Catching Up With Carmichael

Ricky Carmichael has a big weekend at the track coming up, but this time it’s on two-wheels – not four. The former Supercross and motocross champ is getting back to his roots at Daytona Bike Week and is preparing for three straight days of events at Daytona International Speedway. Once again, RC designed the track layout for the Saturday night AMA Supercross race (coming up on March 6). He has also joined up with MX Sports to put on the Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross Championship on the same track on Sunday, and will then host the first-ever Ricky Carmichael University for 100 lucky riders on Monday at the Speedway.

We caught up with Carmichael for a chat about his upcoming busy weekend and he told us more about the Amateur Supercross Championship, what he has in store for the students of “RCU” and also gave us his thoughts on the current AMA Supercross Championship battle.

Once again, you designed the layout for the Daytona Supercross. Tell us a little about the track design (pictured right).
For the pro race, we changed the design up a bit. The start is going to be in a different area than it’s ever been at Daytona. That should be pretty interesting. I think the start will be a lot closer to the fans so they’ll be able to see that. The start is always exciting. A lot of stuff always goes down there.
It’s somewhat limited on the design as far as what you can do because of the sprinklers and this and that... you gotta be conscious of all that. I tried to get creative as much as I could and I think it’s going to be a great track. I tried to make it fan friendly and also designed how the riders can take different lines so it’s not just a one-lined race track. We tried to get creative with a couple jumps and some sand whoops that we could put in.
It’s definitely tough with the parameters that they give you, but it’s fun to sit down and try to make it a fun race track.

Tell us about the amateur supercross championship on Sunday.
We’re looking forward to the Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross race. Obviously it’s the Sunday after. It’s something cool that MX Sports, Daytona Speedway and I have come up with. I think it’s a great way for the amateurs and the kids to race on a track that the pros got to race on the night before. Really, it’s a chance for everyone to see and race on a track that has so much history whether it’s two wheels or four wheels. It is the center of so much racing. There’s so much that happens at Daytona International Speedway. I think it’s a great way to give back to the sport that has done so much for me. I’m really looking forward to it. I look forward to a great turnout.

And what’s in store for Monday?
Monday we’re having the Ricky Carmichael University which is limited to 100 riders. It’s all sold out. It’s going to be really fun for me to give my piece of advice on what I think these guys should do and where I think the riders can be better, and really try to help them try to achieve their goals and answer any questions they may have for me.

Will every rider get to have some one on one time with you?
Absolutely.

Is this school for riders of all ages and all abilities?
Yep. It was open to 100 entries, all ages, all abilities and it sold out pretty quick. It was good to see that kind of enthusiasm, and I’m just as excited for it as the students. I look forward to helping them in any way, shape that I can and help them achieve any goals that they might have.

Is this the first time that you’ve taught riding skills?
It sure is. I’ve helped my mom; she used to do schools here and there and I’d go out and help them. And, you know, a rider would come to my track, my friends or other amateurs, I’d always try to give them help if they needed it or wanted it. Some people never wanted it. But I found I really enjoy doing it. I like to watch the riders and help them progress.

We hear that Jeff Stanton and Jeff Emig will also be helping out.
Yes. We have Jeff Emig as an instructor and Jeff Stanton. All three of us have had great success there, all winning the Daytona Supercross a couple times. Also, my mom will be an instructor, as well. We’re going to have Pro Circuit there for some technical support. I think we’re going to have a nutritionalist there. They’re going to show these guys the proper way to fuel your body. It’s really cool to see everyone coming together just to help out.

Is this going to be a packed curriculum? Are you going to keep these guys on their toes all day?
[laughs] I want them to have fun and I want them to learn. That’s the biggest thing. There’s no better recipe better than having fun while you’re learning. I think that’s the most productive thing you could ever do. If we can make that happen, I think it’ll be a success.

Before the amateur program on Sunday, are they going to tame down the track?
Yeah. We’re going to change up the amateur track, tone it down a little bit. I’ve always been a big supporter of the tracks being challenging but safe at the same time. I don’t want anyone to hurt themselves. So it’ll be toned down substantially from the pro event but still it’ll have its challenges. You’ll definitely get the feel of what Daytona Supercross is like for the riders that are trying to make it to that level.

As of now, there is still space available for the race, but not the school, right?
Oh yeah. We want the race to be big and have anybody and everybody who can make it to come. I think it’ll be a great event and like I said, it’s a great feeder race to Supercross. It’s a Supercross country. The manufacturers like it; TV likes it. It’s a step in the right direction to train these amateurs for Supercross – bring them up, shape them up.

Click here for more information on the Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross Champioinship.

Now talking about the AMA Supercross Championship, you’ve commented in the past that “the series starts in Daytona.” Do you still think that?
I wouldn’t say it starts there. I think everyone has already found their place, if you will, by the time it gets to Daytona. You know, this guy’s going to get fourth, this guy’s going to get fifth. These two are going to be contending for the championship and this guy is going to get third. I feel if you look back in history, that’s really what happens. It really seems like people start to settle unless they’re in a championship hunt. They kinda throw in the towel if you will and lose their steam and lose their buzz.

Talk about the championship battle going on right now.
I think it’s a great championship battle this year. I think it’s fantastic for the sport to have some new blood in there. I think Dungey and Hill have been the biggest surprises this year. Villopoto has been expected to do what he’s doing, so that doesn’t come as a surprise to me. He’s been down this road before, somewhat. I know he had some issues last year, but he has more experience than the guys he’s racing. If anything, I actually expected him to win a little bit more than he has so far. But he’s been solid and that’s what champions do.
As far as Dungey and Hill go, I think they’re doing good. I think Dungey’s in a great position to be able to be the rookie winner of the Supercross class. He’s really good as a rookie – better than just about anybody has come up in a long time. It’s really good. It was so good for the sport for him to have won before the other guys got hurt and couldn’t compete. I think that was huge. And with the other guys not there, they’re still getting really packed crowds so that just goes to show you that the sport in general is doing pretty healthy, fan-wise.

Speaking of the guys who got hurt, James Stewart and Chad Reed have quite a bitter rivalry going on. Do you think that kind of thing is good or bad for the sport?
I don’t really have an opinion on it to be honest with you. Does it make it any better racing? No. I think it just makes the drama off the track a little more and gives everyone more stuff to talk about. To me, I think it’s not a big deal. I think people make a bigger deal about it than it is.
We all know they don’t like each other and we all know they have zero respect for each other. That’s the way it is and life goes on. [laughs]

Then there are guys like Josh Grant who are not title contenders, but still have the potential to mix things up once they get back in the series.
It’s always good to have some of these guys who are injured come back up and mix it up. They’re going to want to get out there. They have a lot to prove. They want to prove to everyone that they could have been in contention if they hadn’t gotten hurt, so they’re going to be wanting to win. But at the end of the day, you’re going to see the two championship guys that are battling to win this title; they’re always going to find a way up to a podium position, if not for a win.