IDkTm

Member
Jul 12, 2000
516
0
Here you go
250 Main Event:

1. Ricky Carmichael - KAW
2. Tim Ferry - YAM
3. Mike LaRocco - HON
4. David Vuillemin - YAM
5. Ezra Lusk - HON
6. Jeremy McGrath - YAM
7. Kevin Windham - SUZ
8. Stephane Roncada - KAW
9. Sebastien Tortelli - HON
10. Michael Byrne - KAW


125 West Main Event:

1. Ernesto Fonseca - YAM
2. Ivan Tedesco - HON
3. Justin Buckelew - YAM
4. Grant Langston - KTM
5. Rodrig Thain - SUZ
6. Jason McCormick - SUZ
7. Keith Johnson - YAM
8. Travis Preston - HUS
9. Greg Schnell - YAM
10. Steve Boniface - HON

Fonseca is 125 west champ, and RC, well what can you say!
 

MX-727

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Aug 4, 2000
1,811
13
What a 250 main! Jeremy got the holeshot from where I was sitting. RC was in second. Ezra crashed into a tuf block on the start and remounted dead last. He put on a great charge to finish in fifth. MC looked fast and I thought that tonight just might have been his. RC kept the pressure on though, with Ferry and K-Dub right on his rear tire. RC took a different line through one section which enabled him to jump ahead of MC. That line ruined RC's drive for the next corner though and MC had the drive out of the corner which enabled him to pass back. A couple of laps later, RC tried the same move, and while he once again drew ahead of MC, he lost the postion out of the next corner. He couldn't hit subsequent step up right and that meant he didn't have the drive for the front side triple. He doubled and both Ferry and K-Dub flew by. It didn't look good for RC at this point. Ricky finally got it together though and he reeled in K-Dub and Ferry. He set out after MC and pressured him hard. He was making time in the very tough whoop section.

On the tenth lap RC and MC crossed the finish line jump dead even. Within the next two corners RC made the move and looked to check out. MC seemed to lose his drive and slid back as far as seventh before getting past Windham, who had steadily faded his way backwards, for sixth. Meanwhile, upfront Ferry began to mount an attack. RC bobbled in the whoops around the 16th lap, coming to a stop, but remaining upright. On the next to the last lap, Ferry closed to a few bike lengths in those same whoops. Ricky managed to turn it up on the white flag lap and he won by a couple of seconds.

LaRocco once again had a bad start, having been forced over a tuf-block by Lusk's start straight get off. He charged hard though and looked like second might have been a possibility until Ferry turned it up.

It appeared all day and night that the four-strokes had an advantage on the track, Ferry had the fastest heat and Fonseca and the other 250F riders seemed to be the only 125 class riders that could consistently clear the front side triple. The track seemed to be a bit slick and the altitude really hurt the smallbores in the power department.

I'm sure there is much more I could write, but it's late and I'm beat.

This is how things went to the best of my recollection. The first eleven and the last two laps where great.

-tc
 
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Senior KX Rider

Super Power AssClown
Nov 9, 1999
8,577
0
Good to see Ferry finish that well. I like that kids work ethic. He seems very humble and never makes excuses, just says "I need to go faster. You may see him score a win outdoors this year, he seems to like that four-stroke. What can you say about RC except he is a winning machine, thats what he's programmed for. :cool: :cool:
 
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Seth_88

~SPONSOR~
Feb 22, 2000
163
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Wonder if RC is making the other guys realize how much being in excellent shape helps? Other than LaRocco, you don't see much charging at the end of a race.
 

IDkTm

Member
Jul 12, 2000
516
0
Senior KX-The past couple years I've been wondering how Ferry could do if he had the best equipment possible and he's showing what he can do. He's been really consistent and put on some great rides. I'd say an outdoor win is a definite possibity. he seems to have had a quick learning curve on the thumper.

TWright43-I'm not sure when Smith broke his wrist. I got it off of motonews.com. If only he could get through a season in one piece. At least he's still young.
 

Bob Brooks

Member
Jan 6, 2001
367
0
I read in the Cycle News report this morning that Carmichael crashed really hard in practice last night at Salt Lake and had a nagging headache all night that slowed him down a bit. I love to watch the kid race and I adore his attitude and work ethic. He doesn't seem to crash at all in the main events. When it's time for the money, he's on and does what it takes to win. But there are times when I worry that he's going to get hurt with his wide-open style. You can only play with the bull so long before you get speared with the horns, although he seems to thrive on the edge and it's certainly working for him. Sometimes he's a little scary to watch though, he takes big chances and gets away with them routinely. I just hope he keeps it on two-wheels. I don't think anyone stands a chance beating him in the outdoors. I suspect he's going to destroy the competition there.
 

MX-727

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Aug 4, 2000
1,811
13
Sir Thumper and I were sitting right next to the triple before the finish. I was taking pictures of the guys over the triple, and on the first lap I see a flash of a green bike, sideways on the rythmn section before the triple. I look over and suddenly the #4 bike shoots off the triple sans rider. The bike cartwheeled and a bunch of workers ran to Ricky's aid. He was very slow to get up. Shane Watts ran to the bike and was on the radio back to the rig ordering up parts. Ricky finally got up, hopped on the bike and rode very hard. He ended up behind MC and really looked like he was racing him. He made a point to get by MC. I think he was trying to send a message that he was OK.

During the autograph session, RC wasn't out. A Kawi rep was at RC's table handing out stickers and posters. He said RC had a concussion and was sleeping in the the rig. During the parade lap, RC did one monster whip over the first triple, but that was it. It appeared that he wasn't feeling perfect. He didn't even do a whip when he took the checkers.
 

MX-727

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Aug 4, 2000
1,811
13
Just watched the ABC coverage. I kind of messed up the earlier report. :confused: For some reason when I was typing last night it seemed like Ferry and Windham had passed MC before RC, but I couldn't accept that.

Even after watching the race again, I still find it hard to believe how easy they got past Jeremy and how much he faded back through the pack. Oh well, I guess I'll have to take notes if I want to be a journalist next time. ;)
 

KWJams

~SPONSOR~
Sep 22, 2000
1,167
4
We were so dog-gone tired after the National, that when we hit SLC last night we just kept her headed towards the house. :(
Our son was there and called in a report to us, sounded like a great show.
Watching ABC, the thing I noticed that altitude had some of them lowlanders sucking for air. :rolleyes:
Fittness played a big role, altitude sickness plus a bumped head will keep anyone from signing autographs.;)
For two guys from sea leval Florida to do that good is amazing!
 

MX-727

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Aug 4, 2000
1,811
13
Living up here, it was kind of strange to hear them talk about the altitude. After a while you forget all about it. Sure is nice when I travel to sea level though. Feel like I can run forever. :)
 

Mudboy

Member
Dec 3, 1999
95
0
SLC was the first supercross I've been to and it was awesome! The 250 main was excellent with the big boys dogging it out and Ferry putting in an great night with a heat win and a second in the main. Among the strange things I witnessed--as mentioned above--the Team Green #4 Bike being ghost ridden over a huge tripple. Then there was 250 rider (don't know who) that got a huge HONDA banner wrapped around the rear wheel during a heat race. He rode a whole lap with about 15 feet of red plastic trailing behind and tripled both the big jumps! The crowd went nuts as he became an instant HONDA advertisement. Finally, the head case Grant Langston in the 125 main, riding great for a solid second place. Goes off the track on a hairy corner and with plenty of time to get back on and keep second, he tries to ride diagonally over a line of tough blocks! He gets hung up on one, can't get the bike off and ends up off the podium in fourth! Major laughing from the crowd. The kid can ride but I don't think he's too bright.
 

mknight

Member
Jun 14, 2000
63
0
It was a great night of racing in Salt Lake. Here are a few additional observations.

* Being a Utah rider, I didn't think much of the altitude either until I saw it on ABC yesterday and heard all of the comments regarding the altitude. Now that I think about it though, there did seem to be a lot of "fading" late in the races, particularly the 250 main, where I think conditioning played a large role.

* There seemed to be something about the track that gave a slight advantage to the four-strokes (or Ferry and Fonseca may have just really been on their game). Ferry passed McGrath in their heat race and Fonseca flat out hauled. I was sitting in front of the first triple. All night long there were very few, if any, 125's doing the first triple. In the 125 main Fonseca, came flying off that thing and landed beyond the downslope, easily clearing the thing. Langston and a handful of others were doing it consistently throughout the rest of the race but it took everything they had. There was also a fair amount of wind that night, and that triple had the riders going right into it.

* I was rooting for the KTM's in the bunch (being a KTM rider) and it was cool to see Pingree pull the SFX.com holeshot in the 125 main. He and Fonseca were close for about half of the first lap and then Fonseca just took off. It was fun to watch Langston charge from about 10th all the way up to second. Then he went right off the track down on the cement right in a tight corner after the first triple and a small double. There were crashes there all night long. He could have easily regained his position (he didn't crash....just went off the track), but upon trying to re-enter the track he ran right over some tuf blocks and got caught up on them and tipped over.

* Lusk and Larocco were flying.....both of these guys charged from back in the pack. Lusk was dead last in the 250 main......and I mean dead last. He went down in the first corner and it took him a while to get back up and get his bike started. I would be interested to see what his lap times were......he charged all the way back to 4th. Larocco....in typical fashion charged from behind as well for 3rd.

* The first 4-5 laps of the 250 main were some of the most exciting racing I have ever seen. Everyone was on their feet and to see McGrath pull the holeshot and then battle back and forth with Windham, Ferry, and Carmichael, was amazing. They were literally bar to bar flying off the triples and finish line jumps, just barely edging each other out. As mentioned, Carmichael finally pulled ahead, but Tim Ferry was also riding an incredible race.

* Other than the first 5 laps of the 250 main, McGrath did not seem to be himself. He was passed in his heat race and he faded to 6th in the main. The guy is an icon to the sport and it is like watching Michael Jordan.....but I hope he comes back strong next year and makes it interesting.

* Being a brand new facility, it was great to see the stadium full. It was just shy of capacity and I hope that pacesupercross recognizes Salt Lake as a great place to stop again next year. I think they would have an absolute packed house next year.....but the Salt Lake attendance was comparable with other venues I believe (there were about 43,000 there).
 

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers
Damn Yankees
Aug 2, 2000
13,510
19
What I saw

What an awesome race! (the first eleven laps anyhow)

Lots of swapping of the lead towards the start, even Windham looked like somebody lit a fire under his ass! Ferry was on fire! LaRocco is an animal through the whoops! And Carmichael, well, what else can be said.

Some other observations:
  • Lots of 250Fs in the 125 main, but only one guy won on one--Fonseca
  • There were also a couple more 426Fs, but only Ferry made the main--Talent was the key.
  • Jason McCormick qualified for both mains with his girlfriend as his mechanic and no ACL!
  • David Pingree seemed to feel the elevation, along with MC, Windham, and others
  • The smell of race gas--Calvin Klein should bottle that and sell it as perfume to girlfriends of gearheads!
  • Carmichael's crash in practice--if LaRocco had been a couple seconds faster, he would have gotten nailed hard by RC's bike! A lucky break for Mike.

All in all, it was worth the 24 hours of total drive time--1250 miles round trip.
 

SirThumper

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Sep 9, 2000
444
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I can't add too much to what has already been said. There was some awesome racing. Seeing Carmichael's bike come over the triple jump riderless and nearly taking out LaRocco and Lusk was a scare.

Like KX-727 mentioned I didn't know what all the talk was about conscerning the altitude, lol, I'm used to it.

It was nice meeting KX-727 and his girlfriend, we chatted until the 250 practice was over then it was off to the pits to get autographs.

We were lucky to see some great racing that night, it is my opinion that Ezra Lusk looked to be the fastest guy on the track, had he gotten a better start it would have been a 5-way for the lead instead of the 4-way, look for him in Vegas.
 

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers
Damn Yankees
Aug 2, 2000
13,510
19
Lusk fastest, no way! I figure LaRocco was the man. Did you see how he made almost every pass through the whoop section? The man is a freak of nature! His mechanic just needs to tell him he's about 5 places back from where he actually is so he'll keep charging hard!;)

All in all an awesome day!
 

IDkTm

Member
Jul 12, 2000
516
0
I read(RUMOR) somewhere else on the net that elevation isn't what got to Pingree, but saving his 125 ride was. If he had finished higher in the main he would have pointed out of 125 SX. This is a rumor though so don't blast me on this one.
 

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers
Damn Yankees
Aug 2, 2000
13,510
19
Originally posted by Mudboy
. . . a 250 rider (don't know who) that got a huge HONDA banner wrapped around the rear wheel during a heat race . . . The kid can ride but I don't think he's too bright.

That kid was Mike Craig, one of the oldest riders on the circuit. I think the tuff-blok wrapper was caught on his brake pedal, but it did finally come off.
 

mknight

Member
Jun 14, 2000
63
0
I'm sure somewhere there has got to be a picture of him (Craig) flying over the triple with that banner proudly displayed. That was really too funny.....although it was big enough that if it had gotten caught in his wheel it could have caused some damage/injury. When he first came flying by....he looked like one of those advertising airplanes with the big message banner behind them. The crowd was loving it, especially off of the triples!
 

SirThumper

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Sep 9, 2000
444
0
What??

I wont argue that LaRocket wasn't flying through the whoops but noone flew through them like Lusk did!!

I was really going for MC this time, so he could keep his record.

If you look at the time Lusk lost on the start, then look at the difference at the end of the race you can see he was faster than LaRocco, don't get me wrong, I like LaRocco and I wish he would pull off a win, but Lusk took off dead last a good 5 to 10 seconds behind the tail end of the pack and ended up 5th overall, now that is impressive.
 

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