Storm warning
By TMX Archives on 14th Sep 05
Words by Jeff Kocan, courtesy Racer XAs the 2005 AMA Nationals come to a close, a pattern emerges - this Ricky Carmichael guy is really good! RC wrapped up his sixth consecutive 250cc motocross title at Pennsylvania's Steel City Raceway in Words by Jeff Kocan, courtesy Racer XAs the 2005 AMA Nationals come to a close, a pattern emerges - this Ricky Carmichael guy is really good! RC wrapped up his sixth consecutive 250cc motocross title at Pennsylvania's Steel City Raceway in early September with three motos to spare and a win at the final round, at California's Glen Helen, would mark his third perfect season (of overall verdicts).Meanwhile, Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ivan Tedesco is closing in on his first outdoor title, proving that he is no longer a 'supercross specialist'.The real drama in the motocross world, however, has involved Team USA rider selection for the upcoming Motocross des Nations. Originally announced as Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham, and Mike Brown, the team was revised following a meeting at the Broome-Tioga National in Binghamton, New York. After a strong start, Brown's results in the 125cc division have been disappointing and Tedesco's strength and consistency forced the powers-that-be to reconsider.That re-think meant that Brown, who had hoped for a return to Europe after his highly publicised departure from RWJ Honda, was out. It was a tough call to be sure - Brown and Carmichael in particular are close friends but that friendship was put aside in the name of fielding the strongest possible team. It seems that all has been forgiven and forgotten, however - and rightly so. At a time like this, it's hard to get too upset about a motorcycle race.For many of us right now, it's difficult to spend very much time thinking about our sport at all. Hurricane Katrina just ripped a hole in our nation that covers 90,000 square miles, destroying entire cities and towns and displacing over a million people. Our televisions have been a non-stop horror show of suffering and devastation of late and search-and-rescue operations are still under way a week after the storm hit. Many towns were simply erased from the landscape and New Orleans, one of our most unique and vibrant metropolitan areas, remains almost entirely underwater.As you might recall, up until a few years ago, the New Orleans Superdome hosted a round of THQ Supercross. Back then, fairly early in my career at Racer X Illustrated, when the SX series schedule was announced a sheet was passed around to magazine staffers by order of seniority. We could each pick two races to attend that year and since great racing was pretty much assured at all of them, geography became the deciding factor. I'll never forget the morning that sheet of paper came my way with an empty spot next to New Orleans, Louisiana.I had been to the Crescent City a couple times before. The first was just after I'd turned 21 as a few friends and I flew down to marinate for a long weekend. The second was a few years later for a radio convention. That year I met the Spice Girls and experienced the final two days of the legendary Mardi Gras, a rum-soaked celebration of the carnal and the spiritual and everything in between.The city itself was an otherworldly blend of European, African and Caribbean cultures, tempered by the laid-back hospitality of the American South. An American city that rarely felt like one, New Orleans was a fantasyland, the home of Louis Armstrong, scores of the planet's finest chefs and truly good times - les bon temps - in general.My experience at the New Orleans SX was typically atypical. I remember wandering the pits that Friday, mingling with riders and industry friends. Scott USA's Bevo Forti, our sport's Mr Hospitality, spotted me and asked if I was looking for food. He motioned to a track worker - a local resident - and I was told to follow him inside. We wound our way through the cavernous Superdome hallways for what seemed like hours until we came to a secluded spot underneath the stands, just off the main stadium floor. A small folding table held a couple of crock pots, a stack of plates and plastic utensils and several loaves of bread. The reason for this tiny covert kitchen? Genuine, home-made New Orleans jambalaya - a rice dish made with sausage, shrimp, chicken, a little bit of genius and a whole lot of N'awlins love.I've since moved to New York City and eaten in many spectacular restaurants but that meal, served piping hot under the seats of the Superdome, ranks with the best I've ever had. That's just the kind of city New Orleans was - you simply never knew what was around the next corner. But you always knew it would be something special and unique, something you'd remember forever - as long as you could remember it in the morning.There's no way of telling how long it will take for the city to return to anything resembling its old self but if and when that happens do your best to visit if you haven't. Its spirit will live on in its people and they are some of the finest in the world. So long for now, New Orleans. We'll be waiting for you.