Stewart Wins Mudder in San Francisco

So far this season, Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart have seemed to be inseparable. It seems like, more often than not, you can find both Fox-backed Floridians occupying approximately the same space on the track during the 250cc main event. Last week, it was Carmichael who came out on top of a battle with Stewart at Anaheim II. This week on the muddy San Francisco track inside SBC Park, though, Stewart would have a chance at redemption.

MDK/Motosport.com/MSR Honda's Nick Wey actually grabbed the holeshot to start the main event, followed closely by Stewart, and Stewart quickly worked his way past Wey and into the lead while Carmichael came through the pack to third by the end of the first lap.

"The first few laps, I was in my own world," Stewart said. "I was just kind of riding around. I was just sitting there before the main event, just thinking like Ricky did—I just want to get points. I think last year at Anaheim, I got lucky with a fifth, and we saw what happened to Reed. I just wanted to stay up. I got a good start, and we kind of hit off the gate, and I think it was Nick out front. I got around him and was just kind of in my own world. I made a few mistakes, but it was more the track than anything. I never felt like I pushed it once."

After two laps, though, Carmichael was second and chasing Stewart, and it took him until lap 9 of the abbreviated 12-lap main event to get close enough to Stewart to threaten a pass. In that period of time, Carmichael threw down three laps in the 1:09 range. Stewart never got below 1:10.

"I knew he was behind me, and I could hear the crowd," Stewart said. "Every time I didn't jump the finish line, or I messed up, I could hear the crowd going crazy, and I couldn't tell if he crashed or he was right up on me. I looked back, I saw that 4, and I was like, 'There he is again (laughs).'"

On lap 10, Carmichael made the move stick, and while they were battling, the duo lapped third-placed Wey.

"I mean, sometimes in the mud like that, it's really hard to go for the lead," Carmichael said. "You're just sloshing around everywhere, and everyone's all over the place, and a couple of times, I wasn't even close to make a run. When he didn't hit that rhythm lane—he was doing some doubles through there, and most of the time I didn't do them—so to make a long story short, when he would do that, he would get a little gap. Then, when he wouldn't do it, I'd catch him, and back and forth. But, toward the end there, he kind of got screwed up by the finish line there and couldn't jump it, and that's when I started to make up a lot more time. Once I got by him, I think we had two laps to go, and I slung my goggles, and I did my best."

But Stewart wasn't having any of it.

"He kind of gapped me because I cased doubling the triple pretty hard—I'm going to be limping for a while from that one," Stewart said. "Then I got around him through the rhythm section. I doubled, got around him, and then he doubled again, and I ended up doubling the last one and got to the inside."

Stewart quickly pulled out after the pass to take a relatively easy win as Carmichael had a couple bobbles on the last couple of laps.

But the battle begs the question: What can separate Stewart and Carmichael right now?

"Honestly, I don't think anything can right now," Stewart said. "I think we're both on the same page. We're running a good pace right there, and I think it's just going to come down to who's going to be the smartest, and he's had a lot of years, and I learned a lot from last year, so I don't really see anything to separate us, except for the 18th or 19th lap, to see who wants to gut it out."

Carmichael's second place is a far cry from the old RC, who couldn't seem to find his way around a muddy track.

"I just think I've gotten a little bit older now—this is my 10th season, so I know how to ride it, and I don't take the chances that I used to," Carmichael said. "Back when I was younger, sometimes I would take chances, and it would pay off, and then other times it wouldn't be good at all. Now, my ratio in the mud is 10 times better than it has ever been, and I think it just comes with time and experience."

Wey, the first rider to be a lap down, finished third, and it moved him to 4th in the championships. Despite his success, he wasn't doing a rain dance before the race.

"I definitely wasn't thinking of it as any sort of an opportunity, that's for sure," Wey said. "I would've much rather have it dry and get a good start. I feel like I've really been working hard, and Randy Lawrence has been helping me. I feel like, on a dry track, with a good start, I could work toward getting a podium. These two guys, shoot, they're obviously in a class by themselves right now, because, shoot, I think I did one less lap and I got third!"

Supercross Main Event Results
1. James Stewart (Kaw)
2. Ricky Carmichael (Suz)
3. Nick Wey (Hon)
4. Michael Byrne (Kaw)
5. Chad Reed (Yam)
6. Tyler Evans (Suz)
7. Travis Preston (Hon)
8. Jeff Gibson (Hon)
9. Ryan Clark (Hon)
10. Jason Thomas (Hon)
11. Mike LaRocco (Hon)
12. Clark Stiles (Yam)
13. Jacob Marsack (Yam)
14. Jeff Dement (Suz)
15. Doug Dehaan (Hon)
16. Ivan Tedesco (Suz)
17. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon)
18. Kyle Lewis (Hon)
19. Timmy Ferry (Hon)
20. David Vuillemin (Hon)

Amp'd Mobile/AMA 250cc Supercross Championship Points Standings
(After 4 of 16 rounds)
1. Ricky Carmichael (92/2 wins)
2. James Stewart (90/2 wins)
3. Chad Reed (82)
4. Nick Wey (61)
5. Michael Byrne (58)
6. Mike LaRocco (55)
7. Ivan Tedesco (51)
8. Ernesto Fonseca (48)
9. Travis Preston (47)
10. Jeremy McGrath (44)

Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP Championship
(After 6 of 17 rounds)
1. James Stewart (140/4 wins)
2. Ricky Carmichael (136)
3. Chad Reed (122)
4. Nick Wey (98)
5. Michael Byrne (96)
6. Ivan Tedesco (95)
7. Jeff Gibson (74)
8. Jason Thomas (73)
9. Ryan Clark (69)
10. Tyler Evans (51)

Lites Class

At this point, it's safe to say that Nathan Ramsey is a mud rider. And a very good one. Last year's season opener at Anaheim Stadium was probably the worst mud race in a decade, and it was Ramsey who put his Red Bull KTM on top of the field by the end of the day. Barely more than a year later, the rain again reared its head in San Francisco for round four of the Amp'd Mobile/AMA Supercross Series, and once again it was Ramsey grabbing the reigns and taking the race win.

"Everyone, as soon as it starts raining—ever since Anaheim I [2005]—they're looking at me going, 'He's probably pumped!'" Ramsey says. "To be honest, I'm never pumped when it's raining. I did do some riding in the mud growing up, and did some races back at Muddy Creek, and last year it rained a lot before the season. If you wanted to ride, you had to ride in the mud, so I got the feeling back doing that. This is really the second real mud supercross race I ever raced, with Anaheim I last year being the first. I don't know if I'm good in the mud, or just good at dog-walking my bike around the track. That's Nate Dog-walking."

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto, hailing from rainy Washington state, actually grabbed the holeshot in the abbreviated 8-lap main event, followed by Aussie Brett Metcalfe and Ramsey, with rookie Daniel Sani fourth and Mike Alessi fifth. Just as he crossed the finish line, though, Villopoto cross-rutted on the face of the jump and flew sideways through the air, going down in a heap on the backside of the big double in the mud. This handed the lead to Metcalfe, who was all too happy to take it.

"Last year, at Anaheim I, Nate Dog lapped me, and I was miles behind," Metcalfe said. "Before Anaheim I this year, we got a lot of rain in California, and I was determined to not let a mud race faze me again, so I went out to the test track in the pouring rain and rode for like an hour in the mud, then packed my bike up and went home. Coming into this race, I was ready for it to be muddy or dusty, and I just stayed on, I guess."

However, Ramsey had other ideas, as he moved into second, with his teammate Alessi right behind him, and made the pass on Metcalfe before the end of the third lap.

From there, Ramsey just pedaled his way through the mud, trying not to get stuck, and trying to hang onto the lead.

On the last lap, as he headed down the final straightaway, Ramsey began to feel pressure from Metcalfe.

"Yeah, well, there was a few riders going at it in front of me as I came across the starting line right past the mechanics, and in a mud race, you've been trying to go in the same spot, and you kind of have a little bit of a plan, but I went out of that groove and I knew Brett was there, but that he was far enough back that I didn't really have to do anything risky," Ramsey said. "Then, when I made that last left-hander to go into that rhythm section, I just kind of hung up over to the left of the track, and I knew if he saw me he would be coming down the right side, so I just tried to move my way over to the right. I did hear him, and I know he saw me going for that inside rut, and trying to protect my line, and I could hear him pin it to the outside, and I was like, 'All right...' Because there was like a lapped rider right in that rut, too, so I just kind of pinned it to the left of the lapped rider. It was close. Somehow, I don't know why, but every race I've got a decent lead in, I like to let things tighten up there on the last lap. I think all my family and ol' Larry [Brooks] over there, he likes it when I keep it interesting."

Ramsey won by a bikelength over Metcalfe.

"The first few rounds haven't gone very well, and this week I sat down and made some changes with my bike and my setup, and my team made some good changes, and I worked with my trainer Ryan Hughes—we work really hard—and we both sat down and had a big talk and tried to figure out what's going on," Metcalfe said. "This week, we made a lot of changes, and this week was really good, so for the rest of the season now, I've just got to keep pushing myself, keep looking up, and stay positive. I know I can do it, it's just putting everything together. I feel confident. This is a big boost for me to be up here right now. It's huge."

Alessi hung on for his first supercross podium finish as well.

"The last couple weeks haven't been going that great—with a 10th, a 9th and a 7th last week," Alessi said. "I got a great start last week, with a holeshot, but those guys just ate me up quick the first two laps. I went from 2nd to 5th in one lap. It's amazing how fast I went backward. But this week, I got a good start. I actually thought I had the holeshot, but I didn't think I had to go to the first jump to get the start. I was riding a consistent, smooth race, and I actually fell twice, but I still came back, kept my head together, and was promising myself I could do it, and I wound up getting third. Getting third place is like a win to me as far as the season's going right now. It feels really good."

Halfway through the Western Regional Series, Ramsey now enjoys a 5-point lead after sitting quite a few points behind coming into the event.

"You know, there's a lot of racing left, and there could be another mud race and it could go the other way for me," Ramsey said, "so like I keep saying, I'm just going to keep working hard during the week, and I'm not the type of rider that's really good at laying up, so I'm going to be smart and not do anything stupid, but I'm still going to go out there and race the track and try to win. That's what we're brought up racing to do is go out there and win. The championship is definitely the goal, but my style is just to get out there and go for it."

Lites Main Event Results
1. Nathan Ramsey (KTM)
2. Brett Metcalfe (Yam)
3. Mike Alessi (KTM)
4. Jason Lawrence (Suz)
5. Ryan Mills (Suz)
6. Ryan Villopoto (Kaw)
7. Billy Laninovich (Hon)
8. Paul Carpenter (Hon)
9. Ryan Morais (Suz)
10. Marco Dube (Yam)
11. Kyle Partridge (Yam)
12. Eric Sorby (Hon)
13. Andrew Short (Hon)
14. Ryan Abrigo (Hon)
15. Grant Langston (Kaw)
16. Jesse Casillas (Hon)
17. Michael LaPaglia (Suz)
18. Justin Brayton (Yam)
19. Vernon McKiddie (Suz)
20. Daniel Sani (Hon)
21. Colton Facciotti (Kaw)
22. Adam Chatfield (Suz)

2006 Lites Western Regional Supercross Championship Points Standings
(After 4 of 8 rounds)
1. Nathan Ramsey (79/2 wins)
2. Billy Laninovich (74)
3. Andrew Short (71/1 win)
4. Grant Langston (69/1 win)
5. Ryan Villopoto (64)
6. Brett Metcalfe (60)
7. Mike Alessi (57)
8. Paul Carpenter (49)
9. Jake Weimer (39)
10. Eric Sorby (33)

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