Race Day

Round 4 comes to us from Budds Creek, MD. Budds Creek is located in the low, wooded hills of Southwest Maryland. Nestled among the pastoral neighborhoods and historic tobacco plantations, Budds Creek started out as a practice track in the early 1970's. Built and managed by Jonathan Beasley on land adjoining his parents drag strip and stock car oval, the track has steadily improved throughout the years and is known as one of the most spectator friendly tracks on the circuit.

Budds Creek is a horsepower track due to its wide sweeping corners, liberal use of hills and multiple lines. It is also known for its off-camber sections, which means that throttle control is always critical. Budds is known to favor technical riders like Kevin Windham and Chad Reed.

Budds Creek is one of the best spectator tracks on the circuit Photo: Carl Stone

Saturday practice was a serious eye-opener in the 250 class as Ricky Carmichael ended up with a time that was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else in the class. In Sunday's practice session the times among the top riders came in much closer with only .135 seconds separating the times of Carmichael and Windham. But, with Carmichael having a run-in with James Bubba Stewart in practice and ending up with a cut finger, the drama was starting early. Of course, RC riding injured is really just part of RC's program. This is part of why he is not being called GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Nothing seems to really slow him down.

The big question for the day, as it has been all week, is the status of James Stewart. After a long week of Internet speculation and absolutely no news coming from the Kawasaki camp, word finally came that James was cleared to ride, whatever that is supposed to mean. While the young phenom has incredible pressure on him to perform and it is understandable that this pressure could have an impact on his performance, it is every fan's hope that James will show up healthy and ready to race. After finally showing some of his obvious potential while battling with RC at High Point and whetting the appetite of motocross fans everywhere, we are left waiting and wondering at his performances in the other two rounds of the 2005 AMA FMF Outdoor National Series.

James Bubba Stewart looking for two more strokes Photo: Hal Kennedy

Langston rode fast, but conservative, protecting the ankle Photo: Carl Stone

In the 125 class all eyes are on Mike Alessi and Grant Langston. Both appear to be riding injured, Alessi nursing a shoulder injury from last weekend at Southwick and Langston with his still sore ankle from the opening round at Hangtown. With the two consistently fastest riders in the class riding injured, the door is now wide open for points leader Mike Brown to take advantage and maintain or increase his points lead. Budds Creek has always been good to Brownie and he is certainly looking for good results today.

Brown looking calm and confident at the starting line Photo: Hal Kennedy

Jason Lawrence on his new Motoworld Suzuki RMZ250F Photo: Carl Stone

The talk of the 125 class is young Jason Lawrence, who put in an amazing ride last week in his first professional Outdoor race. Lawrence was picked up this week by Motoworld Suzuki and will be enjoying all of the benefits of a factory satellite team. It is an Outdoor only deal for now, so it will be up to Lawrence to show the world what he's got. If this kid can back up his performance from last week, he could end up a contender for the top ten on the season. Not bad for somebody who missed the first two rounds and was a virtual unknown prior to his performance at Southwick.

To keep things interesting, the Budds Creek track reverses direction from year to year. This year we are running clockwise and a new Supercross section has been added. The temperatures are running in the mid-70's with about 44% humidity and a light overcast, which means that today will be a perfect day for motocross. There will be no excuses about heat or humidity like there were at Southwick.

125 Moto 1

Today there is no question about whether or not the top ten riders would be on the track. Everybody showed up for practice and put in good laps. It is apparent that Grant Langston is very tough and will continue riding with his injuries. It is also apparent that Mike Alessi is cut from the same cloth as he will be riding today with lots of pain from his shoulder injury last week at Southwick.

The question today is whether Alessi will be able to pull off as impressive of a ride as he has for the last few rounds. With his injury it seems like everyone is expecting him to take it easy and just try to score some points to keep his season hopes alive.

Mike Brown flying his Jim's Motorcycle Sales colors Photo: Carl Stone

Before the lead pack could get sorted out, Mike Brown had made his way into 2nd. Hahn immediately began to slide backwards through the pack and by the time the pack reached the finish line jump it was Andrew Short, Mike Brown, Ivan Tedesco, Broc Hepler, Grant Langston, Ryan Hughes, Tommy Hahn, Josh Grant, Jason Lawrence and Brock Sellards in the top ten.

Andrew Short showing the speed, but needing some luck to put it all together Photo: Carl Stone

At the end of the second lap you could throw a blanket over the top 6 as there was a scant 6.3 second gap from first to sixth. What we were beginning to see was what all MX fans had been hoping for. The 125 class was expected to be competitive and this one was starting to look like a barn burner.

As the laps continued to tick off it was a battle royal for the first nine positions. Even though Brown appeared to be opening up a gap between himself and Andrew Short, there was still only a 14 second gap between 1st and 9th positions. This gap would be maintained through the eighth lap while riders continued to jockey for position. There would be no runaway victory and no large gaps among the top ten riders.

While Short would continue to pressure Brown in the fifth and sixth laps, Brown was always able to come out on top. Further back in the field Alessi and Millsaps were slowly coming through the field, but both had failed to crack the top ten.

In the ninth lap Tedesco and Hepler began swapping positions for 3rd. It was back and forth for the next four laps as they both began to close on Short. In the thirteenth lap Hepler had finally pulled a small gap on Tedesco and had begun to pressure Short when he and Short both went down. Hepler seemed to be caught up in his motorcycle and took several seconds to get back on his bike and going again. Hepler would not be able to finish the Moto and Short would find himself back in 10th position.

This altercation allowed the rest of the lead pack to get by and also gave Mike Brown a much larger gap between himself and the rest of the field. As the Moto came to an end it would be Brown, Tedesco, Langston, Grant and Hughes for the top five. In sixth was Jason Lawrence showing that his ride at Southwick was not a fluke, while Millsaps and Alessi had benefited by the Hepler/Short tussle and inherited 8th and 9th place respectively.

On the podium after the Moto 1, Tedesco made a comment about how Hepler was riding dirty and deserved what he got. Unfortunately he took Short with him. A second place Moto finish for Short would have been his best on the season.

250 Moto 1

With Internet bulletin boards on fire as the various James Stewart debates continued to rage, the 250 class took to the gate ready for 250 Moto 1. Out of the gate and into the first turn it was Ricky Carmichael with the holeshot, followed closely by Fonseca, Ferry and Stewart. Stewart immediately dispatched Ferry and Fonseca, and then Ferry also passed Fonseca.

Close behind this group, both Chad Reed and Kevin Windham were stalking for position. By the end of the first lap Reed had gotten by Fonseca and Ferry, while Windham was pushing hard behind Fonseca.

The GOAT in front all day long Photo: Carl Stone

Up at the front it appeared that we might be in for another showdown between Stewart and Carmichael. Bubba was hounding RC, eating his roost and taking alternate lines in an attempt to find a way to get by RC. James was pushing for all that he was worth, but Carmichael would continue to hold him off. This cat and mouse game continued for the next couple of laps as Reed slowly began to close on them in third.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't last. By the third lap RC had begun to build a small gap and it just kept getting bigger throughout the Moto. By the fourth lap it was 5 seconds, then 6.5 seconds in the fifth lap and 9.5 seconds in the sixth lap. RC was getting away and there was nothing that Bubba could do about it.

As the Moto wore on Reed and Windham would get a solid lock on 3rd and 4th position and would begin to close on Stewart as he started working his way through lapped traffic. Halfway through the last lap Reed finally found the back wheel of Stewart and started applying pressure. Reed kept looking to the inside and Bubba kept blocking him. At the finish line it was James Stewart followed by Chad Reed for 2nd and 3rd. Windham had fallen back by a few seconds, but had a solid lock on 4th.

Reed Scrub Photo: Carl Stone

At the end of 250 Moto 1 positions 1-6 were the same as they had been since the fifth lap, with Fonseca and Ferry holding on for 5th and 6th positions. Behind them was Josh Woods with an impressive ride for 7th, and Michael Byrne, David Vuillemin and John Dowd rounding out the top ten.

125 Moto 2

As the riders lined up for 125 Moto 2 it was obvious that the start would be everything. 125 Moto 1 had been such a close race from 1st place back to 10th place that it was clear that getting a good start, or at least a good drive to the front in the first half of the first Moto was going to be critical.

It was also apparent that Mike Alessi was not riding at 100%, which meant that several riders could make up some valuable points on Alessi. In addition, with Mike Brown riding

so well in the first seven motos of the season it was apparent that somebody other than Langston or Alessi was going to have to step up or Brown would end up with a huge points lead over the rest of the class.

As the gate dropped and the pack made its way towards the first turn, it was Josh Grant with the holeshot, followed closely by Mike Alessi, Ivan Tedesco, Matt Walker and Akira Narita. Langston was further back in the pack and Ryan Hughes had gotten into some sort of pile-up or altercation at the start and was picking up the back of the pack.

At the end of the first lap it was still Josh Grant in the lead. Grant has been know for taking an early lead and losing it in the first few laps, so most eyes were on the positions behind Grant to see who would be the spoiler.

As things began to sort themselves out, Mike Brown began to make his way up through the field. He had come across the line in 10th at the end of the first lap and had worked his way up to 5th by the third lap. The top five would stay the same through the ninth lap with Josh Grant leading, followed by Alessi, Tedesco, Walker, Brown and Narita.

Alessi, Tedesco, Walker - Freight Train around Budds Creek Circuit Photo: Hal Kennedy

Further back in the pack Langston and Hughes were slowly making their way up into the top fifteen, but while Langston seemed to have the drive to keep closing on the front, Ryno just didn't seem to be able to make much ground once he got up into the top fifteen.

By the ninth lap both Tedesco and Walker had already been hounding Alessi, and Brown had been closing by 1-2 seconds per lap on this group. In the tenth lap, the trio of Tedesco, Walker and Brown all got past Alessi as it was apparent that he just couldn't keep up the pace that the others were running. Once past Alessi, Brown began putting serious pressure on Walker and the two would dice back and forth for the next couple of laps.

Meanwhile, Josh Grant was slowly building a gap out front, writing himself a new history in the 125 class. This wasn't the first time that Grant had led an Outdoor National event, but it was definitely the first time that he had kept it all together and held on to the lead. Not only was he holding on to his lead, but he continued to increase his lead throughout the Moto. It was not anything like the runaways that we have seen in the Stewart era, but it was an impressive performance.

Matt Walker was on the gas all day Photo: Carl Stone
Josh Grant on the way to his first Outdoor Moto Win Photo: Hal Kennedy	Windham showing perfect form Win Photo: Carl Stone
Tedesco is so close to that first overall Photo: Carl Stone

On the last lap Brown finally made his pass on Walker stick and the top five finishing order was Josh Grant, Ivan Tedesco, Mike Brown, Matt Walker and Mike Alessi. Robbie Reynard had one of his best recent finishes with a consistent 6th, followed by Akira Narita, Davey Millsaps, Ryan Sipes and Kelly Smith.

The interesting thing was now the math, as the debate began as to whether Tedesco or Brown had won the overall. With a 2-2 for Tedesco and a 1-3 for Brown, many assumed that Tedesco's higher place finish in Moto 2 had given him the overall. But, the true overall is calculated by the points won for each moto, and only in the event of a tie in points earned does the winner get decided by finishing place in Moto 2. One also has to keep in mind that there is a three point difference between 1st and 2nd place. So, the overall went to Brown with 45 points on the day, while Tedesco got 2nd overall with 44 points and Josh Grant got 3rd overall with 43 points. All in all, a very close day of racing indeed.

250 Moto 2

With Bubba actually finishing 250 Moto 1 and showing everyone that he still had the speed to run with Carmichael, at least for a while, all hopes were up for 250 Moto 2. After all, with Stewart holding on for 2nd in the first Moto, it meant that he still had a shot at the overall if he could pull off a win over Carmichael in the second Moto.

Reed keeps RC in sight Photo: Hal Kennedy

So, as the gate dropped for 250 Moto 2 all eyes were once again upon the Yellow #4 Suzuki of Carmichael and the Green #259 Kawasaki of James Stewart. Into the first turn it was once again RC with the holeshot, followed closely by Reed, Stewart, Fonseca and Windham.

Just as in Moto 1, Windham was able to quickly get around Fonseca and we were once again looking at the lead group consisting of Carmichael, Reed, Stewart and Windham. As this group roared up and down the hills of Budds Creek it quickly became apparent that there would be no major challenge of Carmichael by Stewart, or Reed, or anyone. In fact, other than one brief moment where Windham came up to challenge Stewart, there would not be much excitement at all.

For fourteen laps Carmichael would continue to increase his lead lap by lap and the field would get more and more spread out. While the excitement of close racing will have to wait for another day, there was still the utter amazement of all watching to see Carmichael dominate in such an impressive fashion. Never has a rider been so dominant in this class.

In the end it is apparent that incredible talent, fitness and dedication to the craft is what sets RC at the pinnacle. The raw talent of James Stewart will need some additional honing and Bubba will need to train harder and smarter in order to find the stamina to run consistently fast laps throughout the Moto if he is going to upset Carmichael.

Reed has obviously been taking notes and seems to have the fitness and speed and is slowly closing the gap between himself and Carmichael. Windham has the talent and style, and seems to have fairly good stamina, but fell back substantially after challenging Stewart in the fifth lap.

So, RC now has a three Moto win streak going on, and would most likely not have broken his win streak at Southwick if it hadn't been for a solo crash and a stalled bike that allowed the front runners to get by and put a gap on RC.

What will it take to beat Ricky straight up? Only time will tell.

Rounding out 250 Moto 2 was Fonseca in 5th, showing consistency just behind the big four, Vuillemin 6th, Byrne 7th, Ryan Clark finishing an impressive 8th, Nick Wey 9th and Travis Preston 10th.

Wrap-Up

RC back on top Photo: Carl Stone

Dowd pulling down some hard earned Wonder Warthog cash Photo: Carl Stone

At the same time, we shouldn't count out Chad Reed. Reed has shown himself to be an extremely hard worker and has managed to bring up his speed in Supercross to the point that he is a serious threat for the championship. In the Outdoors he has struggled, but has consistently raised the bar from season to season. He is now at the point of running a strong 2nd behind Carmichael and with continued hard work he will only get faster. He has also put himself in the spoiler position as he can continue to take advantage of Carmichael's few mistakes. Perhaps with enough time following RC around the racetracks of America he will find the chinks in RC's armor and figure out how to exploit them.

If the dominance of Carmichael for yet another season in the 250 class has got you down, take heart, because the 125 class continues to be full of surprises. Never before has there been a 125 season so full of ups and downs, and never before has the class been so stacked with talent. The truth is that there are at least ten riders easily capable of pulling off a win in this class, some of whom have not had good showings so far this season.

As the series rolls around the Eastern United States there promises to be more ups and downs than the best Carnival ride. Just from the results of this weekend there is a major shakeup in the overall points standings. While Brown managed to hold on to the points lead and slightly increase his gap over 2nd, there was a huge shakeup from 2nd on down.

Ivan Tedesco moves from 4th to 2nd overall this week. Josh Grant moves from 7th to 3rd. Mike Alessi drops from 3rd to 4th. Grant Langston drops from 2nd to 5th. In the top fifteen only Ryan Hughes and Billy Laninovich retain their positions from last week. And with the way the racing in this class is going, this could conceivably continue to be a weekly phenomenon.