Press ReleaseFebruary 20, 2005
Team Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael raced to second place after crashing from the lead on the final lap of the San Diego Supercross on Saturday night in California.
The 25 year old series leader had led from the fourth turn of the 20 lap 250cc Main event at Qualcomm Stadium in front of nearly 54,000 fans, lapping up to third-placed Mike Larocco. But his mid-race five second lead was chipped away by reigning Supercross Champion Chad Reed in the closing laps and the Florida rider slipped off just before the finish line.
Said Carmichael: "It was a good race. Chad kicked my butt tonight; it's good to get beat every so often because it keeps the fire burning.
"Tonight I got beat. I'm not one to make excuses and whinge. I gave it everything on the last lap but it didn't work out. I got hung up behind a few guys and Chad came back at me. I'm happy with the way tonight went though, especially after my heat race problem and we'll regroup and go for it next weekend," added Carmichael who has a 29 point lead in the 16-round series.
Unusually, Carmichael had to qualify through the Last Chance Semi Final after crashing heavily and damaging his RM250 in his heat. "I made a mistake and went down. I had to pull out because the bike was bent - the handlebars were pointing left and the front wheel right," he added.
250 Results: 1 Chad Reed (Yamaha), 2 Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki), 3 Mike Larocco (Honda), 4 David Vuillemin (Yamaha), 5 Kevin Windham (Honda), 6 Sebastien Tortelli (Suzuki), 7 Michael Byrne (Kawasaki), 8 Heath Voss (Yamaha), 9 Travis Preston (Honda), 10 Jeremy McGrath (Honda).
Championship Points (after 7 of 16 rounds): 1 Carmichael 167, 2 Reed 138, 3 Larocco 119, 4 Windham 116, 5 Vuillemin 101, 6 Tortelli 94, 7 Fonseca 93, 8 Byrne 89, 9 Voss 81, 10 Wey 73.
Next round: Atlanta, Georgia - February 26.
Full Championship Points uploaded under: AMA / AMA Supercross / Championship Points.
Team Suzuki Press Office