At the opening round of the outdoor series, defending AMA Chevy Trucks National Motocross Champions Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana received notice that they will not take the 2001 titles without a fight, as both riders were defeated at Glen Helen Raceway. Taking their premier overall National wins in the 250 and 125cc classes, respectively, were Team Yamaha’s Tim Ferry and Team KTM Red Bull’s Grant Langston.
In the 250cc class, Carmichael had his Glen Helen perfection streak in the first moto, when he sailed off the side of a steep hill moments after snaring the holeshot. By the time he was back on the track and underway, he was in 37th place, and he climbed as high as eighth before he crashed again (in the same spot!) and settled for eighth in the moto. Meanwhile, Team Honda’s Sebastien Tortelli sailed to the moto victory, though he did receive a late challenge from Ferry. Team Suzuki’s Kevin Windham rode a very solid race to take third.
Moto two saw Chevy Trucks Kawasaki’s Carmichael exact revenge, grabbing the lead on lap one and never looking back, though his 8-1 was only good for fourth overall. Keeping the fleeing Floridian in his crosshairs was Ferry, whose steady 2-2 was good for the win on his YZ426F. Windham once again rode a steady race for third in the moto and overall, while Tortelli made a couple of mistakes and finished fifth, still good enough for the runner-up position in the overall results.
Figuring out the 125cc results was much easier, as South African Langston posted a flawless 1-1 moto tally in his premier U.S. National, becoming the third rider (after Jean-Michel Bayle and Tortelli) to win his inaugural National. Langston was pushed hard in both outings by Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire’s Michael Brown, whose 2-2 equaled an impressive second-overall placing. Pastrana suffered from poor starts and mistakes, putting together a third-overall round-one result via 3-4 finishes on his factory Suzuki.
As for the booming YZ250F thumpers, Motoworldracing.com’s Damon Huffman was fourth thanks to 6-3 motos, the latter coming despite a missing silencer. EZ Wider’s Keith Johnson and Yamaha of Troy’s Ernesto Fonseca took the next two overall positions on their 250Fs, and Larry Ward, riding a Moto XXX/DGY/Atomic 22-backed four-stroke YZ, placed fourth in moto one, only to have a 30th-place second moto restrict him to 11th overall.
Results
250: 1. Timmy Ferry (Yam) 2-2; 2. Sebastien Tortelli (Hon) 1-5; 3. Kevin Windham (Suz) 3-3; 4. Ricky Carmichael (Kaw) 8-1; 5. Mike LaRocco (Hon) 4-4; 6. Ezra Lusk (Hon) 6-6; 7. Ryan Hughes (Hon) 5-9; 8. Stephane Roncada (Kaw) 7-8; 9. John Dowd (KTM) 9-11; 10. Spud Walters (Yam) 10-13.
125: 1. Grant Langston (KTM) 1-1; 2. Michael Brown (Kaw) 2-2; 3. Travis Pastrana (Suz) 3-4; 4. Damon Huffman (Yam) 6-3; 5. Keith Johnson (11-6); 6. Ernesto Fonseca (Yam) 12-7; 7. Danny Smith (Suz) 10-9; 8. Brock Sellards (KTM) 19-5; 9. Greg Schnell (Yam) 9-15; 10. Nicholas Wey (Yam) 8-16.
