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2002 AMA EA Sports U.S. Supercross Championship
Round 8 of 16: Feb. 23 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA

Ricky Carmichael may have won again and David Vuillemin is also on the podium again, but a familiar face is back there too, Jeremy McGrath. Congrats Jeremy. Steve Bruhn photo

ATLANTA - Honda’s Ricky Carmichael continued to do what he needed to do in his quest to defend his title by winning his fourth AMA EA Sports Supercross of the season and chiseling away three more points from David Vuillemin’s series lead. Atlanta fans got a bonus of being able to witness legend Jeremy McGrath finally break through to earn his first podium of the season. McGrath was third on his Bud Light Yamaha. Atlanta was rough on some riders. Kevin Windham and Michael Brandes crashed in practice and both were hospitalized. In the main event Pastrana mysteriously pulled off the track, apparently feeling the affects of a bad flu. Chad Reed took his third-straight 125 East win on the Yamaha of Troy YZF250. This time Reed was forced to come from behind after slow start.

Carmichael was all business from the beginning of the main. He took the holeshot on the factory No. 4 Honda. Pastrana and Vuillemin followed the defending champ. For the first three laps it looked as if the race might be a three-way battle, but by lap five RC and Pastrana had pulled clear of Vuillemin. Then on lap eight Pastrana inexplicably pulled off the track. McGrath ran a strong race holding off French riders Tortelli and Roncada in an early battle for fourth. With Pastrana out, McGrath found himself in third. Instead of fading or crashing like he had so many times before this season, McGrath instead turned in a steady ride pulling away from the Tortelli/Roncada battle.

Another familiar face back in action was Sebastien Tortelli. He finished fourth in his first race back. One word: Wow. Steve Bruhn photo

Up front Carmichael cruised home to an eight-second win. He broke the tie with Vuillemin and now has won more races in the series than any other rider this year with four. Vuillemin was happy with second since he still holds a 20-point lead over RC. Unfortunately, Vuillemin missed out on the chance of winning the Vans Triple Crown and its $500,000 prize. He needed a win tonight and in the series finale to make that happen. McGrath meanwhile was thrilled with his podium.

“Tonight was pretty much a breakthrough for me,” McGrath admitted. “I’ve been trying to figure this thing out, it’s been a physical thing. I just tried to go out tonight and race the track and not worry about the race behind me or the race ahead of me. That’s what I did and here I am in third. I was just trying to concentrate on turning in good laps.”

Carmichael feels he has room for improvement, despite his most recent winning streak.

“I just need to get faster and faster and try to win these races because David is riding really good,” said Carmichael, who earned his second consecutive Atlanta Supercross victory. “He’s been there (on the podium) every weekend and unfortunately I haven’t and that’s why he’s on the top spot in the points. But if I can keep winning these races then maybe something good will happen.”

Chad Reed had an impressive night again. He overcame a bad start for the win within the talented 125 East ranks. Steve Bruhn photo

The big story in the 125 race was Reed, who suffered a poor start and came around seventh on the first lap. It appeared in the early going that there might be a new 125 East winner. Michigan’s Kelly Smith took the holeshot on his Moto-XXX Yamaha, as he’d done in Indy, followed by Robbie Horton and Larry Ward. By lap five Brown moved up from fourth and began to pressure Smith. On lap seven it was Brown taking over the lead on the Pro Circuit Kawasaki.

Meanwhile Reed and Langston (who got caught up in a turn one pileup) were moving up through the field. Reed came up to battle Steve Boniface for second and Langston cracked the top five on his Red Bull KTM. By lap 12 Reed moved up to battle Brown for the lead, while Langston suffered his second crash trying to pass Smith for fourth.

On lap 13, what most viewed as inevitable happened, Reed made an inside move past Brown in turn two. Brown seemingly had nothing left in the tank to battle back and Reed pulled away to a 5.3-second margin of victory remaining perfect on the year.

“I got a terrible start and nearly went down,” said Reed, who stretched out his lead on Brown in the championship to 13 points. “It was a little scary those first couple of laps with guys going everywhere. I took a few little chances, but not too many. I didn’t want to end up on the ground. I wanted to put a little pressure on him (Brown). I like to be the one applying the pressure instead of the other way around.”

Race Notes

Windham out for the season
Team SoBe Suzuki’s Kevin Windham crashed hard during a practice in the Georgia Dome. Windham suffered a broken right leg in the accident and will miss the rest of the AMA EA Sports Supercross season.

Stewart sizes up Reed at Atlanta
One spectator who paid special attention to the 125 East race at Atlanta was none other than 125 West leader James Stewart. Stewart was seen watching Chad Reed intently. After the race Stewart was asked what he thought of his East Coast counterpart.

“I was watching to see what he (Reed) had,” Stewart admitted. “He’s a really smooth rider and does the jumps really well. He’s going to be good. I think I’ve got the speed and the stamina to go all the way in Vegas. I want to win. “

Carmichael ties Bradshaw
With his Atlanta victory, Ricky Carmichael moved into a tie for fifth on the all-time AMA Supercross wins list with Damon Bradshaw - each with 19-career SX wins. Next up for RC is Jeff Ward, who retired with 20 wins in the series.

Georgians think EA Sports Supercross is peachy
Atlanta’s 69,471 attendance number etched its way into the record books as the second largest crowd in AMA Supercross history, the largest crowd at the Georgia Dome, as well as the largest crowd of the season.

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Photos by Steve Bruhn

Copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2005.