Race Day

Welcome to Thunder Valley MX Park. We have something today which doesn't happen very often, a new stop on the AMA Outdoor National tour. This is the first new track on the National series since Glen Helen was added several years ago. Thunder Valley is conveniently located in the western suburbs of Denver. The facility is situated in a protected valley and the majority of the track is on the hillside on one side of the valley, which makes it very spectator friendly - much of the track is visible from the numerous spectator areas.

This also marks the first time since 1987 that an AMA Outdoor National event has been held in Colorado. The winner in the 250 class in 1987 was Rick Johnson, who was here today acting as Master of Ceremonies.

View from the hill Photo: William Perry

This weekend - elevation is everything. The track sits at over a mile above sea level, which could play havoc with both riders and bikes. At this elevation oxygen levels are much lower, the air is thinner. This will mean tuning challenges for the factory bikes as well as breathing challenges for everyone. It has been speculated that local riders will have a distinct advantage here, having the expertise of tuning and training at this elevation This means we could see more locals qualify for the race, which could possibly bump some of the usual riders from the program.

When you can wear a hat with your own initials on it... you've made it Photo: William Perry

The Colorado fans were out in force   Photo: Carl Stone

In Saturday's pre-qualifier races there were lots of riders from places like Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Washington. When it was all said and done only a few of these riders qualified for the National. Perhaps this is an indicator that most of the regulars on the tour have figured out the tuning for this elevation - more likely it is an indication of the high level of training that these riders are putting in coming into the event.

In other motocross news this weekend, the MXDN team was officially announced by the AMA. After weeks of internet speculation and name calling, the official team is Ricky Carmichael, Mike Brown and Kevin Windham. Everything came together Saturday and the AMA's Steve Whitelock held a press conference Saturday afternoon to announce the long-awaited news.

Carmichael and Windham talk MXDN before AMA Press Conference Photo: William Perry

AMA Press Conference. Whitelock introduces Team USA Photo: William Perry

This years Motocross Des Nations will be held in Ernee, France on September 24-25. This race will be a very big deal for Mike Brown, who was chosen for the 2001 MXDN team, which was scrapped after the events of 9/11, so he never got to go. Brown will race the MX2 class (125 class), RC will race the MX1 Class (250 class) and Windham will race the MX3 (Open) class. After several years of difficulties in putting together a US team for the MXDN it looks like the AMA has finally stepped up to the plate and pulled it together. As usual, Roger DeCoster will be the team manager. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the best of the US take on the world.

WMA Racing

In addition, the Womans Motocross Association held the 3rd round of their National Series on Saturday at Thunder Valley. In the last few years the WMA has become a very competitive series and a couple of the women have been working towards qualifying for AMA Nationals. At the speeds these women are riding it's only a matter of time before one of them steps it up and qualifies to run with the big boys in the AMA series.

The other #4 - WMA's Sarah Whitmore finished second overall this weekend Photo: William Perry

125 Moto 1

Last weekend signaled the end the 125 two-stroke as Brett Metcalfe was finally moved up to a Yamaha YZ250F at Unadilla. Unfortunately for Brett, the only time he had on the four-stroke was Saturday practice before the Sunday National last week. Now that he has had a whole week to learn to ride the bike it will be interesting to see his finishes.

Metcalfe is still getting used to the 250F Photo: Carl Stone

Andrew Short was the crowd favorite   Photo: Carl Stone

There is huge anticipation for the 125 class at Thunder Valley - the reason is that local hero, Andrew Short, has been running near the front of the 125 class the last few races. All eyes will be on Short when the gate drops for 125 Moto 1. The 125 class remains ultra-competitive this season and it is looking more and more like the eventual class champion may not be decided until the very end of the season.

Josh Grant makes a clean inside pass on teammate Hahn Photo: Carl Stone

The start at Thunder Valley is uphill. As 125 Moto 1 left the gate it was the Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki of Grant Langston that led the pack into the first turn. Following closely behind was Langston's teammate Ivan Tedesco, Samsung Honda's Steve Boniface and American Honda's Andrew Short. Short was quickly by Boniface and the race was on. Last weeks winner Broc Hepler and points leader Mike Brown both suffered poor starts and would have to work their way up from mid-pack.

At the end of the first lap Langston was just barely holding off a charging Tedesco. Behind them, Short was pushing hard trying to keep them in reach. With Short a close third the crowd was going nuts. The roar followed this group around the track as the crowd willed Short to try and catch the leaders.

Jason Lawrence continues to have an impressive first season Photo: Carl Stone

Early in the second lap Short began challenging Tedesco for second, but Tedesco held on and eventually started to put a gap between himself and Short. As Tedesco was getting away from Short, he was catching Langston. By the second lap he had caught and passed Langston for the lead. With the top 125 rider's speeds being so close this year, the top ten was in constant flux for the first few laps. Walker, Grant and Hahn were moving up through the front pack, while Brown and Hepler were both making their charges from mid-pack. By the sixth lap Brown had made his way up to 12th place, while Tedesco, Langston and Short had broken away from the lead pack, yet were still running within two seconds of each other.

Tedesco runs away with 125 Moto 1 Photo: Carl Stone

On the eighth lap Laninovich went down, which left 4th place to Hahn. Brown had made his way up to 10th. Tedesco had also begun to put a small gap between himself and Langston. Further back Daniel Sani had slipped to 11th. On the tenth lap Short had caught and passed Langston and the crowd was hoping that he could catch Tedesco.

Alessi has the widest bike on the track Photo: Carl Stone

Further back, Mike Brown had caught Mike Alessi, who was running in 7th and was trying everything possible to get by Alessi. Alessi, who is still running third in the points chase, wasn't going to let Brown by without a fight. As the Moto wore down to a close Alessi was still holding off Brown after three laps of very close racing. At the finish it was Tedesco leading Short by over 4 seconds. Langston held on for 3rd, Josh Grant had made his way up to 4th, followed by Hahn, Alessi, Brown, Jason Lawrence, Broc Hepler, who had made his own charge through the pack, and Danny Smith.

On the podium all of the riders were very positive about the track conditions and the fan support at Thunder Valley.

250 Moto 1

In the 250 class everyone was hoping that either Amsoil Chaparral Honda's Kevin Windham or Team Yamaha's Chad Reed would be able to step it up and run with Makita Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael. Kawasaki had put out a press release earlier in the week letting everyone know that James Stewart wouldn't be riding this race, so the continuation of the perfect storm would have to wait. Apparently Stewart had gotten the worst of his tangle with Carmichael at Unadilla where both went down hard in a high speed section after Stewart landed on the back of Carmichael while the two were battling for the lead.

Fonseca nails another holeshot Photo: Carl Stone

Classic Windham form Photo: Carl Stone

In the second lap both Carmichael and Reed were able to get by Fonseca, and the small gap that Windham had created began to evaporate. Whether it was the new track, or just RC having fun, Carmichael was taking different lines all day. Lap 2 of 250 Moto 1 was no different as Carmichael caught and passed Windham by taking a sketchy inside line along the hay bales.

Once RC took the lead, Windham did everything he could to try and keep Ricky in sight. Regardless of this, RC managed to put anywhere from 1-3 seconds per lap on Windham. Reed was running an even slower pace in third and Fonseca was doing everything he could to stay with Reed, including jumping a huge triple that only a few of the riders in the 250 class were even attempting.

By the fourth lap the lead pack was spread out and RC was running away as usual. The real action was further back in the top ten as both David Vuillemin and Juss Laansoo were consistently making their way up through the field. Ahead of them, Travis Preston had caught and passed Fonseca for 4th, but Ernie was having none of that and got back by Preston in the next lap.

Carmichael making it look easy Photo: Carl Stone

It's only a matter of time before Ernesto holds on for a podium finish Photo: Carl Stone

As the Moto came to a close, Vuillemin would make his way up through most of the top ten, eventually getting past Fonseca and holding on for 4th. Laansoo did his best to follow DV up through the pack and managed to get all of the way up through Preston by the end, while Fonseca was able to hold him off and stay between Laansoo and Vuillemin.

At the end of 250 Moto 1 it was Carmichael, Windham, Reed, Vuillemin, Fonseca, Laansoo, Preston, Sean Collier (with his best Moto finish this year), Michael Byrne and John Dowd in the top ten.

125 Moto 2

As 125 Moto 2 came to the line, all eyes were once again on Andrew Short. The Thunder Valley crowd was hoping that he could improve on his 2nd place finish from Moto 1. A win in Moto 2 could still give Short the overall victory for the day.

Tedesco awaits the start of 125 Moto 2 Photo: William Perry

The best part of Motocross... playing in the dirt... Photo: William Perry

Into the first turn it was once again the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki of Ivan Tedesco leading the pack. He was followed closely by the KTM of Mike Alessi. Within the first couple of turns Andrew Short had put his Honda into 3rd and the race was on.

Behind the lead pack was absolute carnage as a first turn pileup had taken out 2005 National Moto winners Ryan Mills and Grant Langston in a joint collision; and separately, the Monster Energy Kawasaki of Paul Carpenter went down close by. While Langston would get back up and start working his way up through the field, Mills and Carpenter appeared hurt and ended their day.

Paul Carpenter had a bad 2nd Moto Photo: William Perry

Tedesco was smooth and consistent Photo: Carl Stone

Points leader Mike Brown suffered another mid pack start and would once again need to come up through the field in order to preserve or maintain his points lead.

At the end of the first lap it was Tedesco, followed closely by Alessi and Short, then a small gap back to Team ECC Honda's Robby Kiniry, Kawasaki's Matt Walker, Suzuki's Broc Hepler, Billy Laninovich, Josh Grant, Nick Evennou, and Nathan Ramsey in 10th. Mike Brown had managed to get his Jim's Cycle Sales Honda up into 13th position.

As the lead pack sorted itself out, Mike Brown continued his charge towards the front. On the fourth lap Robby Kiniry went down hard, but managed to get back up again. In

the process he gave up his 4th place spot. After stopping again to straighten out his bike, he ended up being the first rider to go a lap down on the day. Brown had managed to make his way up to 10th and Grant Langston was still struggling at the back of the pack and had only made his way up to 31st position.

On the fifth lap Andrew Short started to hound Mike Alessi. Alessi, like he had done to Brown in the first Moto, somehow managed to make his KTM as wide as the track and continued to hold off the charging Short. Short was trying every line he could find and the crowd was going nuts and cheering him on. It took Short nearly two laps, but he finally found a way past Alessi and started his charge to attempt to make up the nearly six second gap between himself and the front runner, Tedesco.

The running order for top ten at the end of lap six was Tedesco, Short, Alessi, Walker, Hepler, Josh Grant, Thomas Hahn, Mike Brown, Billy Laninovich and Ryan Sipes. In the next lap Hepler would get by Walker, but Mike Brown would manage to gather up a hay bale cover in his rear wheel, which almost always means a loss of rear brakes as the plastic melts around the brake and rear hub area.

Hepler snuck by Walker in both 125 Motos Photo: Carl Stone

Although Brown would come up and challenge Tommy Hahn for 7th position in the later laps, he could not get by. At the finish it was Tedesco, with a 7 second gap over Short, followed by Hepler, Alessi, Josh Grant, Matt Walker, Tommy Hahn, Mike Brown, Ryan Sipes and Davi Millsaps.

With 1-1 Moto finishes on the day, Ivan Tedesco had just taken over the points lead in the series from Mike Brown and the points race was now closer than it had been since round 2.

250 Moto 2

For 250 Moto 2 all hopes were on the Honda of Kevin Windham. He had made a gallant effort to keep the Suzuki of Carmichael in sight during the first Moto, while Chad Reed was obviously a touch slower than either RC or KW on this track, at this elevation.

KW holds off RC in 250 Moto 2 Photo: Carl Stone

As the gate dropped it was the number 73 Moto XXX Honda of Justin Buckelew with the holeshot, but he was quickly passed by Windham, Carmichael, Fonseca and Reed. As the lead pack made its way around the track, Kevin Windham actually managed to put a small gap between himself and Carmichael. Behind them, Reed had managed to get by Fonseca, but Fonseca was staying glued to Reed's rear wheel.

At the end of the first lap it was KW, RC, Reed, Fonseca, Jeff Gibson, Byrne, Laansoo, Vuillemin, Buckelew and Matt Goerke for the top ten.

On the second lap Byrne and Laansoo had managed to get by Gibson, then on the third lap Vuillemin did the same. Gibson, in an attempt to get back by Vuillemin, caught a rut and went down, which was unfortunate as Gibson was having his best Moto of the outdoor season up until that point.

Reed was slightly off the pace of RC and KW, but finished a solid 3rd in both Motos Photo: Carl Stone

Windham now had a nearly two and a half second lead over Carmichael. Carmichael seemed to take it easy for a lap, perhaps making sure that he hadn't done damage to the works Suzuki. Once Carmichael was sure of the bike, he turned the wick back up, showed his incredible speed, and managed to catch Windham in a single lap. On lap six, after a slight bobble while pulling a tearoff, Carmichael caught and passed Windham and proceeded to pull a three second gap by the end of lap six.

At this point the field had pretty much stabilized with a top ten running order of RC, KW, Reed, Fonseca, Byrne, Laansoo, Vuillemin, Preston, Woods and Matt Goerke. The only close racing at this point was between Byrne, Laansoo and Vuillemin, although Sean Hamblin and John Dowd were pestering Goerke from just outside of the top ten.

Vuillemin had poor starts, but strong finishes Photo: Carl Stone

As the laps clicked off, RC was running 1-2 seconds faster per lap than Windham and had quickly opened up a fairly large gap. On the eleventh lap Laansoo bobbled and dropped back to 14th position and Dowd had managed to pass Hamblin to take over ninth position. After twelve laps the running order was RC, KW, Reed, Fonseca, Vuillemin, Byrne, Preston, Woods, Dowd and Hamblin.

On the final lap Vuillemin looked like he might be able to catch and challenge Fonseca, but Fonseca was able to turn it up just enough to keep Vuillemin out of reach. The finishing order for the top ten remained the same.

The back of RC's Jersey tells the whole 2005 story...7 Supercross wins...2 International Supercross wins...6 Outdoor National wins... Photo: Carl Stone

You've just got to wonder what the Euro's are thinking now that Team USA is a reality for the Des Nations.

Wrap-Up

With Carmichael's series lead seemingly cemented in place (he could sit out three complete Motos and still maintain the points lead), it will be hard for anyone to really challenge him. But this is what Ricky does, proving over and over that he is the greatest Motocross rider of all time.

The 125 class, on the other hand, is providing the kind of racing that we all love to see. While Ivan Tedesco has been having his best Outdoor season to date and now has a seven point lead on Mike Brown, Brown is known as a strong finisher and can't be counted out. With Mike Alessi and Josh Grant running 3rd and 4th in the standings, and the series heading to the west coast for its next stop, both riders will be back on home turf and looking to make up points on the series leader. Behind them is Grant Langston, who has been inconsistent and seems to always find the first turn pileups, but still has the most overall wins on the season, so can't be counted out. With five more rounds to go it is anybody's guess as to who will come out on top. My only hope is that it goes down to the last race at Glen Helen.

Next weekend the series makes its way to picturesque Washougal, WA. Washougal is known for its splendor and beauty, situated in Columbia Gorge country, it will be a welcome respite from the heat and humidity that has followed the series through the eastern US. This event will mark the 25th annual race at what is becoming a historic race track on the AMA Outdoor National tour.

Tedesco Celebrates his first overall Outdoor National win Photo: Carl Stone

Brown was fast, but couldn't hold on to the points lead Photo: Carl Stone

Let's all hope that James Stewart is cleared to ride at Washougal, and that Kevin Windham can take his newfound confidence to the next level at Washougal. Remember that KW beat Carmichael here in 2001 and 2003, and that Stewart won the 125 class here three years in a row (2002-2004). Interestingly enough, the prior winner in the 125 class in 2001 was none other than Mike Brown. We'll just have to wait and see what sort of magic the forest has in store for us next week.