Ricky Carmichael finished out his AMA National Motocross career with a decisive win at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, round nine of the Toyota AMA National Motocross Series.
The Makita Suzuki rider thrilled a record crowd of 26,128 fans with double moto wins, bringing his combined AMA Motocross/Supercross win total to an even 150.
When all was said and done, RC closed the books on his outdoor national career with 76 outdoor wins in the premier class, 26 in the 125 class, and seven outdoor titles, including two perfect seasons.
“I love this place,” said Carmichael from the podium. “I love the people here and I love this track and that’s why I chose to ride my last race here.”
“I really can’t believe it, to think that I will never race an outdoor again. But all good things have to come to an end, and I would just like to think that when you all came to the race that there was something about it that made it special and I hope it was me.”
Missing from the day’s action was Kawasaki’s James Stewart, who injured his knee at Washougal two weeks ago. The factory Kawasaki rider tried to ride on Friday and decided his knee was still not 100% and elected to miss the race, effectively putting out of the championship hunt.
Team Yamaha’s Grant Langston finished second overall at Millville with a 2-2 finish and clawed his way back into championship contention, while KTM’s Mike Alessi did the same by placing third overall with a 4-3 finish.
Honda’s Andrew Short and Kawasaki’s Tim Ferry left Millville with a share of the series points lead, each rider with 311 points.
Short got there with 3-5 moto finishes and fourth overall, while Ferry recovered from a first turn crash to finish eighth in the first moto and then suffered a bad start in the second moto and finished sixth for sixth overall.
With three races to go, Ferry and Short sit at the top of the standings with 311 points each, followed by Langston with 300 and Alessi with 292.
In the Lites division, Monster Energy Kawasaki teammates Ryan Villopoto and Ben Townley once again split moto wins with Villopoto getting the overall win via a 2-1 finish.
Monster Kawasaki’s Brett Metcalfe was third overall with a 3-3 finish.
