Ricky Carmichael pulled off one of the biggest supercross wins of his career after beating Chad Reed – heads up – at Anaheim III. For the first time this season, the two hottest riders of the series went at it for the win in what was a very exciting 20-lap main event.
Neither rider, however, led off the start, instead that rider was Amsoil/Chaparral/Honda’s Michael Byrne, who turned a lot of heads by leading many of the top names of the sport for nearly half the race before giving way to Team Honda’s Carmichael and then Yamaha’s Reed. When Carmichael and Reed got out in front, just a few seconds separated the two riders at exactly the halfway point, at which time the battle for the win fully commenced.
Carmichael maintained a small lead over Reed until he nearly lost it when he got out of control through a section of whoops just before a triple jump. Somehow, Carmichael managed to save it but was unable to clear the triple, instead having to double. This gave Reed a chance to catch up and, as Carmichael put it, the Yamaha rider “smelled blood.” Reed got close to Carmichael, but the defending SX champ maintained his composure and again chiseled out a small lead that he held to the finish.
Carmichael did, however, bobble on the second-to-last lap, letting Reed get real close again, but that would be it, as Carmichael took the thrilling race win less than a second ahead of Reed.
David Vuillemin made it two factory Yamahas on the podium, finishing third after making up for an eighth-place start. Byrne held on to finish fourth, while Ezra Lusk, who ran as high as second, rounded out the top five. Lusk came into Anaheim III feeling ill because of a bad cold.
World 250cc MX Champion Mickael Pichon looked good, transferring to the main with a third-place finish in his heat. In the main, however, Pichon didn’t last long after colliding with another rider right off the start, leaving him with a broken front brake lever on his Suzuki. He never made it a lap.
Suzuki’s Sebastien Tortelli also crashed out of the main, leaving the track with an injured knee, which will be evaluated on Sunday.
Yamaha’s Tim Ferry, who decided to try out the YZ250 two-stroke over his usual YZ450 four-stroke mount, also crashed out of the main while running eighth. He was transported to the hospital for observation after hitting his head in the crash.
Mike LaRocco was another rider who didn’t make it to the finish. He tangled with another rider off the start and, while he was working his way up through the pack, crashed hard in the whoops, tweaking his shoulder. Like Pichon, Tortelli and Pichon, LaRocco recorded a DNF.
Just as he had at the three previous rounds Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki’s James Stewart Jr. dominated the 15-lap 125cc Western Region main event, stretching his points lead in the process. The 17-year-old once again led every lap of the race, only briefly trailing Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks Kawasaki’s flying Frenchman Eric Sorby through the first few turns. Stewart passed Sorby on the track’s second rhythm section and then rode at a pace that no one else could even come close to matching.
Stewart lapped the field up to seventh place. His margin of victory at the finish was a whopping 21.509 seconds, and he is now 28 points ahead of reigning AMA 125cc Western Regional Supercross Champion Travis Preston, 122-94, with three rounds remaining.
Preston, however, was nothing if not tenacious, fighting his way through the field to a runner-up finish after suffering an 11th-place start. The Amsoil/Chaparral Honda rider had to pass Sorby’s Pro Circuit teammate Matt Walker, and ultimately Sorby himself, en route to taking over second place, but pass them he did, and this time without incident. Sorby held on for third, although he came under fire from Red Bull KTM’s Josh Woods, who ultimately wasted his own shot at the podium with a spectacular cartwheel getoff in the whoops before the finish line jump in the latter stages of the race. Sorby thus earned his first podium finish of the season.
Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks’ Matt Walker and Red Bull KTM’s Billy Laninovich rounded out the top five.
250cc Main: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Hon); 2. Chad Reed (Yam); 3. David Vuillemin (Yam); 4. Michael Byrne (Hon); 5. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 6. Stephane Roncada (Suz); 7. Brock Sellards (Yam); 8. Heath Voss (Yam); 9. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon); 10. Nick Wey (Yam); 11. Keith R. Johnson (Yam); 12. Erick Vallejo (Yam); 13. Larry Ward (Hon); 14. Casey Lytle (Yam); 15. Sebastien Tortelli (Suz); 16. Tim Ferry (Yam); 17. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 18. Ivan Tedesco (Yam); 19. Pierrick Paget (Hon); 20. Mickael Pichon (Suz).
Race Time: 19 min., 22.575 sec.
Margin of Victory: 0.595 sec.
THQ AMA Supercross Series Points Standings (After 5 of 16 rounds): 1. Ricky Carmichael (115/3 wins); 2. Chad Reed (106/1 win); 3. (TIE) Ezra Lusk (1 win)/David Vuillemin (87); 5. Tim Ferry (79); 6. Sebastien Tortelli (63); 7. Mike LaRocco (60); 8. Michael Byrne (57); 9. Stephane Roncada (57); 10. (TIE) Ernesto Fonseca/Heath Voss (43); 12. (TIE) Nick Wey/Ivan Tedesco (36); 14. Larry Ward (31); 15. Keith R. Johnson (28); 16. Ryan Clark (26); 17. Brock Sellards (25); 18. (TIE) Mike Brown/Damon Huffman (19); 20. (TIE) Grant Langston/Erick Vallejo (16).
125cc Main: 1. James Stewart Jr. (Kaw); 2. Travis Preston (Hon); 3. Eric Sorby (Kaw); 4. Matt Walker (Kaw); 5. Billy Laninovich (KTM); 6. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 7. David Pingree (Suz); 8. Joshua Hansen (Yam); 9. Tiger Lacey (Yam); 10. Danny Smith (Suz); 11. Craig Anderson (Yam); 12. Akira Narita (Suz); 13. Pascal Leuret (KTM); 14. Shane Bess (Suz); 15. Tyler Evans (Suz); 16. Travis Elliott (Yam); 17. Tommy Harrison (Suz); 18. Josh Woods (KTM); 19. Andrew Short (Suz); 20. Troy Adams (Yam); 21. Christopher Gosselaar (Hon); 22. Bryan McGavran (Suz).
Race Time: 14 min., 59.434 sec.
Margin of Victory: 21.509 sec.
AMA 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series Points Standings (After 5 of 8 rounds): 1. James Stewart Jr. (122/4 wins); 2. Travis Preston (94/1 win); 3. Billy Laninovich (77); 4. (TIE) Andrew Short (74)/Matt Walker (&4); 6. Christopher Gosselaar (65); 7. Danny Smith (61); 8. Eric Sorby (59); 9. Josh Hansen (50); 10. Sean Hamblin (50); 11. David Pingree (43); 12. Craig Anderson (42); 13. Tiger Lacey (39); 14. Josh Woods (37); 15. (TIE); Kevin Johnson (27)/Steve Mertens (27); 17. (TIE) Travis Elliott (22)/Turbo Reif (22)/Akira Narita (22)/Tyler Evans (22).
Upcoming Round: San Diego, California, February 8
