Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael led 18 of the 20 laps in Saturday night's Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series main event at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium before Kawasaki ace James Stewart passed him and rode off to his third AMA Supercross win of the season. This weekend, Carmichael, of Tallahassee, Fla., makes the commute to St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome to even the score at the stadium where he is tied at three win with seven-time supercross champion Jeremy McGrath. Watch the race unfold on CBS Sports Sunday, February 19 at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Press day will be held on Thursday, February 16 from Noon 2 p.m. inside room 140, featuring Yamaha of Troy and Rockstar Suzuki. Racers will be available for interviews and will ride the track for the media.
The winner of three races this season, Carmichael has an 11-point lead over Stewart in the AMA Supercross class. Stewart's win in front of the 69,005 fans in San Diego notched him with Carmichael on wins this season. In the breathtaking 20-lap main event in San Diego, Stewart was patient to make the winning pass on Carmichael.
"I was better (than Carmichael) coming down the start and around the corner," said Stewart. "I was able to make the pass with only two laps left and ended up getting it."
Carmichael's great start allowed Stewart to pressure the reigning World Supercross GP/AMA Supercross Series champion.
"It was a great race," said Carmichael. "James was behind me the whole time. I'm sure he was back there checking it out and seeing what was going on or hoping for a mistake. I just rode my race; James put a good clean pass on me and the rest is history."
Stewart and Carmichael have kept their contest respectful and clean this year, putting any `dirty riding' tactics to the side.
"I was actually going to try and pass Ricky right after the start," said Stewart. "I felt that I had a better line towards the inside and was going to try and square him up. So, I just tried to pick a good place where it would be a clean pass, I didn't want to get in contact. I wanted a clean race."
Yamaha's Chad Reed, who won in St. Louis in `03&'04 in the AMA Supercross class and in '02 in the AMA Supercross Lites class, currently sits third in AMA Supercross point standings. Although he has been consistent, earning 49 podiums in 54 starts, the Australian native has not been in the mix with Carmichael and Stewart this season.
"Ricky and James are riding well," said Reed. "They have definitely stepped it up a notch. It's just my turn to step it up as well. I'm really looking forward to the remainder of the racing season. I just want to get out there and make it a three-way race and make it fun."
This weekend opens the Eastern Region Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series. KTM's Josh Hansen, who lost the championship by tie breaker to eventual champion Langston, is an early favorite. Other riders expected to challenge for the championship are Honda's Davi Millsaps, Suzuki's Broc Hepler, Yamaha or Troy's Matt Walker and Branden Jesseman and former 125cc regional supercross champion Stephane Roncada.
Last year Carmichael, of Havana, Fla., picked up his 40th Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series race win in front of 53,197 fans at the Edward Jones Dome. Kawasaki's Grant Langston, of Murrieta, Calif., won his second consecutive 125cc Eastern Regional Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series race, extending his season points lead to seven points.
Supercross LIVE!, the only place on the planet to catch Amp'd Mobile Supercross live at home, is available for fans at every race, starting at 7:00 p.m. local time at supercross.cc.com. Listen as Supercross LIVE! hosts Jim Holley and Jason Wiegandt capture the live race call, a pre-race show, a post-race show, post-race press conference, on-air industry guests and celebrities, in-depth interviews, promotions, call-ins and more. In 2004-2005, more than a three-quarters-of-million listeners logged on to Supercross LIVE!
The Edwards Jones Dome is a popular stop on the Amp'd Mobile Supercross circuit, with annual crowds nearing capacity. Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the Feb. 18 race can purchase tickets at Ticketmaster outlets, participating Yamaha dealers and at the Edwards Jones Dome box office. To charge by phone, call 314-241-1888 and 314-421-4400.
A tape-delayed, one-hour television broadcast of the AMA Supercross Lites racing will air on SPEED on Saturday, Feb . 25 at 6 p.m. EST. An additional one-hour broadcast of the AMA Supercross class will also air on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 12:30 p.m. EST.
For more information about the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, please log on to www.supercross.cc.com.
About Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP™/Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series
Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP is a 17-round global off-road motorcycle stadium racing circuit. Riders must compete in the international rounds to be eligible to win the world championship. In 2005-2006, the 17-event Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP will be comprised of two international events and 15 of the 16 events that are conducted in major cities throughout the United States as a part of the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series. Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series is a 16-event series solely conducted in the United States. The other Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series event held in Daytona Beach, Fla., is independently produced by the International Speedway Corporation and is not a part of the Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP. An Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series rider will be crowned as the national champion for the series of events conducted in the United States only.
The FIM, Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, is the body that globally governs motorcycle sport at the world level. Among other matters, the FIM groups together 85 affiliated National Federations relating to the sport of motorcycle racing. AMA Pro Racing is the National Federation representative that sanctions motorcycle-racing events in the United States. Dorna Off Road S.L. is an internationally recognized sports management group established in 1988 with an emphasis on major international motor sports events. Dorna is headquartered in Madrid, Spain with branch offices in Barcelona, London and Tokyo. In addition to its involvement with Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP, Dorna manage the rights to MotoGP. For more information on Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP/ Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, log on to www.supercross.cc.com.
About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.