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2002 AMA EA Sports Supercross Series
Round 11 of 16: March 23 - Astrodome, Houston, TX

When you're good, everything seems to go your way. RC was helped to the front by crashes from Vuillemin and Lusk. But he waited and took over the lead from teammate Nathan Ramsey. Steve Bruhn photo

HOUSTON - Ricky Carmichael continues to pull away from rival David Vuillemin in the 2002 AMA EA Sports Supercross Series championship chase. Carmichael rode his factory Honda CR250 to his fifth-straight win and seventh on the season Saturday night in the Houston Astrodome. Carmichael's teammate Nathan Ramsey broke through to earn his very first podium finish in 250 competition. Ezra Lusk made a strong comeback after crashing to take third continuing his excellent surge through the second half of the season. Vuillemin, who also crashed took fourth. Jeremy McGrath ran third much of the race before fading late to finish fifth. The victory pushes RC's series lead from 10 to 17 with five rounds remaining.

In 125 West action it was Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Matt Walker coming out of the LCQ to win his first Supercross event. Series leader James Stewart suffered a hard-luck night in Houston -- first crashing in practice and possibly breaking a bone on the top of his right foot, and then crashing two more times in the main and finishing 10th.

Tim Ferry took the holeshot in the 250 main, but Lusk and Ramsey snuck underneath the Yamaha rider coming out of the first. At the completion of the first lap it was Ramsey leading Luck, Carmichael, Vuillemin and McGrath in a tightly-packed lead group.

Things were really shaken up on lap three when both Lusk and Vuillemin went down in separate crashes. That put Carmichael up to second behind Ramsey, with McGrath finding himself up to third. That would be the running order of the top three for the next eight laps. RC seemed content to let Ramsey lead. Carmichael was struggling in the whoops, once nearly landing on top of the tuff blocks that lined the track. There seemed to be no urgency on the champ's part to get by his Honda teammate. McGrath, who ran with the leaders for a few laps, fell well off the pace and was running alone in third.

On lap 11 RC pulled alongside Ramsey coming out of turn seven. The two hit a big triple jump side by side and looked over at one another in midair. When they landed to set up for turn eight it was RC with the best line and he moved into the lead. Ramsey hung tight for a lap or so before Carmichael began to steadily pull a gap on the second-place rider.

Honda teammates do battle for the lead. "I just rode hard and gapped them a bit and then when Ricky was by me I just tried to stay with him," said Ramsey. "But then I thought I should just finish the race because I've had some problems falling a bit. We both had a lot of fun racing each other." Steve Bruhn photo

By this time McGrath was coming under fire from Lusk, who had recovered well from his earlier fall. Lusk passed MC though the whoops to take over third on lap 13 and McGrath had no reply. And that was it up front. The running order was set. Carmichael pulled away to a 3.9-second margin of victory over Ramsey and Lusk earned his second podium finish of the season.

Vuillemin minimized what could have been major damage to his championship hopes by recovering from his crash and passing McGrath with four laps to go to secure fourth.

"I got out the front quick and through the whoops my bike was working awesome," said second-place Ramsey. "I just rode hard and gapped them a bit and then when Ricky was by me I just tried to stay with him. But then I thought I should just finish the race because I've had some problems falling a bit. We both had a lot of fun racing each other."

Carmichael echoed Ramsey's enjoyment of the early battle with his Honda mate.

"Nate-Dog was making me work today," said Carmichael, who notched his 22nd career AMA Supercross victory. "It was scary because I couldn't get by him just by trying to be clean so I had to get a little aggressive. I didn't want to take my own teammate out, but I had to get as many people between me and Vuillemin as possible."

While the 250 race was pretty much what people expected, the opposite was true in the resumption of the AMA 125 West Region Supercross Series. Eric Sorby, yet another fast French rider who was making his AMA Supercross debut, took the Powerade hole shot award on his Pro Circuit Kawasaki and led the first lap. Series leader Stewart got caught up in a massive first-turn pileup and emerged from the tangle in 18th place. Chris Gosselaar crashed out of third a lap later.

The night belonged to Matt Walker. The 20-year-old fourth-year pro from McRae, Ga., sprinted away to an 8.3-second victory. Walker's previous best finish in the series was fifth and he hadn't even qualified for the last two rounds and was ranked 16th coming into the race. Steve Bruhn photo

Avoiding the melee was Walker who came up to take the lead from his teammate Sorby on the third go around. Walker quickly put a gap on the field. Sorby meanwhile had his hands full with Danny Smith of Suzuki and Factory Connection Honda's Travis Preston.

Back in the pack Stewart was up and running again, but not making his normal quick charge through the field. Instead the Kawasaki ace struggled and crashed again before finishing up 10th. It was his second consecutive poor result in the series after ending up 11th at the last 125 West round in Anaheim.

Preston and Ivan Tedesco were the two who stood to gain the most from Stewart's off night. Coming into Houston they were 21 and 22 points respectively behind the leader. Preston made the most of the situation and came out of a tough battle to nail down second. As a result he leaves Houston with rejuvenated championship hopes, only 10 points behind Stewart, 115 points to 105. Tedesco tried every move in the book to get around Sorby, but couldn't and ended the evening in fourth, putting him third in the standings with 100 points.

But the night belonged to Walker. The 20-year-old fourth-year pro from McRae, Ga., sprinted away to an 8.3-second victory. It was a stunning win for a rider whose previous best finish in the series was fifth and who hadn't even qualified for the last two rounds and was ranked 16th coming into the race.

"We went to the LCQ, but my Kawasaki couldn't have worked better," said an ecstatic Walker, who moved into a tie for 13th in the standings. "That was my first win and it was easy. I hope they all come this easy. I know most of the people here have never heard of me before, but I came out here tonight and proved myself. Maybe by next year the people will know me."

Race Notes

LaRocco planning to ride Honda four-stroke
Mike LaRocco was a spectator at Houston. The Indiana native who was having such a great year before breaking his wrist in an accident in Minneapolis last month announced that he planned on riding Honda's CRF450R four-stroke motocrosser in the U.S. Motocross Championship.

"I'm still in the gym working on my cardio and even doing some light weights to keep a little flexibility in the wrist," said LaRocco. "My recovery is coming along, but it's going to take some time. It's going to be close as far as making the start of the outdoor season. My most optimistic outlook is that I could come back to race for the final supercross race at Las Vegas to sort of get prepared for motocross, but we'll have to wait and see."

Sorby podiums in U.S. debut
French Supercross champ Eric Sorby was impressive in his AMA Supercross debut. Sorby led early in the 125 West race before finishing a very credible third. Sorby, a former French Supercross champion, was testing the waters for a possible assault on AMA Supercross next year. He is slated to race for a Honda-backed team in the World Championship 125 Grand Prix this summer.

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Photos by Steve Bruhn

Copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2005.