Race Day

As the 2005 AMA Motocross season winds to a close, we are all reminded by the tragedy in Louisiana and Mississippi of how lucky we are to have our health, our homes, our families, and the great sport of Motocross to keep us entertained. Indeed, much of the tone at Steel City is about remembering what happened earlier this week. There are various fundraisers and auctions at the track this weekend, not to mention the Racer X crew walking through the crowd soliciting donations for hurricane relief.

Steel City is the hometown race for Makita Suzuki's Broc Hepler. Broc was incredibly fast at the last round, taking the overall with 2-1 Moto finishes. Hepler has struggled this season and has had very mixed results after winning the season opener at Hangtown. The last few races Hepler has been the fastest guy on the track in the 125 class and having the crowd behind him will surely give him that extra little bit that could push him to the front of the pack.

Hepler is coming on strong late in the season Photo: Carl Stone

Villopoto is the latest rookie sensation Photo: Karl Ockert

All eyes will also be on the number 207 of Ryan Villopoto. Just the sight of a short redheaded kid on a Kawasaki brings back memories of Ricky Carmichael's early days as a professional. Villopoto ran 14-16 at the last round in his professional debut and is expected to improve this weekend. Villopoto is the latest amateur sensation to move to the pro ranks.

With the points battle in full swing in the 125 class, it is anybody's guess how things will unwind. There will surely be battles happening all over the track as the top four guys all seek to reduce Ivan Tedesco's points lead.

Tedesco is protecting his points lead Photo: Hal Kennedy

RC has his eyes?..or something?..on the prize Photo: Karl Ockert

In the 250 class the news is all about sponsorships. Ricky Carmichael set a precedent by sponsoring John Dowd at Millville. This week the guys at Mototalk have stepped up and are sponsoring Dowd. In addition, David Vuillemin has joined the fray and is sponsoring the 109 Suzuki of perennial fan favorite Barry Carston. Barry is representative of the soul of the privateer and is working on earning a two-digit AMA number for next season. This is Barry's umpteenth season as a professional and he just keeps plugging away.

This weekend is also Ricky Carmichael's opportunity to land the $25,000 Monster Kawasaki Triple Crown. With Carmichael's dominance this season he is pretty much a guaranteed to win the prize. In addition, with a finish better than 16th, Carmichael will clinch the 2005 AMA 250 Outdoor Motocross title.

The perfect storm that we have all been hoping for with the debut of Kawasaki's James Stewart in the 250 class has had another setback this week as Kawasaki has announced that James will sit out the last two rounds. It's now completely up to Kevin Windham to keep Carmichael honest for the last two rounds.

The real battle in the 250 class is for third, where David Vuillemin and Ernesto Fonseca are currently tied in points. Fonseca has been having consistently strong finishes and has managed to make the podium the last three rounds. With momentum on his side, Ernesto will be looking to eliminate the tie and finally pass Vuillemin in the points standings.

Vuillemin and Fonseca are locked in a battle for 3rd overall on the season
Photo: Carl Stone	Photo: Hal Kennedy

125 Moto 1

We are coming down to the wire in the 125 class. Tedesco begins the day with a 43 point lead over Mike Alessi. Alessi, Broc Hepler and Andrew Short have all been riding very well while Tedesco has been running around 5th place the last several Motos, which would appear to be a conservative move to save his points lead, but means that the rest of the field edges closer and closer each round.

he beginning of another epic battle in the 125 class Photo: Karl Ockert

Hepler has definitely been the most improved, winning the overall last weekend in convincing fashion. He may also end up playing the role of spoiler to Mike Alessi as Helper is currently running 7th in points and really doesn't have a shot at the title, but is in a position to take away valuable points from Alessi.

Alessi owns the start of 125 Moto 1 Photo: Hal Kennedy

At the start of 125 Moto 1 Mike Alessi once again proved that he is a holeshot machine. Alessi pulled a huge holeshot and proceeded to sprint away from the field. Behind Alessi was Steve Boniface, followed by Akira Narita and Broc Hepler.

Hepler immediately began to pressure Narita, but the Japanese National Champ wasn't going to give in to the pressure. Hepler, knowing that Alessi could be hard to catch if he got too much of a lead, pulled out all of the stops and ended up bobbling hard and losing positions.

Mike Brown charges from the back after going down in the first lap Photo: Carl Stone

Former points leader Mike Brown went down on the first lap and got back on in last position. This didn't bode well for the privateer.

With Hepler back in 7th the field was clear for Matt Walker to challenge Narita. Walker did not have the same difficulty as Hepler had with getting past Narita.

As the first lap came to an end it was Mike Alessi, with a three-and-a-half second lead over Boniface, followed by Walker, Narita, Hahn, Metcalfe, Hepler, Laninovich, Jeff Alessi and Grant Langston. Langston would make short work of Jeff Alessi while Hepler quickly made his way through the field and was soon battling again with Narita. Before the end of the 2nd lap Hepler had dispatched Narita and was setting his sights on Matt Walker.

J-Law is showing good form, but mechanical problems would ruin his day Photo: Carl Stone

On the second lap some sort of mechanical problem befell the Suzuki of Jason Lawrence and he ended up retiring from the Moto.

During the second lap Andrew Short began to make his charge. Short managed to make his way up to 9th by the end of the 2nd lap, but a tangle with a hay bale in the 3rd lap would send him to the back of the field.

With Hepler running lap times two seconds faster than Alessi, he soon caught Matt Walker and began pushing him towards Boniface. Walker battled back and forth with Boniface for a short while and then found his way by. This immediately put Boniface in Hepler's sights and Hepler made short work of him. As soon as Hepler was past Boniface he was once again putting pressure on Walker, but Walker was able to hold him off.

Hepler works hard in 125 Moto 1 to track down Alessi Photo: Karl Ockert

On the fourth lap, despite doing everything possible to hold off Hepler, Walker ended up making a slight bobble, which allowed Hepler to pass. Hepler immediately set his sights on Alessi and began to charge after the leader. At the end of the fourth lap Alessi had a nearly ten second lead over Hepler.

Hepler continued to reduce Alessi's lead by 2-3 seconds per lap, and had caught Alessi by the end of the tenth lap. Meanwhile rookie Ryan Villopoto and points leader Tedesco had both been picking their way through the field. At the end of the tenth lap it was Alessi, Hepler, Langston, Walker, Tedesco, Metcalfe, Villopoto, Boniface, Kiniry and Hahn.

Villopoto continued his charge and passed Metcalfe on the next lap, then set off after Tedesco. Meanwhile, Kiniry had gotten by Boniface and followed Villopoto past Metcalfe. The two of them continued charging and both began to pressure Tedesco. On the twelfth lap Villopoto got by Tedesco. Tedesco, seeing his points lead slip away, held off Kiniry, although Kiniry was putting heavy pressure on Tedesco.

As 125 Moto 1 entered the last lap, the running order for top seven had stabilized. A late charge from Ryan Sipes brought him from 10th to 7th, while Tommy Hahn had fallen back and been passed by both Sipes and Millsaps. At the finish of 125 Moto 1 it was Hepler, Alessi, Langston, Walker, Villopoto, Tedesco, Kiniry, Sipes, Metcalfe and Millsaps. Mike Brown was back in 17th and Andrew Short ended up 20th, which would definitely drop both of them in the standings.

250 Moto 1

RC had lots of clear track in front of him during 250 Moto 1 Photo: Karl Ockert

Every time the gate drops in the 250 class, everyone's hope is that Ricky Carmichael will get a bad start. This is the only way that there is any chance of an interesting race at the front of the pack. When RC gets the holeshot the race for the lead is over as we all watch RC sprint away from the pack.

The start of 250 Moto 1 would be one of those starts that none of us likes to see. RC grabbed the holeshot, and Windham, the only guy who has any chance of staying with RC, was caught up in a first turn pileup. Once again, the race was determined in the first 100 feet. And with RC's sights set on that $25,000 Monster Energy Kawasaki Triple Crown bonus money, there was little doubt that this would be the outcome for Steel City.

The good news in this class is that the level of competition for 2nd through 10th has been quite good as the season has progressed. So it has become two treats in one. All alone in the lead is Carmichael, putting on a mind-blowing show of speed and finesse that is a thing of beauty to watch, while the rest of the class battles it out to be second through tenth best in the world of AMA motocross.

Ryno is running the trick FMF dual pipe setup Photo: Hal Kennedy

While the start may have disappointing, the action in the pack was incredible. Ernesto Fonseca pulled another strong start and came through the first turn behind Carmichael, followed by the lone Kawasaki factory two-stroke of Byrne. And in a battle of the internet sponsorships DV12's Barry Carsten and Mototalk's John Dowd were in a side by side battle. Before the end of the first lap, the Honda of Travis Preston had challenged and passed Byrne for 3rd.

At the end of the first lap it was RC, Fonseca, Preston, Byrne, Sean Collier, Ryan Hughes, David Vuillemin, Evan Laughridge, John Dowd and Clark Stiles. Both Ryan Hughes and Evan Laughridge are wild cards in the series, with Ryno stepping up from the 125 class and running what amounts to a stock RMZ450, and Laughridge, a front runner in the Canadian National MX Series, coming down from Canada to try his hand at an AMA National.

Windham charged through the pack in 250 Moto 1 after being caught in first turn pileup at the start Photo: Karl Ockert

It was also evident at the back of the pack that Kevin Windham wasn't about to settle for his bad start. Windham was tearing through the pack, picking off one rider after another in a bid to salvage whatever he possibly could. At the end of the first lap he had made his way up to 20th.

On the fourth lap things started to get interesting as both Hughes and Vuillemin got past Byrne and started their own freight train. On the next lap Hughes passed Preston in the same spot as he had passed Byrne. Vuillemin was also able to get past Preston later in the lap.

On the sixth lap it finally became the battle between Hughes and Vuillemin as the two went back and forth. Neither was willing to give an inch and both of them attacked one of the downhills side by side. Ryno had already shown that he had the corner speed at the bottom of the hills and was able to take Vuillemin deep. DV did not have the corner dialed like Ryno and ended up blowing out the berm and losing Ryno in the process.

On the next lap DV had caught Ryno and they were at it again. DV managed to get by Ryno and then Hughes cased a jump, which gave Vuillemin the clear lead. At the same time Windham was catching up to Hughes and looking to put on pressure. KW seemed to have motivated everyone with his blast through the pack as Sean Collier was now putting pressure on Byrne. Byrne managed to escape Collier by passing Preston and it was Preston's turn to feel Collier's heat.

On lap eight Collier would get by Preston. On lap nine Windham finally closed on Hughes and began applying massive pressure. Ryno got caught in a crossrut and Windham passed, but Hughes battled back and repassed KW, then Windham was able to repass Hughes in the supercross section and make it stick, but Hughes was doing everything possible to stay glued to Windham.

By the eleventh lap Windham had shaken off Hughes and was beginning to catch Vuillemin. Vuillemin bobbled and Windham was all over him. KW made short work of Vuillemin and before the lap was over was putting pressure on 2nd place Fonseca. In the twelfth lap Windham blew past Fonseca to take over 2nd.

Carmichael clinches the 2005 AMA MX National title with his win in 250 Moto 1 Photo: Karl Ockert

Out in front RC was doing his usual by running away. Even though Windham was running full speed through the pack, his lap times were still about a second per lap slower that Carmichael. By the time that Windham took over second, Carmichael had an insurmountable 30 second lead.

On the last lap Carmichael actually slipped and went down, but in usual fashion he bounced right back up and continued on. Carmichael has made a habit of making the last lap a parade lap anyway, due to his massive leads at the ends of most Motos, and this was no exception.

On the podium after 250 Moto 1 Carmichael was awarded the number 1 plate for 2005 by AMA Competition Manager Steve Whitelock. Carmichael also announced that his super-trick Two Brothers pit bike would go on the auction block at Steel City as part of the auction to raise money to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

125 Moto 2

All of the pressure was now on Mike Alessi. With Andrew Short's poor finish in 125 Moto 1, Alessi was left as the only person with a statistical chance of catching Ivan Tedesco for the points lead. For this to happen, Tedesco needs to have a couple of very poor finishes or DNF's, but anything is possible.

On the 125 Moto 2 sighting lap Villopoto had some sort of mechanical problem and his bike was rushed to the mechanics area. The gate was held up for only a few moments as the problem was quickly remedied and Villopoto made his way to the gate.

Villopoto managed to hold off Hepler for a couple of laps at the beginning of 125 Moto 2 Photo: Carl Stone

At the start it was once again Mike Alessi with the holeshot, with Villopoto 2nd and Hepler 3rd. Hepler took a far outside line around the pack and was quickly on the tail of Villopoto. But Villopoto is already showing a maturity beyond his age and seemed to have no problem holding off the charging Hepler.

At the end of the first lap it was Alessi, Villopoto, Hepler, Tedesco, Short, Kiniry, Brown, Sipes, Walker and Mills.

Out in front Alessi made a hard bobble, but still managed to hold on to the lead. Hepler continued to pressure Villopoto and Villopoto managed to continue to hold off Hepler. Towards the end of the second lap Hepler finally managed to get side by side with Villopoto and was able to make the pass. Once by, Hepler charged away in search of Alessi.

On the third lap it was Tedesco's turn to pressure Villopoto. Tedesco had it easy as Villopoto missed a double while trying to protect the inside line. Tedesco made the double and easily got by. Meanwhile, Hepler had caught Alessi. Alessi knows how to ride a wide bike and was able to keep Hepler at bay. Further back, Andrew Short had also caught Villopoto and was putting on the pressure.

For the next couple of laps the battle between Alessi and Hepler was on. While Hepler was considerably faster than Alessi, Alessi is so good at riding defensively that he has made it hard all season for anybody trying to make a pass. It was no exception for Hepler, who dogged Alessi for nearly three laps before finally making the pass.

Millsaps hard-charging in 125 Moto 2 Photo: Carl Stone

Short managed to get past Villopoto and was soon putting pressure on Tedesco. At the end of fourth lap it was Hepler, Alessi, Tedesco, Short, Villopoto, Sipes, Brown, Kiniry, Walker and Millsaps.

At this point in the Moto, the running order of the top seven stabilized. The real battles were all taking place in the back half of the top ten. Millsaps, Walker, Sipes, Jeff Alessi and Jesse Casillas were all battling back and forth. Millsaps seemed to have the most momentum and continued his forward progress, while the others went back and forth.

The action at the front of the pack resumed on lap twelve as Short and Villopoto began closing in on Tedesco. From behind this group, Davi Millsaps also closed, and we were now looking at a possible four-way battle. On lap thirteen it became total chaos as this group worked their way through a group of lapped riders. In the process, Tedesco managed to put a gap between himself and Short, while Short also managed to find a gap between himself and Villopoto.

Langston sets up Walker for a pass Photo: Carl Stone

Short had a better second Moto, but was already statistically out of the running for the 125 title Photo: Hal Kennedy

With Davi Millsaps charging down the hills on the last lap, Villopoto found himself being pushed forward. As the final lap wound down it was Short, Villopoto and Millsaps running within a few bike lengths of each other in 4th, 5th and 6th. At the end Millsaps was able to get by Villopoto, but was unable to catch Short.

The finish of 125 Moto 2 was Hepler, Alessi, Tedesco, Short, Millsaps, Villopoto, Sipes, Langston, Brown and Jeff Alessi.

250 Moto 2

With Carmichael having clinched the title in 250 Moto 1, and Windham having clinched 2nd for the season, there was nothing left in 250 Moto 2 but bragging rights for these two. The battle for third, however, is far from over. Vuillemin and Fonseca came into Steel City tied for 3rd, and Vuillemin finished one place ahead of Fonseca in Moto 1, which put Vuillemin one point ahead of Fonseca.

RC let everybody know who's Number One Photo: Carl Stone

Hughes shows his corner speed Photo: Carl Stone

Carmichael showed up to the gate on his number 4 Makita Suzuki wearing a jersey with the number 1. As the gate dropped, he reminded everyone why he was wearing the number 1 with another perfect holeshot. Behind him were Vuillemin, Windham, Fonseca, Thain, Reynard, Wey, Hughes, Buckelew and Dowd.

As usual, Carmichael began sprinting and left the field behind. On the third lap Hughes made his way past Wey and Thain. On the fourth lap Windham made the pass on Vuillemin. Other than this the field stayed pretty stable up until the ninth lap when Fonseca was finally able to catch and pass Vuillemin. Fonseca didn't give Vuillemin the chance to fight back and immediately began to build a gap.

Windham put Vuillemin away early in 250 Moto 2 Photo: Hal Kennedy

As the laps wound down both Hughes and Dowd managed to make their way up a few positions, but otherwise it was an uneventful and predictable finish to 250 Moto 2.

At the finish it was Carmichael, Windham, Fonseca, Vuillemin, Hughes, Byrne, Dowd, Wey, Goerke and Collier.

RC had once again taken the overall, with KW a solid second and Vuillemin and Fonseca trading thirds to keep the season points battle tied.

Wrap-Up

Going into the last round at Glen Helen it is all about the 125 class. Unless some sort of disaster befalls Ivan Tedesco, he will easily wrap up the championship and forever shrug the "Supercross Specialist" title that he is trying to get rid of. This will be Tedesco's third title, which bodes well for him as he enters the 250 class.

Tedesco appears to be running away with the 125 Championship Photo: Carl Stone

If Mike Alessi can continue to get the results he has been getting since healing from his shoulder injury, he should have no problem holding on to 2nd overall for the season.

Third could be up in the air as Andrew Short has not been performing as well as he did earlier in the season and Broc Hepler is on fire. Currently there are only 15 points separating Short and Hepler, which means that 3rd overall for the season is still up for grabs.

It will all come down to who has the most huevos at Glen Helen. The hills, ruts, breaking bumps and sheer speed of Glen Helen definitely separate the men from the boys. It is a track that shows no mercy and has been known to do some damage from time to time. It has already claimed Chad Reed and James Stewart in practice crashes this season.

Alessi still has a remote chance at the Championship Photo: Carl Stone

Fonseca needs to stay in front of Vuillemin for the next two Motos to clinch 3rd overall for the season Photo: Carl Stone

The AMA has promised some interesting things for Glen Helen. Team USA will be running their MXdN numbers at Glen Helen in a preview for all of the American fans that won't be able to make it to Ernee, France. It also appears that the AMA will be announcing new class names to finally put an end to the two-stroke/four-stroke, 125/250, 250/450 confusion. It is anybody's guess what the new class names will be, but there is sure to be plenty of debate on the internet this week.

Sadly, Glen Helen will be the end of one of the most competitive seasons ever in the 125 class. 2005 has truly been epic thus far and the grand finale will be taking place in the hills of San Bernardino on September 11th.

? 2005 Roost Productions