Race Day

Redddd Buddd!!! That is the chant that has been heard every summer for over 30 years here in Buchanan, Michigan. This Independence Day weekend the AMA Toyota Outdoor National Series makes its way to Red Bud Track-N-Trail, which year after year is the nicest motocross facility in the U.S. This year is no exception as the Ritchie family has been busy getting the track and surrounding grounds ready for the hundreds of amateur and professional racers and thousands of screaming fans to descend on its loamy soil and manicured grounds.

It rained on and off throughout the weekend at Red Bud

Photo: Carl Stone

While Red Bud doesn’t have the giant hills like most other tracks on the AMA Outdoor circuit, it more than makes up for it with the size of its jumps. Two of the largest, sketchiest jumps in American Motocross are located at this facility. One is the giant step-up known as LaRocco’s leap, the other is the Red Bud ski jump with its 120’ drop into choppy ruts. Both have been known to ruin a racer’s day, either by being too difficult to clear or by the hard landing.

Stewart returned at Red Bud and looked extremely fast

Photo: Carl Stone

Kawasaki’s James Stewart is back this week and looks ready to resume his battle with Ricky Carmichael. Stewart is pretty much out of the points chase at this point due to sitting out the last round at Budds Creek, but he still has something to prove and set fast times in both Saturday and Sunday practice sessions. With Stewart’s riding style and technical prowess he should be able to give Carmichael a run for his money, assuming that Stewart isn’t riding injured.

Carmichael has won seven straight Nationals here and is determined to keep that streak alive. RC is at a level all his own in the Outdoors and has served notice that he intends to go out on top. RC has come out on top in all but one National this season and has proven that even though this is his last full-time season, he is willing to run the win or crash pace that Stewart has brought.

Without Stewart in the field at Budds Creek, Carmichael ran away with both Motos in his typical fashion. Until somebody else steps up to run with Stewart we need both riders healthy to keep things interesting in the big class.

Everyone has been waiting to see how fast Ben Townley really is

Photo: Carl Stone

In the Lites class there is phenomenal racing all of the way through the field. This season has been a barn burner so far and this weekend should be no different. Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto looks fast as always, but KTM’s Mike Alessi still has the points lead and has got to be hurting from the spanking that he got at Budds Creek. Both riders should be at the top of the field today and it is anybody’s guess who will come out on top.

There is also a huge wild card being thrown into the mix this week with the American debut of New Zealand’s Ben Townley. Townley rides for Mitch Payton’s Pro Circuit Kawasaki squad and is best known for winning the MX2 Championship in Europe last year and for being the only guy who had anything for Carmichael at the 2005 Motocross Des Nations. Townley definitely made people stand up and take notice and his move to the US was highly anticipated. When he was injured in practice before the start of the season, it was a huge letdown for Motocross fans world-wide. But this week he is back and we will all get to see if he can run the type of pace that everyone expects.

Chad Reed needs to step up the pace if he wants to run with Stewart and Carmichael	J-Rod is finally back from injury
Photo: Carl Stone	Photo: Carl Stone

Even Ricky Carmichael, who shares a trainer with Townley, has said that the young Kiwi has the speed and skill to podium his first race out. This is a huge statement, especially considering that Townley is coming back from a serious leg injury and has only spent a few weeks back on the bike. Regardless, all eyes will be on Townley today as he shows the US fans what he’s got.

Also returning from injury in the Lites class is the very fast Joaquim Rodriquez, who had good speed before being sidelined. J-Rod could be a factor today, but, like Townley, we have yet to see what his race speed truly is.

Lites Class (250F)

Lites Moto 1 started out with a bang as Ryan Villopoto took the holeshot. On the outside Star Racing Yamaha’s Martin Davalos ran wide and took out ORC photographer Carl Stone and started a pileup that eventually gathered up Mike Brown, Kelly Smith, and Nathan Ramsey.

Carl Stone was reportedly okay, but Davalos was said to be sporting an odd circular bruise on his shoulder. Way to go Carl for keeping that camera up and rolling right up till the very end.

Villopoto ran away with Lites Moto 1

Photo: Carl Stone

Back out front, Villopoto managed to break away and had an eight second gap by the end of the second lap. Behind him was total chaos as Andrew MacFarlane, Mike Alessi, Jason Lawrence, Broc Hepler, Ben Townley, Josh Grant, Troy Adams, Brett Metcalfe and Andrew Short battled back and forth looking for a stable position. At the end of the third lap there was only a nine second gap between 2nd and 10th.

It seemed like every lap somebody either bobbled or tipped over, reshuffling the running order with Grant, Hepler and Lawrence all taking their turns.

About midway through the first Moto it was obvious that Ben Townley wasn’t yet conditioned enough to run wide open for the full 30 minutes plus 2 laps. While he was running strong in around 7th place, he stopped applying pressure and eventually fell to 8th at the finish. Regardless, his speed and skill were very evident and it is obviously just a matter of time before he is up there challenging for the lead.

The guy who was obviously in shape was Andrew Short, who began running some of the fastest laps of the day around the 9th lap. If Short could just get a decent start he could probably run away with a Moto or two.

The finishing order for Moto 1 was Villopoto, MacFarlane, Alessi, Grant, Short, Lawrence, Metcalfe, Townley, Adams and Chisolm for the top ten.

At the start of the second Lites Moto it was Josh Grant with the holeshot. What is it about the second Moto and Josh Grant holeshots? Mike Alessi got out of the first turn in 3rd and quickly made his way to 2nd, while Villopoto was struggling back in 7th. Before the end of the first lap it began to rain very hard and the track began to get slippery.

MacFarlane continues to quietly post strong results

Photo: Carl Stone

Villopoto, being accustomed to the wet conditions, began to make his move, quickly passing Adams, Metcalfe and Walker. Then Josh Grant stalled it, handing Mike Alessi the lead and putting Villopoto in 3rd. By the end of the second lap Villopoto had gotten by MacFarlane and taken over 2nd and set his sites on Alessi, who had charged early and bought himself a five second gap.

While Villopoto did his best to hunt down Alessi, it was to no avail. Alessi knew that he had to redeem himself after the whipping he had taken over the last three Motos of the series and let it all hang out. Alessi continued to open up his gap throughout the Moto and reminded everybody that he has the speed to dominate.

Once again, the battle behind Alessi and Villopoto was intense as Josh Grant, Ben Townley and Andrew Short all showed that they have the kind of speed to run up front. Townley had a much better Moto 2, hanging on for 3rd, while MacFarlane, Grant, Short, Metcalfe, Adams, Kelly Smith and Danny Smith rounded out the top ten.

Villopoto took home the Overall with a 1-2 versus Alessi’s 3-1 and took the second leg of the Monster Triple Crown and a $1500 bonus from Monster Energy. Villopoto has now won two of the three Triple Crown events, which keeps him in the running for the big bonus. 3rd Overall for the day was Andrew MacFarlane who continues to quietly post strong results.

Motocross Class (450F)

In the Motocross Class it was Ricky Carmichael with the advantage all day. RC took the holeshot in both Motos, followed closely by James Stewart in both Motos. It looked like a battle was brewing in Moto 2 as Stewart was able to get by Carmichael early and hold the lead for a couple of laps, but once Carmichael got by Stewart he continued to open up 2-3 seconds per lap.

Alessi let it all hang out in Lites Moto 2 and was rewarded with a win

Photo: Carl Stone

RC was clearly the dominant force today, leading to speculation that Stewart may still be nursing an injury from one of his earlier crashes.

Third in both Motos was Chad Reed, with fourth being taken home by Kevin Windham and a 5-6 by Davi Millsaps, which made the outcome all too predictable. The only real surprise on the day was Red Dog, Tim Ferry, who has slowly been coming back up to speed. Ferry put in two strong Motos and finished 7-5 on the day for sixth Overall.

Both Windham and Ferry have stepped it up a notch since earlier in the season. This class needs them to step it up another couple of notches to challenge Reed. If they can pull Millsaps into the mix we might have something to get excited about.

Josh Grant pulled his typical Lites Moto 2 holeshot and is due for a win	RC pulled a commanding holeshot in both Motos. Can anyone stop him now that has momentum?
Photo: Carl Stone	Photo: Carl Stone

Carmichael, like Villopoto, took home the second of three legs of the Monster Triple Crown and is also in the running for the big bonus.

Red Bud also marked the return of Joe Oehlhof, the venerable privateer from Southern California who broke his neck at Red Bud last year and has worked every day since that time to come back from an injury that could have easily been career-ending.

Windham continues to improve with each round, but still hasn’t found the speed to challenge Reed for 3rd

Photo: Carl Stone

Wrap Up

The battle for dominance of the Motocross Class, while taking a short hiatus at Budds Creek and Red Bud, is far from over. The next round is Unadilla, which Stewart loves and Carmichael despises. Unadilla is known for its large population of rocks that force most riders to wear extra armor. It is yet to be determined whether Stewart’s love of Unadilla stems from always running out front there, or whether this track just really suits him. Either way, RC is on fire right now and determined to go out in a dominant fashion, so the proverbial fireworks will surely be flying. There is also a weekend break between now and then, so Stewart will have more time to heal whatever nagging injuries he may have.

Millsaps airs it out and continues to impress everyone in his rookie season in the Motocross Class

Photo: Carl Stone

On the podium for the Motocross Class Carmichael promised the Red Bud fans that he would be back next year, so it looks like he is starting to think about his 2007 schedule. At this point, with RC tops in the running for this years MXdN and surely looking to the 2007 MXdN being held in the US, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him run a relatively full outdoor schedule next year, if not a full schedule.

Nick Way once again takes top privateer honors in the Motocross Class with a 7th Overall on the day

Photo: Carl Stone

In the Lites class it’s anybody’s game right now. While Alessi and Villopoto are far out in front in terms of points, they are only separated by five points, which means that the two will be out for blood. With the level of competition so strong in this class, any mishap by either of these riders has the potential for scrambling the points once again. As we near the halfway point of the season the potential for the championship to come down to the last race gets stronger and stronger.

The Lites Class also has a couple of new faces that could have a dramatic impact on the series. While Townley and Rodriquez don’t have a shot at the title, they both have the ability to run up front and could take points away from the leaders, thereby tightening the standings even further.

Townley ran 8-3 coming off an injury in his US debut. He will be looking to improve his results at Unadilla

Photo: Carl Stone

The season is a long way from over, and while the fat lady may have already sung in the Motocross Class, the Lites Class is completely up for grabs. Hold on to your hats as the big show rolls into Upstate New York and the rock throwing begins.