In a straight fight that electrified the 38,744 in attendance at SBC Park in San Francisco, California, Team Makita Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael defeated Team Yamaha’s Chad Reed at round four of the THQ AMA Supercross Series tonight to earn his third straight win and add to his series points lead as he shoots for his fourth AMA Supercross Championship.
The 25-year-old Carmichael also gave Suzuki its first supercross win in either class at SBC Park.
Reed, the defending THQ AMA Supercross Series Champion, grabbed the holeshot at the start of the 25-lap main event, while Carmichael stumbled and rounded the first turn third, behind Amsoil/Chapparal/Napster Honda’s Mike LaRocco. Carmichael quickly passed LaRocco and came after Reed, seriously challenging the Australian for the lead through the whoop section just past the finish line jump. Carmichael knifed under Reed to take the lead in the right-hander that led into them on lap seven. Reed then pressured Carmichael, very nearly retaking the lead on the first set of whoops after the start straight. Carmicchael held Reed off there, however, and managed to put over second’s gap on Reed by the halfway point in the race. That lead was up to 3.15 seconds by lap 15, and Carmichael continued to pile it on, taking the win with 6.222 seconds in hand. Carmichael lapped up to 10th place in the race. Reed finished second, while LaRocco held on to finish third.
“I don’t know if I was too much on the edge in that race,” Carmichael said. “We made a lot of changes after the heat race, and I was really comfortable in the main. Everybody got what they wanted to see. We went one-two, and it was a fun battle. I really have a lot of respect for Chad. I was just letting the race come to me. Chad was making some small mistakes, and I was really comfortable. I got by him and pulled away. It was a really important win for me tonight.”
LaRocco’s teammate, Kevin Windham took a hit in the points when he went down just after the finish line on lap four, resarting the race well down in the field. Windham managed to work his way back to ninth place.
With the win, Carmichael extended his series points lead over Windham. Carmichael now leads Windham, 95-79. Reed is third, with 69.
Amsoil/Chapparal/Napster Honda’s Billy Laninovich earned his first career AMA 125cc supercross victory and became the fourth different winner in as many rounds of the THQ AMA 125cc Western Region Supercross Series. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ivan Tedesco appeared to get the holeshot to start the 15-lap main event, only to falter and slip back in the pack. Bost Mobile Yamaha/Troy Racing’s Danny Smith grabbed the Butterfinger Holeshot Award before Laninovich railed the first corner and led the race for a lap before Laninovich skipped past him to take the lead. Laninvoich then pulled away from American Honda’s Andrew Short, who could not find a way to eat in to the gap between them for the rest of the race and thus finished second for the second week in a row.
Tedesco was still the fastest man on the track, however, coming from 16th place on the first lap after colliding with Nathan Ramsey and crashing, and shuffling his way through the pack to third place by lap 11.
Last year’s San Francisco 125cc winner, Red Bull KTM’s Ramsey, suffered another serious blow to his championship hopes when he crashed again later during the main and finished well off the pace.
The injury plague continued as well, when Team Makita Suzuki’s Broc Hepler crashed in the first heat 125cc race and may have suffered a broken left forearm. The 18-year-old Hepler could be out of action for several weeks.
