He’s had a bit of bad luck this year, but today it was Ricky Carmichael’s competition who had bad luck, assisting the Chevy Trucks Kawasaki rider to his 37th AMA National Motocross victory, a number that ties the all-time win record of Bob Hannah. This one came at Red Bud Track-N-Trail, and it was the product of a perfect 1-1 moto score. That score seemed in doubt in moto one, when a motivated Sebastien Tortelli reeled in the Floridian and passed him to lead near the end of the moto. On the final lap, however, the Frenchman’s factory Honda rolled to a stop, the victim of either an empty fuel tank or a broken motor (depending upon which Honda official one talked to). Tortelli pushed his bike to the finish, but couldn’t drag it up the final jump, at the top of which was the finish line. In the second moto, Carmichael was passed and led for a while by Team Suzuki’s Kevin Windham, but after the defending champ reassumed the point, it was Windham’s turn to suffer misfortune on the final lap. Windham’s Suzuki threw its chain with seconds remaining in the moto, giving up a sure podium overall finish.
Second overall went to Tortelli’s teammate Ryan Hughes, giving the factory Honda CRF450R its best result ever via consistent 5-2 placings. Hughes, who has been staying and training with Jeff Stanton here in Michigan, seems confident and happy with the development progress of his big thumper.
Taking his first-ever podium finish in the 250cc class was Carmichael’s teammate Stephane Roncada, the Frenchman looking confident on his KX250 on his way to 3-4 finishes. And another Red Rider, Ezra Lusk, who was sporting special Jurassic Park III graphics and gear at Red Bud, was next. Lusk was only ninth in moto one, but he rebounded with a third-place finish in the second outing.
Rounding out the top five, incredibly, considering the way his second moto ended, was Windham, who despite not reaching the finish line, earned 13th-place points in the moto because of the riders he had lapped. In other words, Windham was considered the first rider not on the lead lap, and his 2-13 was good for fifth on the day.
In the 125cc class, Moto XXX rider Larry Ward was the surprise winner, taking his Yamaha YZ250F to its first National victory via 2-2 moto scores. Big Bird was simply on today, following home points-leader Travis Pastrana in the first moto and Grant Langston in the second (after leading until the last lap). Pastrana started poorly in the second moto, and the Team Suzuki rider could only climb as high as fourth place, still good enough for runner-up overall. KTM Red Bull’s Langston, riding with a third-degree shoulder separation (he has decided to forego surgery for now), followed up his fifth-place moto-one result with a heroic ride in moto two, chasing Ward the entire moto and then putting a pass on him with just a few turns remaining. He was awarded the final podium position for his efforts.
Motoworldracing.com/Answer put one of its riders inside the top five with Greg Schnell (fourth overall with a 3-8 tally), and Yamaha of Troy’s Ernesto Fonseca made it three YZ250Fs in the top five with his 4-11 score.
Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire’s Michael Brown suffered a flat tire in moto one and finished out of the points, but he put on an inspired come-from-behind performance in the second outing to snare third in the moto.
Results
250 O/A: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Kaw) 1-1; 2. Ryan Hughes (Hon) 5-2; 3. Stephane Roncada (Kaw) 3-4; 4. Ezra Lusk (Hon) 9-3; 5. Kevin Windham (Suz) 2-13; 6. John Dowd (KTM) 6-6; 7. Timmy Ferry (Yam) 7-7; 8. Mike LaRocco (Hon) 4-11; 9. Sebastien Tortelli (Hon) 13-5; 10. Robbie Reynard (Yam) 10-8.
125 O/A: 1. Larry Ward (Yam) 2-2; 2. Travis Pastrana (Suz) 1-4; 3. Grant Langston (KTM) 5-1; 4. Greg Schnell (Yam) 3-8; 5. Ernesto Fonseca (Yam) 4-11; 6. Branden Jesseman (Hon) 11-6; 7. Steve Lamson (Hus) 13-5; 8. Danny Smith (Suz) 9-9; 9. Nathan Ramsey (Yam) 8-13; 10. Michael Brown (Kaw) 23-3.
Points
250: 1. Ricky Carmichael (255); 2. Kevin Windham (222); 3. Sebastien Tortelli (216); 4. Tim Ferry (213); 5. Mike LaRocco (210); 6. John Dowd (165); 7. David Vuillemin (159); 8. Stephan Roncada (138); 9. Ryan Hughes (137); 10. Ezra Lusk (119).
125: 1. Travis Pastrana (246); 2. Grant Langston (202); 3. Michael Brown (187); 4. Larry Ward (178); 5. Ernesto Fonseca (146); 6. Brock Sellards (144); 7. Danny Smith (123); 8. Kelly Smith (112); 9. Nathan Ramsey (105); 10. Scott Sheak (102).
