The Cobra Strikes

| October 11, 2003

According to odds makers, either 2003 THQ World Supercross GP Champion Chad Reed or 10-time National MX/SX Champion Ricky Carmichael were expected to win the Maxxis U.S. Open. However, they obviously weren’t counting on a determined David Vuillemin, who grabbed the holeshot in tonight’s main event and ran away to victory.

Vuillemin led every lap of the Open class, ahead of Carmichael, Ernesto Fonseca and Chad Reed early on. Reed came through the pack to pass Fonseca, and then Carmichael, but he couldn’t do much to put a dent in Vuillemin’s lead until the late laps, when Vuillemin was admittedly on cruise control.

Vuillemin took the win over Reed and Carmichael, who had a large gap over Mike LaRocco and Fonseca. It’s still anybody’s event, though, as if Reed wins tomorrow, he will still win the $100,000, and if Carmichael wins tomorrow, and Reed beats Vuillemin for second, Carmichael would win his third U.S. Open Championship.

It seems that the 125cc Pro Main not only replaced last year’s 125cc Amateur Cup, but the Four-Stroke class as well, as the vast majority of entrants were racing 250cc thumpers of one brand or another. Chris Gosselaar made the CRF250R debut a successful one as he topped the 125cc main, saying later that his basically box-stock bike was “like cheating.”

Most of the action was behind Gosselaar, as Kelly Smith held the spot for much of the race in his Boost Mobile/Yamaha/Troy Racing debut. However, late in the race Smith was passed by MotoXXX’s Troy Adams, who went on to take second in maybe his best showing ever. Smith got third over Andrew Short, who won the unofficial two-stroke class on his RM125, and SoBe Suzuki’s Broc Hepler aboard his RM-Z250.

Notable four-stroke pilots Brock Sellards and Steve Boniface tangled just past the start of the main and both dropped out with apparent injuries.

Suzuki’s Nicco Izzi topped the 85cc class for the night with a 2-1 showing. Jeff Alessi won the first moto, but took a wicked spill in the second moto after overjumping the double portion of the track’s triple jump and slamming into the face of the third mound. Alessi was carried off the track on a backboard reportedly with two broken legs and was taken to the hospital.

KTM’s Zach Osborne, believe it or not, sits second overall with a 5-7 score, while Team Green’s Sean Hackley is third with a 7-6 so far.

For complete results, please visit the official website of the Maxxis U.S. Open, www.ussx.com.

By Freelance