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2002 AMA EA Sports U.S. Supercross Championship
Round 6 of 16: Feb. 9 - RCA Dome, Indianapolis, IN

Three wins extends his David Vuillemin's points lead to 18 over Mike LaRocco. But RC is now in third and closing.

INDIANAPOLIS – It was a night to remember in Indianapolis, especially for Yamaha fans. Factory Yamaha’s David Vuillemin made a dramatic last-lap pass on Ricky Carmichael to show that he deserves to be atop the AMA EA Sports Supercross standings and young Aussie Chad Reed won in his very first 125 East outing on the Boost Mobile Yamaha of Troy YZ250F. The evening was not without controversy however. Defending champ Carmichael was loudly booed by the Indy crowd after the race. The crowd was responding to what they perceived as a take-out move by Carmichael that left early race leader, and crowd favorite, Travis Pastrana on the ground. Carmichael later defended his actions and Pastrana continued to prove that he the classiest rider on the tour by his measured response to the incident.

After qualifying the Indy race (round six of 16) was shaping up to be a classic. Jeremy McGrath won his heat race much to the delight of the crowd. It was his first heat race win of the year and his race time was nearly equal that of Carmichael’s slightly faster (by less than a second) heat win.

The start of the main was frantic. McGrath nailed the start and appeared to be headed for the holeshot before Carmichael came roaring up the inside to grab the pole.

"I was in front of him," said McGrath of Carmichael at the start, "but he was gauging everything off me and he pushed me straight to the bales. I got the worst end of it because he was on the inside."

A second before the collision. RC said Pastrana jumped back into the rut, leaving him with nowhere to go. The crowd didn't see it that way.

A huge roar from the sold-out crowd of 57,883 fans erupt though as Pastrana emerged from the intense early action the leader. The young Suzuki rider held the lead over a tightly bunched group that included Vuillemin, Carmichael, Stephane Roncada and Ernesto Fonseca.

For the next three laps Pastrana actually built a bit of a lead, but he began having trouble hooking up accelerating out of turn 12. He almost spun complete out on the third lap and the rest of the leaders had closed the gap by lap five.

Carmichael took advantage of Pastrana’s traction problems and took over the lead on lap five coming out of that very same turn 12. RC held the point for just one lap before a major bobble at the end of the whoops allowed Pastrana to take back the lead. It wasn’t just a two-rider battle however, on lap eight only three seconds separated the top six riders – Pastrana, Carmichael, Vuillemin, Roncada, Fonseca and McGrath in that order.

The controversial contact between Pastrana and Carmichael happened on lap 12. Coming into turn 7 the two came together and the result was Pastrana into the dirt and RC into the lead. From the fans’ point of view the move was a clear takeout, but the riders had a different viewpoint.

"I came into the corner a little bit wide," admitted Pastrana. "I tried to jump back in the rut to stop Ricky, but he had no intention of stopping. When I tried jumping into the rut Ricky didn’t do me any favors. He could’ve avoided taking me out, but that’s racing, so no hard feelings."

RC clearly felt he did nothing wrong.

"From my standpoint, he blew that section," Carmichael said. "He tried to make something happen that was kind of impossible. I almost crashed as well."

Ricky Carmichael rode a very good race, but Vuillemin saved it for when it counted, the final lap. A masterful move from the best rider on the circuit right now.

Pastrana got back underway in eighth and that was where he’d finish.

Later that same lap, McGrath lost the front end of his Bud Light Yamaha and crashed under the cross-over bridge, re-mounting to finish seventh.

At that point it appeared it would be another Carmichael run away, but Vuillemin had other plans. RC built as much as a two-second lead on the Frenchman, but with just four laps to go the blue Yamaha was suddenly on the tail of Carmichael’s red Honda. For the next three laps Carmichael held off Vuillemin by protecting the inside line through the turns. RC took the white flag leading, but Vuillemin was about to make the move of the race. Coming into turn eight Carmichael left a small opening on the inside and Vuillemin went for it.

"I was lining my bike up (in that turn) a few laps before," Vuillemin said of the pass. "He was going outside and up and I was going inside, but I didn’t want to show him what was faster. He opened the door and I just went inside on the white flag. After that I tried to go on the inside in the turns and be very, very smooth. The crowd was really behind me tonight and I appreciated that very much."

RC tried one last time to get back in front going through the whoops, but made another mistake and Vuillemin was home free to win his third race of the season. RC came home three seconds behind the winner, while Kawasaki’s Roncada earned his second-straight podium finish another eight-seconds back from Carmichael. The Hondas of Nate Ramsey and hometown favorite Mike LaRocco rounded out the top five at the checkered flag.

The victory extended Vuillemin’s series lead to 18 points (137-119) over LaRocco. Carmichael is third with 109 points.

Kelly Smith’s 125 East race was almost over before it started when his tire went flat on the sighting lap. His crew did a great job of getting another tire on his bike and it was readied just before the start.

Chad Reed lived up to hype thrust upon him. Is appears that his extra seat time in the 250 class may have helped. But a win on his first turn on the YZ250F four-stroke? That's impressive.

The adrenaline must have been pumping for Smith since he took the holeshot on the Moto XXX Yamaha. Smith led for three laps, but was being hounded by Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Mike Brown the entire time. Multi-time arenacross champ Buddy Antunez ran third on the Team Blimpie Suzuki, while Langston and Reed battled over fourth.

On lap three Brown made his move and made an inside pass in tight turn eight to take first. Brown immediately pulled out a gap on the field. In the meantime Langston’s charge came to an abrupt end on lap four when he crashed his Red Bull KTM at the end of a long whoop section. He got up slowly only to find something had been damaged on his bike. Langston, one of the pre-season favorites, would not finish the race.

By lap six Reed had cleared a tough dice over second and set sail for Brown, who was four seconds up the track. By the halfway flag it was Brown by two-and-a-half seconds over Reed, who in turn held a similar margin over Antunez.

By lap nine Reed had closed the gap on Brown and the two began a four-lap fight over the lead. Then on lap 13 Reed made his move, passing Brown in the air as the hit the jump section just before turn 12. Reed quickly pulled away as Brown reported suffering arm pump in the late stages. Reed went on to a 4.8-second margin of victory over Brown, while Antunez turned in a strong performance in third.

"I’ve been dreaming about this my whole life," said Reed on the podium. "To be here in America, it’s not quite the 250 class, but it’s a start. I love America; it’s great racing and great people. I had some good lines going and I just really wanted to win the race."

Race Notes

Tomac trains Antunez
Like many riders today Buddy Antunez credited his opening round success in the 125 East at Indy to his trainer. But in this case the trainer may be more popular than the trainee. Antunez works with non other than bicycling legend John Tomac. Tomac is a multi-time national champion in both cross country and downhill mountain biking and now runs his own bicycling company. In addition Tomac is an avid motocross rider and an AMA amateur national champ in his age category. His son Eli Tomac is regarded as one of the top 50cc MX riders in the nation.

MC wins a race
While it wasn’t a main, Jeremy McGrath finally won a race. The seven-time champ won the second heat race over David Vuillemin bringing a big cheer from the crowd. "I felt really good this weekend," said McGrath. "The heat race win pumped me up. I got a kick-ass start in the final and Carmichael just wouldn’t brake. I was in front of him, but he was gauging everything off me and he pushed me straight to the bales. I got the worst end of it because he was on the inside. I was super-excited to get the heat-win, especially for the ABC show to give some props to Bud Light. It’s been a rough month so I’m happy to be riding better and it’s going to come."

Vuillemin joins the Fro and the O’Show
David Vuillemin’s Indy win gives him a total of seven-career AMA Supercross wins, which ties him with Jeff Emig and Johnny O’Mara for 17th on the all-time wins list.

Fans take liking to Frenchman
Vuillemin has lead every round of the series, but he hasn’t had the best receptions in the show openings. When asked why, he said, "Being from France doesn’t help, I think. I love how Americans are, they are very patriotic. I wish France was like that.

"When we go to Bercy, Jeremy has the same popularity as me. I like the way they are but sometimes they are kind of rude. I never did something bad. I made a mistake a few years ago, an article in a French magazine with Jeremy. I made a big mistake and Americans thought I was a bad guy. It is very difficult to come back and be loved by the crowd. This week I asked for the opening ceremony that ‘hey why don’t you say I am from Corona?’ I live 11 months out of the year in Corona. I pay my taxes here and I pay George Bush", said Vuillemin to the laughter of the crowd.

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Photos by Steve Bruhn

Copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2005.