The 125cc points race is heating up. At the conclusion of the second Binghamton 125cc moto, the points gap between Red Bull KTM teammates Ryan Hughes and Grant Langston had shrunk from 16 points to 10 with two rounds still left to run and 100 points still possible to win – well, maybe 88 possible for those two, with all due respect, as James Stewart again dominated both motos, winning each moto by more than 50 seconds, and he doesn’t look like slowing down.
Langston actually had the holeshot at the beginning of the first moto, but Stewart ran into him just a few turns into the race, knocking the points leader down.
“I didn’t mean to take Langston out, and I’m sorry, Grant,” Stewart said from the podium.
Langston recovered from outside the top 20 to 10th, while Hughes made his way into second, cutting Langston’s points lead after the first moto to five.
Stewart again ran away with the second moto, but this time it was privateer YZ250F pilot Kelly Smith doing the chasing, as he came home second. Langston finished about a second and a half behind Smith for third, while Hughes grabbed sixth.
Although defending champ and points leader Ricky Carmichael came away with another overall victory (his record fourth at Binghamton), it wasn’t necessarily business as usual. As rival Kevin Windham led the moto, Carmichael crashed out of second place on the third lap and got up fourth, about 12 seconds behind the leader. Carmichael rode like a man possessed, catching back up to second, but he could only get within about seven seconds of Windham by moto’s end.
For at least the third time this year, though, Carmichael came back after losing the first moto to win the second, and the overall. Although at one point Windham made his way past the champ, Carmichael zapped him right back and never looked back, defeating the CRF450R pilot by about 10 seconds.
With a 63-point lead going into the penultimate event in Delmont, Pennsylvania, Carmichael looks quite likely to secure his record 10th title a round early, as a 50-point lead by day’s end would make it impossible for him to be topped.
250cc O/A: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Hon); 2. Kevin Windham (Hon); 3. Timmy Ferry (Yam); 4. Chad Reed (Yam); 5. David Vuillemin (Yam); 6. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 7. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 8. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon); 9. Nick Wey (Yam); 10. Kyle Lewis (Hon); 11. Paul Carpenter (Hon); 12. Nathan Ramsey (Hon); 13. Larry Ward (Hon); 14. Steve Lamson (Suz); 15. Stephane Roncada (Suz); 16. Clark Stiles (Hon); 17. Heath Voss (Yam); 18. Keith R. Johnson (Yam); 19. Jason Thomas (Hon); 20. Ryan Clark (Yam); 21. Joe Oehlhof (Hon); 22. James Povolny Jr. (Hon); 23. Dustin Nelson (Yam).
AMA/CHEVY TRUCKS 250cc U.S. MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of 12 rounds): 1. Ricky Carmichael (479/8 wins); 2. Kevin Windham (416/2 wins); 3. Chad Reed (366); 4. Timmy Ferry (336); 5. Mike LaRocco (296); 6. David Vuillemin (253); 7. Ezra Lusk (239); 8. Ernesto Fonseca (213); 9. John Dowd (190); 10. Larry Ward (183).
125cc O/A: 1. James Stewart (Kaw); 2. Kelly Smith (Yam); 3. Ryan Hughes (KTM); 4. Josh Woods (KTM); 5. Grant Langston (KTM); 6. Michael Byrne (Hon); 7. Andrew Short (Suz); 8. Chris Gosselaar (Hon); 9. Brock Sellards (Yam); 10. Brian Gray (Suz); 11. Matthieu Lalloz (Suz); 12. Broc Hepler (Suz); 13. Ryan Mills (Hon); 14. Michael Brandes (Yam); 15. Robbie Reynard (Kaw); 16. Troy Adams (Yam); 17. Craig Anderson (Yam); 18. Josh Hansen (Yam); 19. Evan Laughridge (Suz); 20. Richie Owens (Kaw); 21. Steve Boniface (Suz); 22. Jeff Gibson (KTM); 23. Tim Weigand (Hon).
AMA/CHEVY TRUCKS 125cc U.S. MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of 12 rounds): 1. Grant Langston (345); 2. Ryan Hughes (335/1 win); 3. James Stewart (300/6 wins); 4. Mike Brown (271); 5. Brock Sellards (247); 6. Michael Byrne (236); 7. Ivan Tedesco (186); 8. Craig Anderson (184/1 win); 9. Kelly Smith (167); 10. (TIE) Chris Gosselaar/Eric Sorby (160).
