"You can't discount the bike because the rider didn't get on the podium," Carmichael said in December, two weeks before the '05 season started. "You can't draw conclusions. You put Bubba, myself or Reed on any bike, and we're going to win races, especially today because the bikes are so similar." Given the competition he was up against and the supercross track record for Suzuki, the trapdoor to the Carmichael bandwagon was wide open. This time, though, Suzuki came to the table prepared and Harris made sure that DeCoster and the team had every possible resource available to them for a winning season. Suzuki brought in an engineer from Japan to work full-time with the team. Carmichael got his own semi and kept his mechanic, and DeCoster and the team promised to make frequent trips to RC's training facility in southern Georgia to make sure its star had what he needed. Carmichael told DeCoster and Harris that if they gave him 100 percent then he would give 150. "I think RC is very aware of what's going on around him," DeCoster said. "He really studies his competition and the other bikes. He knew the bike was capable; the equipment wasn't the problem. He trusted me. He knew I wasn't trying to give him a sales job, and I think that's why he came our way."
Just when they felt as if it was never going to happen, all the ingredients finally coalesced and Harris and DeCoster put together their first supercross title at Suzuki with Carmichael. The long-overdue championship ended what many thought was a curse against Suzuki. "I thought the bike was good, but I didn't think the team structure was good enough to support Ricky," Bailey said. "They proved me wrong. RC has brought Suzuki back to where it was in the early '80s, and it's only going to get stronger from here."
Carmichael kept mental notes on those who didn't believe in him and used them as motivation throughout the year. Even though he never rightfully lost the supercross title, he still wanted it back as if it were his first, and he knew he was the underdog in the public eye. "It's funny to look at all the people who thought they knew who was going to win and who they bet on, and a lot of guys came out on the wrong end of the stick," Carmichael said after the supercross season. "It just goes to show you they didn't know as much as they thought they did. It kept me motivated. I know the guys and the people who didn't believe, and I like looking them in the face-it's fun."
Before '05 Suzuki was nowhere to be found in the winner's circle. After McGrath began dominating supercross in '93, the only time all four OEM brands won at least one race each was in '98. In motocross it had been three years since any brand other than Honda had won a 250cc race. American Suzuki is back on top. The next task is figuring out how to stay there.
"One isn't enough," Harris said. "I want to go after that second one next year, and I want to see these young guys we're grooming come up and win also. I'm a sales guy. You make your goal this month and you do it again next month. We're going to be looking for another title."