts also rode valiantly at Steel City Raceway and came away
with respectable results despite the lack of practice on Saturday. Ernesto
Fonseca started the first moto inside the top ten, a couple spots in front
of Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection's Mike LaRocco. In the middle half
of the moto, the CR250R-mounted duo hooked up to finish fifth and sixth,
with LaRocco receiving the advantage. The second moto saw a less stellar
start for both riders, which explained their sixth and eighth place moto
finishes. Of the two, LaRocco again finished ahead, which netted him fifth
overall on the day, a position that the Indianan owns in the series point
standings as well. Fonseca's moto tally put the first-year 250 motocross
competitor in eighth, just ahead of MotoXXX/Yoshimura's Larry Ward, Jason
Thomas and Clark Stiles; all CRF450R-mounted.

Unfortunately, the #25 CRF450R ridden by Nathan Ramsey continued to
experience a string of bad luck. Ramsey, who sat out the Supercross series
with a broken leg and has since been plagued by random injuries, climbed
from a back-of-the-pack start in the first moto to finish 15th. He then
nabbed the holeshot in the second moto, but fell and was forced to work his
way from outside the top 20 to an eventual 15th place once again. His 15-15
moto score placed him in 15th overall.

While James Stewart handed the 125 class a Carmichael-style beating,
Amsoil/Chaparral/Factory Connection Red Riders Michael Byrne and Ryan Mills
made their presence felt in the race for second place. Byrne posted a moto
score of 4-6 to claim fifth overall, while young Mills went 5-8 for sixth.
The New Yorker even ran as high as second place in the tie-breaking moto.
Mills' Red Rider teammate Chris Gosselaar fought to an 11-18 moto score for
12th.


250 Overall Results:
1. Ricky Carmichael (1, 1) - Honda
2. Kevin Windham (2, 2) - Honda
3. Tim Ferry (3, 3) - Yamaha
4. Chad Reed (4, 7) - Yamaha
5. Mike LaRocco (5, 6) - Honda
8. Ernesto Fonseca (6, 8) - Honda
9. Larry Ward (11, 10) - Honda
10. Jason Thomas (10, 11) - Honda
11. Clark Stiles (8, 13) - Honda
13. Paul Carpenter (15, 12) - Honda
15. Nathan Ramsey (13, 15) - Honda
17. Joseph Oehlof (18, 19) - Honda
19. James Povolny (32, 17) - Honda
20. Ty Wallace (38, 18) - Honda

250 AMA Motocross Points Standings:
1. Ricky Carmichael - Honda - 529
2. Kevin Windham - Honda - 460
3. Chad Reed - Yamaha - 398
4. Tim Ferry - Yamaha - 376
5. Mike LaRocco - Honda - 327
8. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda - 241
9. Larry Ward - Honda - 204
12. Kyle Lewis - Honda - 141
13. Clark Stiles - Honda - 132
15. Nathan Ramsey - Honda - 111
16. Jason Thomas - Honda - 87

125 Overall Results
1. James Stewart (1, 1) - Kawasaki
2. Ryan Hughes (3, 4) - KTM
3. Craig Anderson (2, 5) - Yamaha
4. Grant Langston (12, 2) - KTM
5. Michael Byrne (4, 6) - Honda
6. Ryan Mills (6, 8) - Honda
12. Chris Gosselaar (8, 18) - Honda
18. Tim Weigand (20, 12) - Honda

125 AMA Motocross Point Standings:
1. Grant Langston - KTM - 380
2. Ryan Hughes - KTM - 373
3. James Stewart - Kawasaki - 350
4. Mike Brown - Kawasaki - 271
5. Michael Bryne - Honda - 269
10. Chris Gosselaar - Honda - 173
16. Ryan Mills - Honda - 135