Chevy Trucks 125/250 U.S. Motocross Championships Round 6, Red BudCarmichael and Stewart do it againHonda's defending motocross champion Ricky Carmichael keeps on winning. Carmichael is approaching 2 years since the last time he lost an AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. motocross championship overall, when he lost to Kevin Windham at Washougal.At the time, Carmichael was on a Kawasaki, and Windham on a Suzuki. To moto fans, that seems like a lifetime ago. Now both are on Honda's, with Carmichael sticking to a 2-stroke 250 because it suits his style, and Windham is on Honda's CRF450R 4-stroke. Windham has been Carmichael's closest challenger in this series so far, but he has just won one moto in 12.Carmichael won both motos at the popular Red Bud track without much trouble. The Red Bud track is among the most popular with the riders, with its soft dirt (they truck in sand to maintain the surface) steep elevation changes, and spectacular jumps like the 130" uphill triple known as "LaRocco's Leap," the biggest jump in professional motocross.In the first moto, Yamaha's Chad Reed, who hasn't won a race since he dominated the second half of the supercross season, got the holeshot and led Windham and Carmichael for a couple of laps before Windham took over. Windham's lead was shortened by a crash that dropped him to third, and Carmichael took over and checked out for the win, with Windham getting around Reed one more time to take second. Reed was third, ahead of Ezra Lusk and local favorite Mike LaRocco.The second moto was all Carmichael, but Windham was able to pressure him for about half the moto. Yamaha's David Vuillemin was faster than his teammates this time and finished third, his best ride of the summer.Reed's 3-4 score was good for third overall. "This weekend was a much better weekend for me" he said, "I haven't finished on the podium since Sacramento. It has been a struggle with the bike. It has been frustrating. In the first moto, the holeshot was great. It definitely felt good to beat all those 4-strokes out there. I have been practicing a lot of starts. I did a local race in Australia and was able to do 12 or 13 races a day. I got a bunch of starts and I think that helped out. In the second moto I started between two 4-strokes. I tried to stay away from them. (Red Bud) is a fun track. It has a lot of jumps that take your breath away. It's great dirt. All the other tracks seem a bit hard packed.""My 450 Honda was awesome," said Windham, "This was a good track for it. I got two decent starts. Unfortunately coming into the weekend I was a little bit dehydrated. Halfway through the second moto I locked up and my elbow would not straighten out. I wasn't able to hold the speed so I decided to back it down and take what I could get. In the first moto I felt great. I was riding fast. I made up a little ground on RC. Of course he had a huge lead at that point. I just have a couple of things to work on and keep plugging along. I think now we are going to keep raising the bar week in and week out. We are eating and sleeping and breathing motocross."Carmichael makes winning every weekend look easy, but he talks about how tough it is at every press conference. "It was tough," said Carmichael, "Chad and Kevin rode really good today. We all had to work really hard. It was hot and we were a level ahead of everyone today. The first moto was good. I got a couple of gifts handed to me. Kevin fell down and made a mistake and I was able to get by Chad. I got a decent start. After that I just tried to regroup and get ready. I knew it was going to be hot in the next moto. I got a good start, actually I got the holeshot, and then I closed the door on Kevin because I really didn't feel like following him. I knew there would be heck to pay riding behind that 4-stroke. I got out front and tried to check put but he was right on my tail. I just tried to ride as fast as I could to see if he could hold the pace. About the halfway mark I started putting some time into him and the rest is history."Carmichael says he is more focused on championships than his win streak. "There is no pressure (to win every race)," he said, "I have nothing to prove to anyone. I want to win the title and if I need to take a second, I need to take a second. I am not going to worry about trying to win every race under pressure."The 125 class is turning into a series that everyone is talking about. Mathematically, Stewart still has a chance at retaining his 125 national title-that is if the series keeps going at the same rate. Stewart is by far the fastest rider in the field but trails a leader Mike Brown by a full 115 points. However, Brown has been having a tough go at it as of late and finished out of the top five at Red Bud.If, Bubba can wins the remaining six rounds, he can earn 300 points for a total of 400. Brown, on the other hand, will have to average at least a fifth place moto finishes to win the title. During the first few rounds of the series, one would have figured this would be an easy task. Grant Langston is another contender for the title if he can stay on track and in front of Brown. If Bubba sweeps, Langston must finish each of the following 12 motos fourth or better. Now, since the Troy Ohio event is being postponed due to flooding, Ryan Hughes will earn almost two weeks of free healing time for his broken lower leg. If Hughes can kick it back into gear like he displayed during the opening few rounds, he too has an outside chance at the title if Brown Langston or Stewart falter. With 180 points going into round seven, Hughes needs to consistently beat Brown and Langston and finish each moto with around a third place average to win the title.The race for the 125 title is a numbers game and Stewart is needs the stay on track and hope for the leaders to fall apart. The Steel City National will act as the next to last race of the year since Troy will be bumped to the final race of the year.
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