Over and out
By TMX Archives on 15th May 03
supercross tour rolls down the country from Pontiac in the north all the way to Dallas for round 14 of the 16-round AMA series.The 125 racing returns to unfinished West Coast business and the racing's a foregone conclusion with THE AMA supercross tour rolls down the country from Pontiac in the north all the way to Dallas for round 14 of the 16-round AMA series.The 125 racing returns to unfinished West Coast business and the racing's a foregone conclusion with Kawasaki teenager James 'Bubba' Stewart dominating the Main Event like he's dominated the rest of the series so far. Finishing on the podium is Travis Preston in second with Pro Circuit's Matt Walker third.The 250 class gives us the showdown everyone's been looking forward to between the two main players in the series with Chad Reed and Ricky Carmichael swapping the lead eight times in the first 10 laps. Larry Ward takes the holeshot cheque but it's a fairly short-term thing with the blue and red freight train rolling past. The win goes to Reed for his fourth in a row after he finally takes advantage over RC's Honda through the whoops and pulls a few seconds lead that Ricky just can't claw back.Team Honda's other rider, Ernesto Fonseca (the only other 250 factory rider left at this point of the season), finishes on the podium with Nick Wey in fourth. It seems that RC's satisfied with second as he looks to be thinking about the championship more and more as the series winds down.The trucks roll further west into Salt Lake City as the series gets closer to its final race in Vegas. The setting is beautiful with the snow-capped mountains on one side with the city rolling down to the lake on the other - although the elevation of the circuit means the bikes are running poorly. But it's the same for everyone so it doesn't effect the racing.It's KTM's Billy Laninovich who takes the $1000 holeshot award for having the combination of the fastest reactions and a pretty quick bike to go with it. However, wonder-kid Stewart takes the lead and 15 laps later the win. The race for third in the championship is hotting up as Kawasaki's Matt Walker and Suzuki's Andrew Short trade places five times in one lap before the Pro Circuit teamster crashes out. With Walker down his team-mate Sorby finishes out the podium behind Short.All the drama is in the 250 class this week. Team Yamaha bring out Tim Ferry to back up the Aussie's championship hopes and Ferry takes the holeshot with RC having the upper hand on Reed. RC grabs the lead a lap later before Reed puts Ricky down in the left-hander before the finish line. On his way back through the pack he catches Ferry who changes his line and tries to run the defending champ off the track. This infuriates Ricky who has plenty to say to Ferry and his mechanic after the race.Reed wins his eighth race of the year and his fifth in a row, narrowing the points lead going into the last race with RC taking second and Fonz rounding out the podium - again.The final round of the series rolls into the party capital of the world in true Vegas style. The clothing manufacturers make a real effort and Fox riders Stewart and RC wear camo-style gear with 'thanks to the troops' sewn on to the jeans.Fly come up with some gold gear for East Coast 125 champ Jesseman to wear (although he only sports it in the opening ceremonies and the shy champ looks uncomfortable in it - and that's not just because of the broken wrist he sustained testing for the nationals). Frenchman Matt Lalloz is wearing all silver gear which doesn't look as bad and Fly have also made all white gear for the Subway Honda team.Smith Goggles have made special 'Vegas Baby' dice straps for their factory riders - a one off-deal - and the riders get to keep them after the race, although they have to promise not to wear them anywhere else.The 125 racing is gonna be exciting as it's the Dave Coombs Snr east/west shootout, with all the smart money going on the West Coast champ Stewart - especially as the East Coast champ is out.Stewart takes the lead off the start and is stretching out an early advantage and also doing an awesome quad-jump - a section none of the 250 guys even try. He pulls away but crashes in a turn allowing Short to inherit the lead. Stewart seems to lose his cool and is riding erratically - but also disgustingly fast - until his luck runs out. As he's taking the awkward jump combo (he actually said in his heat race win interview it felt like it was his first time doing that jump every time he hit it) he comes up short and, without putting too fine a point on it, eats it big time. He lands right in front of the mechanics and is out cold. It turns out he has a concussion and a busted clavicle (collarbone) and will miss at least the first four nationals.Short runs away in the lead with Pro Circuit teamsters Brown and Sorby nipping at his heels. Then Sorby makes a mistake and slips off and Brown drops off the pace leaving Yamaha of Troy's Ivan Tedesco in second with Aussie Michael Byrne rounding out the top three. So Short wins his first SX ever - what a race to do it at!This is the first time in six years the 250 championship has gone down to the last race and the sell-out crowd are expecting an interesting race to say the least. But, to be honest, it's a little dull compared with the action-packed 125s. Reed takes the early lead and runs away with the win while Carmichael makes no mistakes and finishes second to wrap up the championship. Although he must wonder how he'll go on next year with Reed and Bubba to take care of...Words by Doc Wobbly Photo by Bingo