Jan 7, 2007 - Team Suzuki Press Office – January 7, 2007.
Reigning Champion Ricky Carmichael raced to second place at Saturday night’s opening round of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Championship at Angel Stadium, Anaheim in California despite crashing on the 12th lap.
The Team Makita Suzuki rider was racing at his final Anaheim event after announcing plans to combine NASCAR racing with select Supercross and motocross events.
Said Carmichael: “I was in there tonight, but a little on the edge and that’s why I crashed. James was better than me tonight and I couldn’t quite put it together. I’ve got some great memories from Anaheim and I’m really happy to have been part of this great sport.
“This has been a fun weekend and it’s been very emotional for me,” he added. “The whole night I felt like I was chasing my tail in the 90-degree turns. James was riding good. At one point he made a mistake, I got the lead, and then he passed me right back. I was right on the edge.”
Carmichael and Tedesco started the night together in the first Supercross heat race earlier in the cool Southern California evening. Tedesco got the holeshot and led the first four laps before finishing in fourth place and advancing to the Main Event. Carmichael got a bad start, but in true championship-winning fashion, worked his way up into first place to take the win.
“I had to work for it tonight,” said Carmichael of the eight-lap heat race. “I just put my head down and tried to get back up there. We’ve had some great battles here and it’ll be an exciting Main, for sure.”
The 20-lap race saw Carmichael get a good start .The 15-time AMA Supercross/ Motocross Champion rode a smooth race and battled for the lead for the entire evening before finishing in second position.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” said Carmichael after the race. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I know when I’m struggling. I’d hoped that I could be there at the end but I just wasn’t. I didn’t like the track tonight and I hope they’ll change some things for Phoenix next week and make it better.”
Carmichael’s team mate Ivan Tedesco was doing his best to ride with an injured left hand after breaking three bones when another rider collided with him at the Toronto Supercross in December.
“I was happy with my heat race and that started the night out right,” said Tedesco. “But riding like that in the heat made my hand sore and I could feel it on the parade lap for the Main. I knew it was going to bother me: On the first lap, I went down when another rider ran into me but I got up and started chipping some laps off, just trying to get as many points as I could,” he added.
Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return next Saturday, January 13th, for round three of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Main Event: 1 James Stewart (Kawasaki), 2 Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki), 3 Chad Reed (Yamaha), 4 Travis Preston (Honda), 5 Tim Ferry (Kawasaki), 6 David Vuillemin (Honda), 7 Nick Wey (Honda), 8 Heath Voss (Honda), 9 Kevin Windham (Honda), 10 Michael Byrne (Suzuki).
AMA Supercross Points (after 1 round): 1 Stewart 25, 2 Carmichael 22, 3 Reed 20, 4 Preston 18, 5 Ferry 16, 6 Vuillemin 15, 7 Wey 14, 8 Voss 13, 9 Windham 12, 10 Byrne 11.
