news: Supercross Round 7

Defending supercross champion Ricky Carmichael used hishead and stayed out of trouble for the win at Minneapolis, while challengerChad Reed was impressive and rode on the edge, and he ended up on the groundinstead of Carmichael.

Theracing has been the most intense since Carmichael started hanging with JeremyMcGrath in 2001. We still haven't seen a 20-lap head-to-head battle betweenCarmichael and Reed yet though, because they are going so hard one of themalways seems to push it too far.

BeforeMinneapolis, Carmichael switched to a taller subframe to raise his bodyposition a little on his bike, and a new focus on racing the track and not hiscompetition. Both Carmichael and Reed won their qualifiers, with Reed 10seconds faster, setting the stage for a great main event showdown.

Thewww.sxgp.com $1,500 holeshot award went to Ezra Lusk, with Larry Ward,Carmichael, Tim Ferry, and Reed close behind. Soon Lusk, Carmichael and Reedwere running away.

Thetrack featured a particularly difficult whoop section before a right turn to gopast a flat section where the mechanic's area was placed. Reed passed bothCarmichael and Lusk by getting through the section fast and diving to theinside for the pass. It is pretty rarefor someone to pass Carmichael in a race, and even more rare for him to notimmediately try to retaliate. He said Reed was riding too much on the edge andhe would just be patient.

"Thelap before (Reed) wrecked, in that turn going into the whoops there, he cameinto that turn so fast he went into the whoops at an angle," saidCarmichael. "I was like, 'go ahead dude, I don't have anything for that.' I was just going to try to get through lap10. That was my main focus. I knew it was going to be tough for him to go fromlap 10 on at that pace."

Carmichael'spatience worked. By lap 6 Reed hadalready fallen twice on his own and he was charging back from 10th. Carmichaelwon, with Lusk 8 seconds behind for second, and Ferry passing Vuillemin forthird. Vuillemin held on to forth, and for the second week in a row, Mach 1'sNick Wey was fifth.

Ferryfell on lap 4 and damaged his bike. "When I fell I must have smashed aradiator," he said. "I think I caught my break lever on a haybale andthat's why I fell. I couldn't figure out why I didn't have my front brake but Icould see that it was smoking. Itworked out. It didn't affect me too bad. I still got by Vuillemin at the end. Ijust started creeping up on Vuillemin. He rode good actually until abouthalfway. I think he was getting tired. I passed him one time and I left thedoor a little bit open but he didn't take it. I think he was just wore out. Allin all it was a good ride. I was real happy with my starts tonight. (Previousto this race) I have been laying on the ground a lot. I had a lot of crashesand a lot of bad starts. I have been working on my starts a lot."

"Ilike the east tracks a lot better," said Ferry, who is from Largo,Florida, "I grew up racing on theeast tracks. I am from the east coast. There are ruts. You could see tonight guys were crashing alot. These tracks are a lot more technical.They need you to show skills a lot more. I have been in California about6 weeks and it is definitely good to get home."

Georgia'sEzra Lusk held on to second, which will help him carry momentum into the nextround in Atlanta, where he lives. "A holeshot definitely makes life a loteasier," said Lusk, "I had a good weekend. I was kind of off all weekend.I just wasn't on the pace. Luckily tonight I got the holeshot. I wasable to ride with Chad and Ricky for a while. Chad was going pretty hard thereat the beginning. Ricky just rode asmart race. I really didn't have the speed so I was trying to put some lapstogether and make the podium tonight, hopefully something to build on forAtlanta and Daytona and the rest of the season."

Lusksaw what happened to Reed the first time he fell. "(Chad and I) werealmost side by side," he said, "He just came into a corner a littletoo fast. It was super flat on the inside before the whoops. He just lost bothwheels. It seemed like even in the heat race he was getting a pretty good drivethrough (the deeper whoops). I couldn't figure them out. If you don't get agood drive you might as well shut it down and go to the inside. But I was still going out wide. I just leftthe door open."

"Itried to turn my weekend around this weekend and do things right and capitalizeon some things I did wrong last weekend," said Carmichael, "It takesa lot of focus. Everyone was riding really good. Chad is riding fast. My main focus is I want to go out and go asfast as I can and just race the track. That is what I did tonight. It was a longweek. I come here to try to win. It's tough when you don't win. I am not goingto sit up here and say it was the funnest race of my life when I don't win. Itwas a good week to be home. I came here and had good lap times all weekend, inmy heat race and the main event."

Carmichaelwas happy for Lusk and gave him credit for clean riding. "It is awesome tosee Ezra up here," he said, "He has everything that it takes. He has been racing for a long time. Hedeserves to be up here. I was glad to see him up there. He is probably the only dude on the track Ican really trust, other than Jeremy when I was racing him. Everyone plays the dirty game sometimes. Ilearned a lot from Jeremy and the close races that we had. He can get the jobdone by racing hard and clean instead of taking risks and taking both peopleout."

Carmichael'stake on Reed was he was just too much on the edge for this track. "I saw him out there riding as fast ashe was, it seemed like all night he was kind of over the edge," he said,"I knew it was going to be a long night for him. The track got a lot dryerin the turns and he lost it there. Mywhole thing is I try and race the track and no one else. Chad is a good rider but that is not my mainconcern. My main concern is the track.The races that I didn't win are the races that I fell on. That is the thing that beat me."

250ccTHQ World Supercross GP/AMA Supercross Series Event Results

1.Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Honda

2. EzraLusk, Bainbridge, Ga., Kawasaki

3. TimFerry, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha

4.David Vuillemin, Corona, Calif., Yamaha

5. NickWey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha

6. ChadReed, Corona, Calif., Yamaha

7.Damon Huffman, Canyon County, Calif., Honda

8.Keith Johnson, Albuquerque, N.M., Yamaha

9.Larry Ward, Florence, S.C., Honda

10.Ernesto Fonseca, Canyon Lake, Calif., Honda

250ccAMA Supercross Series Season Standings

1.Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Honda, 160

2. ChadReed, Corona, Calif., Yamaha, 146

3.David Vuillemin, Corona, Calif., Yamaha, 127

4. EzraLusk, Bainbridge, Ga., Kawasaki, 120

5. TimFerry, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 114

6.Michael Byrne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 75

7.Stephane Roncada, Menifee, Calif., Suzuki, 70

8. NickWey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha, 68

9.Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Yamaha, 66

10.Sebastien Tortelli, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki, 63

250ccTHQ World Supercross GP Season Standings

1. ChadReed, Corona, Calif., Yamaha, 204

2.David Vuillemin, Corona, Calif., Yamaha, 191

3. TimFerry, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 180

4.Sebastien Tortelli, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki, 121

5. MikeLaRocco, South Bend, Ind., Honda, 118

6.Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Yamaha, 111

7.Keith Johnson, Albuquerque, N.M., Yamaha, 106

8.Damon Huffman, Canyon Country, Calif., Honda, 98

9. RyanClark, Albuquerque, N.M., Yamaha, 98

10.Grant Langston, Lake Elsinore, Calif., KTM, 76

125East Coast KICKOFF

SobeSuzuki's Branden Jesseman won the opening round of the 125 east regionalsupercross championship, bringing Suzuki its first win of the year and helpingease the pain of the team losing its last remaining full time 250 rider,Stephane Roncada, due to a broken leg.

Jessemandominated a field packed with talent, and covering a broad base from the experiencedlike Mike Brown, Michael Byrne, Kelly Smith, former 125cc world champion GrantLangston, former regional supercross champion Shae Bentley, Steve Boniface,Brock Sellards, and Ivan Tedesco, and relative newcomers like Ryan Mills, BobbyKinery, Ryan Morias, Jeff Gibson, Australian Brett Metcalf, and French importMatthieu Lalloz.

Experiencewon out with Jesseman, Sellards, and Byrne covering the podium.

Jessemanhad a clean track all night, easily winning his heat race, and passing Kelly Smithon the first lap of the main and never looking back. Unlike many of his closestcompetitors, Jesseman hasn't been out west warming up in the 250 class. He had knee surgery last year and stayed offhis bike for months while recovering.

Smithhad his best race in quite some time, hanging on to second on his Team TrinityYamaha for almost half the main and holding Sellards at bay while Jessemanchecked out. Byrne got knocked around in the beginning and had to charge upfrom last.

GrantLangston also had a horrible start, and had trouble charging due to his kneethat recently had surgery and a sore wrist due to a hard practice crash onFriday. Langston made the switch to 125 east after starting as a full-time 250rider, but after some bad races KTM decided to move him to 125s. He wasn'tready for this race due to his knee surgery, but he toughed it out to get somepoints.

Byrne'scharge from last to third was remarkable considering the depth of talent."I didn't get the best of starts," he said, "I was in the middleof the pack coming into the first corner.Two guys on the outside of me hit each other and fell down on me anddragged me down with them. I have to get up and just make the most of it. The bike was ok, just a littletweaked."

"Brockand Branden rode a great race. It's tough out there," said Bryne, "Itwas tough to get past some people. I really like to ride a 250. It's a personal thing. I would rather be racing. It's helped me out a lot. It was a roughnight for me and I am happy I made it through. I seemed to make a lot of timein the whoops. I was just aggressive and attacking the track. In the corners alot of guys were just rolling them."

Sellardslost time fighting for second and never saw Jesseman. "I was battling withKelly Smith the whole race," he said. "I was going through a sectionwhere you go 2-3-2, in the back and I clipped a hay bale and he jumped past me.I think halfway through lap eight I think I got by Kelly. We hit each other like 10 times. In the deepwhoops I could go either to the right or the left side. I would skip from the first one, thendouble-double-single or double-triple out.They ended up getting kind of easy by the main event because they gotflat."

Sellardsis riding Yamaha's YZ250F for Yamaha of Troy, the same bike Chad Reed won allbut one round of east supercross with last season. "The 250F 4-stroke isdifferent to ride," he said. "I struggled a little bit in the whoopsand that is odd because that is usually the strong point of that bike. The turnwas so slippery coming out. I usually go through the whoops in 5th gear but Ihad to use 4th and I hit the rev limiter a couple of times."

"Suzukihas had their troubles in the 250 class," said Jesseman, referring to theteam's absence due to injury of Travis Pastrana, Sebastien Tortelli, and nowRoncada. "I am just out here in 125s doing the best that I can each week.I got a good start and missed the chaos that was happening behind me. The first turn was a little critical. I was bumped by both sides and was lucky tostay on two wheels. I just gripped the bike as tight as I could and wheeled itout of there. I was very fortunate toget around Kelly Smith and let Brock battle with him."

Jessemanhas been out for several months, but he still had some momentum from his strongshowing in the 125 outdoor series last summer. "I learned a lot lastyear," he said, "I just keep learning every single day that I rideand train. Brock and everyone is ridingreally good out there. I feel I didn'tride as good as I wanted to. It was the first race and I was getting thejitters out. I am going to go back eastand start practicing and come out to the next race riding smoother. After Steel City I had to get my kneere-done. There were times when I wasout doing therapy and I wanted to race. I was so excited to get out here. Theoutdoor season last year, which is a little easier for me, gave me a lot ofconfidence to come in now. It seems like I have to put a lot more work intosupercross. I am learning supercross as well and hope to take it to theoutdoors. I have been off since September. It was a huge relief to get thisfirst race over with. I was so excited to go racing again. I just had a basicACL reconstruction and meniscus repair, and a lot of therapy. It's not very funbut its all worth it."

"Iexpected Michael Byrne and Sellards and Tedesco to do good," Jesseman saidof the competition, "I have been watching them on 250s. They have beendoing great against the top 250 guys. I just wanted to concentrate on what Iwanted to do (stay on a 125), just focus on myself."

Nextweekend at Atlanta Suzuki's west 125 team of Sean Hamblin and Danny Smith willbe there on 250s, along with Travis Preston on a Honda 450.

125ccEastern Regional AMA Supercross Series Event Results

1.Brandon Jesseman, Fombell, Pa., Suzuki

2. BrocSellards, New Philadelphia, Ohio, Yamaha

3.Michael Byrne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda

4. MikeBrown, Piney Flats, Tenn., Kawasaki

5.Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Yamaha

6. IvanTedesco, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha

7.Tiger Lacey, Wolf Creek, Ore., Yamaha

8.Brett Metcalf, Australia, Ohio, KTM

9. JeffGibson, Thornville, Ohio, Suzuki

10.Steve Boniface, Temecula, Calif., KTM

125cc EasternRegional AMA Supercross Series Season Standings

1.Brandon Jesseman, Fombell, Pa., Suzuki, 25

2. BrocSellards, New Philadelphia, Ohio, Yamaha, 22

3.Michael Byrne, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 20

4. MikeBrown, Piney Flats, Tenn., Kawasaki, 18

5.Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Yamaha, 16

6. IvanTedesco, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha, 15

7.Tiger Lacey, Wolf Creek, Ore., Yamaha, 13

8.Brett Metcalf, Australia, Ohio, KTM, 12

9. JeffGibson, Thornville, Ohio, Suzuki, 11

10.Steve Boniface, Temecula, Calif., KTM, 10