Two Romps in San Francisco

| January 26, 2003

With over 40,000 people in attendance at Pac Bell Park, it looks as if supercross may have found a new home in San Francisco. No doubt the number probably would have been higher if tomorrow’s big game wasn’t in California and didn’t involve the local Oakland Raiders, but it was a good turnout nonetheless.

The 250cc main was almost all Ricky Carmichael. The first five laps were actually led by SoBe Suzuki’s Stephane Roncada – who showed impressive speed – but he is suffering from the dreaded Epstein-Barr virus and began to fade at about lap six, which is when Honda’s Carmichael was finally able to make a move stick for the lead. Roncada ended up eighth when all was said and done.

Yamaha’s Chad Reed came through from a mediocre start to finish second, while David Vuillemin looked like his old self again as he charged through the pack for third.

Chevy Trucks Kawasaki’s Ezra Lusk fell on the start straightaway right off the bat and got up dead last and a ways behind the pack. He was able to charge through to sixth.

Honda’s Ernesto Fonseca got off again in the main event on the 10th lap and was down for a while. He didn’t finish.

SoBe Suzuki’s Sebastien Tortelli had a horrible race. He fell twice and said he couldn’t find a rhythm. To make matters worse, Tortelli said he had a bet when the season started with his trainer Rick Johnson that if he finished outside of the top 10 in any race, he’d have to shave his head. On the other hand, if he won, Johnson would have to shave his head. Tortelli finished 15th.

Reed extended his lead in the THQ World Supercross GP points standings by a further three points over Vuillemin, but lost three points to Carmichael in the AMA standings.

The 125cc main was literally all James Stewart Jr. The Chevy Trucks Kawasaki rider led every single lap and won by almost 24 seconds over Pro Circuit’s Matt Walker, who was fined for a block he put on Travis Preston that sent Preston into the “Finish” sign.

Preston was coming through the pack impressively after a horrible start and was attempting a pass on Walker for second when Walker balked him up the face of the finish jump. The Amsoil/Chaparral Honda rider finished 11th.

Preston’s teammate Chris Gosselaar finished a solid third.

In another interesting note, the “THQ World Supercross GP” logo that normally adorned the top of the backdrop on the winner’s podium was blacked out.

250cc Main: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Hon); 2. Chad Reed (Yam); 3. David Vuillemin (Yam); 4. Timmy Ferry (Yam); 5. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 6. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 7. Michael Byrne (Hon); 8. Stephane Roncada (Suz); 9. Grant Langston (KTM); 10. Nick Wey (Yam); 11. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 12. Heath Voss (Yam); 13. Larry Ward (Hon); 14. Ivan Tedesco (Yam); 15. Sebastien Tortelli (Suz); 16. Damon Huffman (Hon); 17. Ryan Clark (Yam); 18. Erick Vallejo (Yam); 19. Keith R. Johnson (Yam); 20. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon).

AMA 250cc Standings: 1. Ricky Carmichael (90/2 wins); 2. Chad Reed (84/1 win); 3. Timmy Ferry (74); 4. Ezra Lusk (71/1 win); 5. David Vuillemin (67); 6. Sebastien Tortelli (57); 7. Mike LaRocco (56); 8. Stephane Roncada (42); 9. Michael Byrne (39); 10. Ivan Tedesco (33).

125cc Main: 1. James Stewart Jr. (Kaw); 2. Matt Walker (Kaw); 3. Chris Gosselaar (Hon); 4. Andrew Short (Suz); 5. Josh Woods (KTM); 6. Billy Laninovich (KTM); 7. Steve Mertens (Yam); 8. Eric Sorby (Kaw); 9. David Pingree (Suz); 10. Josh Hansen (Yam); 11. Travis Preston (Hon); 12. Turbo Reif (Yam); 13. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 14. Tyler Evans (Suz); 15. Pascal Leuret (KTM); 16. Craig Anderson (Yam); 17. Bryan McGavran (Suz); 18. Tiger Lacey (Yam); 19. Troy Adams (Yam); 20. Logan Darien (Yam); 21. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam); 22. Edguardo Rojas (Yam).

125cc Western Regional Points Standings: 1. James Stewart Jr. (97/3 wins); 2. (TIE) Travis Preston (72/1 win)/Andrew Short (72); 4. Chris Gosselaar (65); 5. Billy Laninovich (61); 6. Matt Walker (56); 7. Danny Smith (50); 8. Eric Sorby (39); 9. Josh Hansen (36); 10. Sean Hamblin (35).

For the complete story, read the next issue of Cycle News.

By Freelance