Dec 11, 2006 - Team Suzuki Press Office – December 10, 2006.
Team Makita Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael clinched victory in Saturday night’s Vancouver Supercross - the second round of the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross Championship - and took over the series lead as young team mate Ryan Dungey brought home second place in his debut Pro Supercross Lites event.
“When you get out there and the adrenaline gets pumping it’s so fun,” said Carmichael. “James Stewart was riding great tonight and I wanted to keep him in sight and give myself a chance to win the race. We had a good race and I’m just happy to get Makita Suzuki another win. Now we’re going into the holidays and I’m looking forward to Anaheim 1 and Phoenix. Canada has been great to me and I appreciate it.”
Prior to the Main Event, Carmichael’s eight-lap heat race was de rigueur for the defending 15-time AMA Champion. The 27-year-old Floridian holeshot the event and led to the finish.
“I tell you what, this crowd and this bike are really working for me tonight,” said Carmichael from the podium. “I just need to put myself into a good position for the Main Event and try to bag one of these things. I think the last time I won here was 2004. I love this place and I’m due.”
Carmichael got a good start in the 20-lap Main Event, bided his time in second place and took over the lead in a dramatic pass with four laps to go.
He said: “It was an epic battle; it was a race all 20 laps. James and I have had some sick races and it’s so much fun to race like that. I’ve grown to have a lot of respect for him, racing with him last year. He’s grown up a lot racing with me. I know he had a bump and bruise, but I don’t know how much better he could have ridden because we were cooking around that track. I don’t know if the bikes could have taken much more and whether the tyres could have gripped more. It was great to win this race. I was trying; I lost a little here and there that I had to make up. He was strong from lap five to 13 or 14 then I saw a little bit of hesitation and I made a clean pass. I did what I had to do and made a nice move on him.”
In the Supercross Lites class, newly-signed Dungey was lined up for the first heat race of the night. In the six-lap Lites qualifier, he got a rough start and came from the back of the field. In spite of this, he rode his RM-Z250 through the pack to finish in an amazing third place.
Dungey’s performance in his debut Pro Supercross race was even more impressive than his qualifier: The 17-year-old Makita Suzuki rider got a good start off the gate and slotted easily into fifth place on the first lap. He rode a smart 15-lap race Z250 and moved through the pack into second place.
“I felt good right from the start,” said Dungey, who’ll contest the Supercross Lites East Coast series in 2007. “This is my first professional Supercross race and I’m pretty happy with second place. I felt really smooth and in control and pretty strong. Towards the end I started taking it easy and I’m just happy to be up here now. This is what I’ve been working for my whole life.”
Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return for the season-opening round of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Championship Series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California on Saturday January 6th.
Main Event: 1 Ricky Carmichael (Makita Suzuki) , 2 James Stewart (Kawasaki), 3 Chad Reed (Yamaha), 4 David Vuillemin (Honda), 5 Tim Ferry (Kawasaki), 6 Nate Ramsey (Yamaha), 7 Travis Preston (Honda), 8 Jeff Gibson (Kawasaki), 9 Nick Wey (Honda), 10 Jason Thomas (Honda).
Championship Points (after 2 rounds): 1 Carmichael 47, 2 Reed 45, 3 Stewart 42, 4 Vuillemin, 5 Ferry 34, 6 Wey 27, 7 Gibson 24, 8 Carpenter 22, 9 Voss 22, 10 Clark 21.
Supercross Lites: 1 Ryan Sipes (Suzuki), 2 Ryan Dungey (Makita Suzuki), 3 Zach Osborne (KTM), 4 Martin Davalos (KTM), 5 Kyle Beaton (Yamaha), 6 Jimmy Albertson (Yamaha), 7 Bobby Garrison (Yamaha), 8 Gray Davenport (Kawasaki), 9 Dennis Jonon (KTM), 10 Kevin Urquhart (Honda).