2002 AMA EA Sports Supercross Series
Round 13 of 16: April
13 - Silverdome, Pontiac, MI
April 14, 2002
Ramsey earns breakthrough win at Pontiac
in one of greatest AMA Supercross races in history
Jesseman's 125 East win keeps Reed from a
perfect season
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| Nathan Ramsey got
his and his bike's first career wins! |
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Steve Bruhn photo
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PONTIAC, Mich. -- People will be talking about this race for
years. Six riders battle for the lead most of the race; Ricky
Carmichael suffered a terrifying crash, but got up; and Nathan
Ramsey emerged as the winner in front of a wildly-enthusiast crowd
of nearly 59,000 fans at the Pontiac
Silverdome. For Ramsey it
marked his first career AMA EA Sports Supercross victory and the
first for Honda's four-stroke CRF450. In fact it was the first win
for a four-stroke since Doug Henry's memorable win in Las Vegas in
1997. Carmichael turned in perhaps the bravest ride of his career
and finished an amazing second and winning the hearts of the
Michigan racing fans. Supercross legend Jeremy McGrath came
through to finish third to earn only his second podium finish of
the season. The race was an instant classic.
Overshadowed in the glow of the 250 main was the fact that
Suzuki's Brandon Jesseman also broke through and won his first 125
Supercross race. He stopped champion Chad Reed's winning streak at
six.
So much action took place in the 250 final that it's hard to
pick out the highlights. Kyle Lewis earned his first Powerade
Holeshot Award, putting his Moto XXX Honda first into turn one. It
was Ernesto Fonseca coming out of the pack to take over the lead
followed closely by Carmichael, Lewis and the rest of the pack.
The top six riders were in a tight pack when on lap six
Carmichael suffered one of the hardest crashes in his career. He
landing a jump on his front wheel and was thrown off his factory
Honda head first into the ground. The crowd made a collective
gasp, but unbelievably RC was back on his feet and remounted his
bike in 19th. His helmet and visor took a beating in the crash,
but Carmichael was back on the gas in a flash and began steadily
picking his way through the field.
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| RC put on a charge
for the ages -- all with his visor stuck in his
face! |
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Steve Bruhn photo
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Up front Fonseca held the lead over a very tight group.
Sebastien Tortelli was second followed in rapid succession by
Ramsey, Ezra Lusk, David Vuillemin, McGrath and Tim Ferry. The
action was furious. Tortelli was the first victim of the torrid
pace crashing in the rhythm section. Then Ramsey fell right in
front of McGrath stopping his progress, but both were quickly back
underway. Ferry moved up to take over the lead on lap 10. He and
Lusk swapped the lead several times. Lusk went down in the whoop
section on lap 13.
With five laps to go Ferry led over Ramsey and McGrath. By this
time Carmichael was all the way up to fourth having just got by
Vuillemin and Fonseca. It was an amazing charge for RC and the
crowd was following his progress and cheering him on.
In the closing laps Ferry crashed out of the lead in the whoops
and had a horrible time getting his bike re-fired. That put Ramsey
in the lead. Carmichael passed MC and was three seconds behind
Ramsey. On the final lap Carmichael closed, but Ramsey had enough
in the tank to hold off his teammate and take his first win. And a
thrilling win it was.
"I got a good start and things were happening everywhere
on the track," said a jubilant Ramsey. "I probably
wasn't the fastest guy out there tonight, but somehow I stayed out
of trouble and came across the line first."
Ramsey said he got a word of encouragement from Doug Henry, who
was in attendance, before the race. Henry was the last rider to
win an AMA Supercross race on a four-stroke. "We four-stroke
riders have to stick together," joked Ramsey afterwards.
The crowd gave RC and MC a great cheer on the podium as well.
"I was just looking to see where Vuillemin was," said
Carmichael, whose streak ended at six straight. "I made an
amateur mistake, but the fans really got there money's worth
tonight. I want the championship so badly and sometimes you have
to tough it out like tonight to win championships."
Carmichael leaves Pontiac with a 24-point lead over Vuillemin
with three rounds remaining. McGrath moved past Lusk to take over
third in the standings and amazing fact for a rider most people
would say is struggling this year.
In the final 125 East race of the year it was local favorite
Kelly Smith getting the Powerade Holeshot Award. He later fell and
finished 11th. Meanwhile it was Jesseman emerging with the lead on
the Team Blimpie Suzuki. Riding the race of his career, he moved
out to an eight-second lead. Six-race winner Reed got a terrible
start and was mired back near the rear of the pack at the start.
Reed wasted no time in working his way through the field. Passing
clumps of three and four riders at a time, Reed moved up and got
by Buddy Antunez to take over third on lap four.
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| Branden Jesseman
also got his first win in Pontiac. |
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Steve Bruhn photo
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On lap five it was Jesseman 7.5-seconds ahead of Eric Sorby and
Reed in third. Reed continued his strong march through the field
by jumping past Sorby on a triple. He was now seven seconds down
to Jesseman. Reed was chopping of almost a second per lap on
Jesseman's lead. It became apparent that the leading duo were
going to finish very close, but no one knew it would be as close
as it turned out to be. The crowd was on its feet on the final lap
as Reed moved up to Jesseman, who seemed to be tiring ever so
slightly. In the final half of the lap Reed moved right up to
Jesseman's rear wheel. Somehow the 19-year-old Pennsylvania rider
found a boost of adrenaline. He held off Reed by a bike length to
win his first AMA Supercross race and break Reed's winning streak.
Sorby came home a distant third.
"I'm so excited," said Jesseman. "I got a great
start. I never looked behind me, but I heard Reed's four-stroke
coming. I made a few mistakes there at the end, but I was able to
hold on."
For Reed missing a perfect season was a disappointment, but he
proved gracious in defeat.
"Brandon had a great race," said the recently-crowned
champ. "You have to have a good start here and I didn't. I
think Mike Brown and I were the last two riders in the first turn.
I rode my butt off and couldn't quite catch him."
Race Notes
Reed decides to go after 125 East sweep
Newly-crowned 125 East champ Chad Reed could have raced the
250 event at Pontiac, but instead the Boost Mobile Yamaha of Troy
rider decided to go for a perfect season in the 125 East class.
Reed would like to race the 250s at Dallas and Salt Lake City, but
will likely race the Dave Coombs, Sr. 125 Shootout in the season
finale at Las Vegas.
Silverdome still on 2003 schedule
With the Detroit Lions moving to Ford Field next fall the future
of the Pontiac Silverdome is up in the air. The Silverdome is on
the newly-released 2003 AMA EA Sports Supercross schedule despite
its uncertain future.
Crowd loves Wey qualifying victory
The Pontiac crowd showed its true Michigan colors when home-state
rider Nick Wey won the second 250 Semi. The DeWitt, Michigan rider
passed his Moto XXX Yamaha teammate Kyle Lewis to take the lead
and the crowd came to its feet. "I love coming to the
Silverdome and racing in front of my family and friends," Wey
said. "I heard the crowd cheering me on and it really pumped
me up."
Photo Gallery
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Photos by Steve Bruhn
Copyright AMA Pro Racing, 2005.
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