Carmichael and Metcalfe Take Night One Victories in Vegas

The night one wins at the 2005 U.S. Open of Supercross went to Ricky Carmichael and Brett Metcalfe. The sudden absence of James Stewart in the 250 class allowed Ricky to ride to a relatively unchallenged victory. Stewart appeared more than ready at Thursday's practice, and spun a few laps for the press, but was absent from Friday's practices. Kawasaki issued the following press release concerning Stewart:

"Team Kawasaki rider James Stewart will not be competing in the opening round of the U.S. Open in Las Vegas this evening. Stewart, who stated that he was '100 percent ready' during Thursday's press conference and webcast, began feeling nauseous by mid-morning today. Stewart was evaluated on site by the Asterisk Mobile Medical team and transported by ambulance to Spring Valley Hospital for further evaluation. Stewart's return to competition will be determined pending approval from his physician."

Stewart's absence was no doubt as disappointing to him as it was to the fans. With Reed and Bubba on the sidelines, the biggest challenge for Carmichael, surprisingly enough, came from Michael Byrne. Byrner grabbed the holeshot of the 250 main aboard his new KX450F and held the lead for most of the first lap before Carmichael took control. But Byrne remained in a strong second place ahead of Fonseca and Kevin Windham.

Though RC is still recovering from having strep throat earlier this weeek, and says he's exhausted, and hasn't prepared for this as well as he would have liked, he still came away with his usual convincing win.

Windham revealed that he has been riding with a painful hernia all season. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday, but wanted to work one last race into his already incredible season. The best 250 race of the night came from him and Fonseca in the heat one. Windham had control of the early race, but Fonseca reeled him in, and got around him for the lead in the last laps. Fans went nuts on the white flag lap when Windham made a last-minute dash three turns from the finish re-pass Fonseca for the lead, and the win.

The 125 class--I'm sorry... the Lites class-- had some exciting battles as well. KTM's Josh Hansen had the lead in heat two until Andrew Short, on a spankin' new dual-exhaust Honda CRF250R, got around him. Hansen and Metcalfe were left to battle for the runner-up position, but contact in the outside portion of the track let Mike Brown slip by (aboard a new Team Rockstar Suzuki RM-Z250), and finish second.

The Lite main event saw Andrew Short up front once again, and take a strong lead... until he pulled into a corner and stopped. He looked down at his bike, started it up, and slowly rode off the track. No word from his team as to his mysterious mechanical failure, but his DNF bumped him from the odds on favorite to out-of-contention for the weekend's championship title.

Brett Metcalfe took over the lead from that point and rode to his first moto win in the AMA Supercross Lites. Josh Hansen and Billy Laninovich filled out the podium for night one's events.

There's more to come from Las Vegas as we move into night two of the U.S. Open of Supercross. Check back on Dirtrider.com for more pictures, results and race report.

AMA Supercross Class Results - Night One
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
2. Michael Byrne, Temecula, Calif., Kawasaki
3. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
4. Mile LaRocco, Buchanan, Mich., Honda
5. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
6. Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
7. Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda
8. Kyle Lewis, Henderson, Nev., Honda
9. Jeff Gibson, Westerville, Ohio, Honda
10. Tiger Lacy, Wolf Creek, Ore., Honda

AMA Supercross Lites Class Results - Night Two
1. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
2. Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo., KTM
3. Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda
4. Robert Kiniry, Skaneateles, N.Y., Honda
5. Mike Brown, Johnson City, Tenn., Suzuki
6. Dylan Lord, Apple Valley, Calif., Honda
7. Jake Weimer, Pupert, Idaho, Honda
8. Logan Darien, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
9. Kyle Mace, Hesperia, Calif., Honda
10. Brad Ripple, Crown Point, Ind., Suzuki