The Streak Is Over

Kit Palmer | July 20, 2003

The streak is over. For the first time in almost two years, Ricky Carmichael finally lost a 250cc National, and he lost to the rider who beat him last, Kevin Windham. Windham, who beat Carmichael two years ago at Washougal, won both motos at Unadilla today to take the overall victory.

In the first moto, Windham got out in front early, while Carmichael was mired in the pack after getting a bad start. By the time he worked his way up to second place, Windham, on the CRF450R, was long gone and went on to take the win, some 19 seconds ahead of Carmichael. Team Yamaha’s Tim Ferry finished third, followed by Ezra Lusk, David Vuillemin and Chad Reed.

In the second moto, it was a fight to the finish between Windham and Carmichael. Windham again jumped out to the early lead, while Carmichael got away much better this time. By the third lap, Carmichael was running second and aiming for Windham.

Carmichael got close but could never make a pass. The race came down to the wire with Windham taking the close win over Carmichael, ending Carmichael’s two-year win streak.

Third in the second moto again went to Ferry, followed by Vuillemin and Reed. Lusk this time finished ninth. Overall, Windham took top honors, followed by Carmichael, Ferry, Vuillemin, Reed and Lusk. Seventh overall went to Mike LaRocco, followed by Jean-Sebastien Roy and Kyle Lewis. John Dowd rounded out the top 10 overall.

In the 125cc class, Kawasaki’s James Stewart again dominated. The defending champ won both motos, despite getting off to a horrible start in the second moto.

In the first moto, Stewart got out in front early and ran off with the win. Branden Jesseman finished second (about five seconds back), followed by Grant Langston. Langston looked to have second place in the bag but ran off the track in the late going. Fourth went to Ryan Hughes, followed by Bret Metcalf. Mike Brown finished seventh.

In the second moto, Stewart started off about 19th but quickly worked his way through the pack. He was in second by the end of the first lap and had the lead by the third lap. Stewart went on to take an easy win followed by Langston. Brown ended up third after a strong charge at the end, while Hughes finished out the moto in fourth, ahead of Metcalf, Ivan Tedesco and Craig Anderson.

Stewart took the overall win, followed by Langston, Hughes, Brown, Metcalf and Jesseman, who crashed in the second moto.

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.