Carmichael Sweeps Southwick

| June 8, 2003

The sandy MX 338 track in Southwick, Massachusetts, provided some really good action for today’s AMA/Chevy Trucks 125/250cc U.S. Motocross Series event, although many riders came away injured as well. Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Hughes broke his left fibula (the smaller of the two lower-leg bones) down near the ankle in the first 125cc moto, in which he finished 10th (!), and then returned to finish 16th in the second moto. On a positive note, a first-turn crash helped keep Mike Brown out of points-scoring position in the first moto, so Hughes only lost another four points on the day and now trails Brown by five in the championship. Hughes says he’s going to go to a doctor and try to get his leg fixed so that he can race next weekend. “I may never have this chance again,” he said.

Ricky Carmichael swept both 250cc motos at Southwick, while local heroes John Dowd and Doug Henry made their presence known as well. Henry actually swapped a position with Carmichael a few times at the beginning of moto one before Carmichael took off. Henry finished sixth in the moto, and in the second moto, Henry started third and banzaiied past Nathan Ramsey for second before getting off in a big way. The legendary champ then got punted in the butt by Timmy Ferry’s YZ450F, and Henry suffered a broken left pinkie in the incident as well. Dowd faired much better, as he ended up going 2-3 for second overall on his Cernic’s KTM/Moose Racing 250 SX.

Kevin Windham finished third overall with 4-2 finishes and Ferry (3-6) and Mike LaRocco (5-4) rounded out the top five.

The 125cc class was a parade of wonder. The first moto saw thus-far also-rans Michael Byrne, Craig Anderson and Ryan Mills go 1-2-3 (first time ever for two Aussies to go 1-2 in the states). Michael Brandes and Kelly Smith rounded out the top five.

The second moto saw Anderson holeshot for the second time and fight off the advances of teammate Brock Sellards and Byrne to the finish. Byrne actually fell while challenging for the lead, finishing fourth. Brown finished third in the second moto, Sellards second, and Andrew Short fifth.

In other news, it seems that Ferry and David Vuillemin will both be returning to Team Yamaha next year, whereas the bikes they will ride remains somewhat up in the air. Sean Hamblin dislocated his knee in the first moto and sat out the second pending an MRI. And Josh Hansen reportedly broke his collarbone.

Results:

125 O/A: 1. Craig Anderson (Yam); 2. Michael Byrne (Hon); 3. Brock Sellards (Yam); 4. Andrew Short (Suz); 5. Ryan Mills (Hon); 6. Kelly Smith (Yam); 7. Tony Lorusso (Suz); 8. Stephane Roncada (Suz); 9. Michael Brandes (Yam); 10. Mike Brown (Kaw); 11. Grant Langston (KTM); 12. Mike Treadwell (KTM); 13. Ryan Hughes (KTM); 14. Steve Lamson (Suz); 15. Steve Boniface (KTM); 16. Steve Mertens (Yam); 17. Matthieu Lalloz (Suz); 18. Daryl Hurley (Suz); 19. Chris Gosselaar (Hon); 20. Bobby Kiniry (Suz).

250 O/A: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Hon); 2. John Dowd (KTM); 3. Kevin Windham (Hon); 4. Timmy Ferry (Yam); 5. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 6. Chad Reed (Yam); 7. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon); 8. Nathan Ramsey (Hon); 9. Larry Ward (Hon); 10. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 11. Keith S. Johnson (KTM); 12. David Vuillemin (Yam); 13. Nick Wey (Yam); 14. Doug Henry (Yam); 15. Clark Stiles (Hon); 16. Joaquim Rodrigues (KTM); 17. Damien Plotts (Hon); 18. Blair Morgan (Yam); 19. Kyle Lewis (Hon); 20. Bobby Bonds (Kaw).

125cc Points Standings (After 4 of 12 rounds): 1. Mike Brown (156/2 wins); 2. Ryan Hughes (151/1 win); 3. Grant Langston (131); 4. Eric Sorby (116); 5. Brock Sellards (99); 6. Michael Byrne (93); 7. Michael Brandes (90); 8. Craig Anderson (87/1 win); 9. Stephane Roncada (77); 10. (TIE) Chris Gosselaar/Ivan Tedesco/Steve Boniface/Brett Metcalfe (72); 14. Andrew Short (56); 15. Ryan Mills (49); 16. Kelly Smith (47); 17. Steve Mertens (39); 18. Daryl Hurley (36); 19. Brian Gray (32); 20. Tim Weigand (31).

250cc Points Standings (After 4 of 12 rounds): 1. Ricky Carmichael (197/4 wins); 2. Kevin Windham (153); 3. Chad Reed (150); 4. Timmy Ferry (149); 5. Mike LaRocco (124); 6. Ezra Lusk (97); 7. John Dowd (89); 8. Larry Ward (87); 9. David Vuillemin (80); 10. Ernesto Fonseca (78); 11. (TIE) Nick Wey/Sean Hamblin (66); 13. Nathan Ramsey (52); 14. Joaquim Rodrigues (42); 15. Kyle Lewis (35); 16. Sebastien Tortelli (33); 17. Clark Stiles (29); 18. Robbie Reynard (29); 19. Bobby Bonds (27); 20. Greg Albertyn (25).

By Freelance