Round 11 of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championships saw another huge crowd, great racing and a record-breaking performance by Honda’s Ricky Carmichael who blazed to moto victories 21 and 22, en route to his 11th consecutive overall win this year at Broome-Tioga. Carmichael has set himself up for the unthinkable next week when he goes for the entire sweep of 24 motos and 12 overall race wins at the final contest of the year – the SoBe National at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pennsylvania.
But not to be outdone, team Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki’s James Stewart became the youngest rider ever to win an AMA motocross title (16 years, nine months), going 1-1 and tying the record for most overall wins (nine) set by Steve Lamson back in 1995.
Carmichael commented on his 1-1 performance, 22nd consecutive win of the year, having clinched the overall 2002 outdoor National 250cc title last week in Minnesota: “I don’t know what to say,” Carmichael said. “This summer has been so amazing. I’ve worked very hard to get to this level, and my Honda CR250 has run perfectly, but I never imagined things would go this well. I’ll just do my best and see what happens [at Steel City]. If I crash in a moto and race back to the podium, I’ll be happy. I’ve already won the overall title and that was my goal.”
Joining Carmichael on the podium were Factory Connection/Honda’s Mike LaRocco and SoBe Suzuki’s Sean Hamblin, who finished out the day in second and third, respectively.
In the 125cc class, Stewart actually had to come from behind early on in both motos before taking the lead and the eventual 1-1 finish. Said Stewart of his performance on the afternoon: “I really had fun today. It looked like the conditions were going to be pretty bad, but the skies cleared up today and the promoters did a nice job getting the track ready. My KX125 was awesome, I felt really good today and I’m stoked to win the title. Now the pressure’s off of me and I’m looking forward to going out and trying to win the next two motos at Steel City.”
Joining Stewart on the podium were Suzuki’s Branden Jesseman in second place, and Honda’s Ernesto Fonseca in third.
Results:
250cc National
1. Ricky Carmichael (Hon); 2. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 3. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 4. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 5. John Dowd (KTM); 6. Jean-Sebastien Roy (Hon); 7. Kyle Lewis (Hon); 8. Nathan Ramsey (Hon); 9. Jason Thomas (Hon); 10. James Povolny (Hon).
125cc National
1. James Stewart Jr. (Kaw); 2. Branden Jesseman (Suz); 3. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon); 4. Chad Reed (Yam); 5. Brock Sellards (KTM); 6. Michael Byrne (Hon); 7. Danny Smith (Suz); 8. Andrew Short (Suz); 9. Travis Preston (Hon); 10. Christopher Gosselaar (Hon).
