CARMICHAEL WINS AT DAYTONA

Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael won his third consecutive AMA Supercross of the season and regained the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross points lead at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Friday night.

This victory is Carmichael’s sixth win of the season and his fifth Daytona win, making him the only rider to have won five races here. It also marks Suzuki’s first Daytona victory since 1981.

“When I was at the gate I heard the announcer say that the last time Suzuki won here was in 1981 and I was two years old,” said the defending AMA and World Supercross Champion. “I’ve got to thank Makita Suzuki - it’s great to win a race here on a Suzuki. I’m happy to get the win, but I’m really, really happy for my Makita Suzuki team.”

The Supercross class heat races saw Carmichael come in second in his eight-lap qualifier and team mate Ivan Tedesco take the win in his qualifier. “I’ve been working really hard, training on my Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I’m just happy to get the win and I hope to get on the podium tonight. This is my first time racing Daytona and I feel good. I’m still learning and trying to run with the big boys. Hopefully I’ll get up there tonight and we’ll see what I’ve got,” said Tedesco.

In the 20-lap Daytona main event, Carmichael got a good jump off the gate and was running in second place. He was battling for the lead when the competition went down. Carmichael began to create a gap and then quickly pulled away from the field, eventually winning by more than 30 seconds over second place.

“My goal was to come here and do better than I did last year,” said Carmichael, who finished second at Daytona in 2005. “In the Main, I felt super-comfortable on the Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I just rode my own race. I’m glad to get out of here with the points lead.”

Tedesco didn’t quite get the start that Carmichael did, going down in the first turn. But the aggressive Supercross rookie put his head down, charged hard and moved quickly and consistently through the field. By the end of the race, Tedesco had moved up to seventh place.

“I got a bad start and then I tried to make something happen in the first corner but obviously that didn’t work out for me,” Tedesco said. “But I felt really good and that I rode a really good race. You can’t really start 20 seconds back and expect to get on the podium.”In the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, Carmichael still leads the points chase and Tedesco remains in fourth position overall.

Supercross Main: 1 Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki), 2 Chad Reed (Yamaha), 3 Michael Byrne (Kawasaki), 4 Travis Preston (Honda), 5 Nick Wey (Honda), 6 James Stewart (Kawasaki), 7 Ivan Tedesco (Suzuki), 8 Tim Ferry (Honda), 9 Billy Laninovich (Honda), 10 Heath Voss (Yamaha).

Supercross Points (after 10 rounds): 1 Carmichael 215, 2 Reed 213, 3 Stewart 189, 4 Tedesco 158, 5 Byrne 152, 6 Wey 149, 7 Fonseca 125, 8 Preston 121, 9 LaRocco 108, 10 Clark 76.

Another Victory for Everts at Hawkstone Park

Yamaha News 6th March 06'
Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts claimed his third victory in four weeks after winning both MX1 heats of the Hawkstone Park International in Shropshire, England.

The nine times World Champion dominated the first of two heats in bright and sunny but cold conditions. A packed crowd attended one of the more prestigious pre-season events of the winter calendar and the dark Hawkstone sand was in its usual rough and demanding state. The circuit is dwarfed by the large hill section that sees the riders climb a near-vertical 100m slope and the gradient caught out a number of top riders as the International once again boasted an array of Grand Prix stars.

For the third time since the motocross schedule began to crank into life during February, Everts beat the likes of the factory backed Honda team and the works Suzuki and KTM efforts, all housing his main rivals for the 2006 MX1 World Championship.

Everts escaped the clutches of fellow Belgian Kevin Strijbos in the opening sprint and was just as masterful in the second heat as he glided past Strijbos and his team-mate Steve Ramon. A mistake on the last lap gave Strijbos more impetus to close the gap but the race was already won.

A 'hatrick' could not be taken later in the afternoon as a rare fall in the 'Grand Final' (mixing the best finishers from the MX1 and MX2 classes) allowed Yamaha MX2 representative Billy Mackenzie to streak head on the YZ250F. Although he fronted the pack for the majority of the distance Mackenzie was slowed by backmarkers with just two laps to go and was caught by Strijbos and a charging Everts who plagued the Suzuki rider to the flag and was only a second behind over the finish line.

Contrary to reports stating that he would miss the pre-season race programme Cédric Melotte
from an injured wrist, but was able to wrestle the YZ450FM over the sandy terrain for eigth and fifth positions. He picked up a DNF in the Final after a collision with another rider robbed him of his rear brake.

Bike it Dixon Yamaha's Billy Mackenzie produced a good performance in his first race meeting of the season. The 21 year old slipped from second place to third in the first heat after suffering some arm-pump but confidently claimed the next heat by over twelve seconds from main British Championship rival Carl Nunn. Only a hold-up with backmarkers prevented the Scot from marking a historic triumph over the 450s in the 'Grand Final'.

Stefan Everts:
"I will miss this place. It is the sixth year in a row I have come to Hawkstone. I've had some great moments here and unfortunately I never got the chance to ride in the Grand Prix. I think it is a great track with a lot of potential. I enjoyed the races today and it was difficult to make the lap of honour for the last time."

Cédric Melotte:
"The result is not so bad because I wasn't expecting to finish all three races. In the last heat I hit someone else's wheel and the brake pedal bent under the footpeg so I could not continue. I am quite satisfied. I could not push too hard because my wrist was giving me trouble but I am confident and now need to go step by step to reach my best level. We are still working on the bike because I missed a lot of testing time."

Billy Mackenzie:
"I feel like I have an overall win because I managed to produce that good last race. That heat was awesome; it was such a buzz to be leading those guys. With two laps to go I was thinking about what celebration I could do over the finish line, but it never comes that easy when you are racing against the best! Just to be in front of them for that length of time felt good. I also set the fastest lap. This meeting will keep me going for a few weeks. The first race was pretty muddy and I got some arm-pump, but it was the first one of the year so that was expected. I got a top three though and I know I need to work on my consistency so I am pleased. We tweaked the bike and got rid of some of the niggly problems we would have had at Lyng for the British Championship next week."

Nunn pumped after Hawkstone Park victory

Red Bull KTM rider Carl Nunn owned the MX2 class of the Hawkstone Park International event in England yesterday.

The reigning British Champion looked fit, fast and assured over the rough English sand, under some winter sunshine in low temperatures. A large crowd travelled to the renowned pre-season meeting in Shropshire, just west of the city of Birmingham.

Nunn blasted away from main rival Billy Mackenzieand young Kawasakirider Tommy Searle to win the first moto of 25 minutes and 2 laps and then took a steady 2nd position later in the day to confirm the overall victory. In the last race of the meeting, the ‘Grand Final’ between the best classified riders of MX1 and MX2, Nunn was holding a top six position before he crashed on the long, steep hill section and struggled to restart his machine. He did however manage to complete the race and was ranked 6th from the MX2 group.

Champ KTM team-mate Marc de Reuver was making his first tentative competitive outing of the year but was unable to place within the top ten.

The MX1 team of Mickael Pichon and Sebastien Tortelli were also in attendance. Pichon, who was ill during the week, was easing his way into competition and continuing to work on the set-up of the SX450F. The Frenchman scored a brace of 4th positions for 3rd place overall and was also 4th in the ‘Grand Final’. Tortelli had a crash-filled introduction to the Hawkstone sand with three falls in the first moto. The former World Champion’s best ranking was a 7th in the ‘Grand Final’.

Carl Nunn: "This was good because I felt that my pace was there last week in Francebut my results did not really show it. I think a lot of people looked at that as if I hadn’t been working this winter when the complete opposite is the real truth. I am way ahead of my condition and readiness of last year; all I can do is build on this. My training is going great. I have lost a bit of weight to be lighter for the starts and it is working well. We are working on the starts as a team and it has been really effective, like we saw today. KTM have worked hard on the 250 and I feel really comfortable on the bike."

Mickael Pichon: "Today was not so bad because I had been sick after Pernes for three days. I am in fact quite happy with the result because the track was not that easy! My motos were consistent, no DNFs or big mistakes. I don’t feel that I am at 100% yet physically when it comes to my riding; so I am satisfied. The bike was running well. I want to keep on working because we only have another three weeks before Zolder."

Sebastien Tortelli: "There was some good and some bad today. We finished the three motos which was a positive thing but I was not that used to the nasty conditions and had a bad first race with a lot of crashes. I had been training in sand but this was much deeper! I was very happy with the bike and we have made a big step forward compared to the two last races. Now we just need to train and focus on the Championship."