Race Day

This is the last round of AMA Outdoor Motocross for 2005. Glen Helen has traditionally been the opening round of the AMA Outdoor Motocross Series, but two years ago it was changed to the closing round. Regardless of whether this is the first or last round, Glen Helen is located in the heart of the Motocross Industry in Southern California. Because of this the factories and fans go all out to make this the most important round of the season.

Chicks with beer, on ladders, surrounded by flags, banners and photographers??this is MX at Glen Helen Photo: Michael Mansfield

The Juss Laansoo fan club Photo: Michael Mansfield

This season there is a reason why everyone is interested in what happens in the hills of San Bernardino. Glen Helen will decide the final points standings in the 125 class. Unlike the 250 class, which due to Carmichael's dominance was decided last weekend, the 125 class is still totally up for grabs. Monster Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ivan Tedesco starts out the day with a 35 point lead over his closest rival, Red Bull KTM's Mike Alessi. Tedesco can clinch the title in the first Moto with a finish of 8th place or better.

And while the 250 Title is wrapped up and 2nd on the season is firmly in the grasp of Windham, there is still a battle for 3rd overall. Yamaha's David Vuillemin and Honda's Ernesto Fonseca have remained tied for the last two rounds. Both will be looking to best the other this weekend in order to grab hold of 3rd overall for the season.

The view from Talladega Photo: Carl Stone

Glen Helen will also be the debut of the Motocross des Nations graphics and uniforms that will be worn by Team USA's Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham and Ivan Tedesco. For the MXdN Carmichael will run number 101, Tedesco 102 and Windham 103. The graphics are being run at Glen Helen to get the American fans a preview, since most of use will not be able to attend the race in Ernee, France.

Team USA previews MXdN graphics. Check out Tedesco's engine cover Photos: Michael Mansfield

The AMA also announced the new class names for 2006. The class names have gotten very confusing for new fans in the last few years due to the advent of the four-stroke. It used to be that the 125 class was full of 125cc bikes and the 250 class was full of 250cc bikes. Because four strokes don't make power as well as two strokes, the AMA determined that 250cc machines could run in the 125 class and 450cc machines could run in the 250 class. Because of the popularity of four stroke torque and the pressure to eliminate two strokes because they don't burn fuel as cleanly, the four stroke has almost completely displaced the two strokes in Outdoor Motocross.

Vuillemin and Fonseca were both pushing it hard in Saturday practice Photo: Michael Mansfield

You know you're a Privateer when you have to carry your own Pit Board to the start Photo: Michael Mansfield

In an AMA roundtable meeting with the press on Sunday morning there was plenty of dissention about the new names, but the message from Steve Whitelock was that we had all better get used to it. This will surely be a topic of discussion for the next couple of months as everyone tries to get used to the new names.

125 Moto 1 (Motocross Lites Moto 1)

To many of the top professional Motocross racers, Glen Helen is their home track. It is the place where many of them practice throughout the season. It is also the track that took both Chad Reed and James Stewart out of competition for the season. Glen Helen is known for its giant hills (the largest of which are only run for the National), and its pure roughness. This is the land of square-edged bumps.

Langston hanging on at the start of 125 Moto 1 Photo: Karl Ockert

This weekend there were several dramatic changes to the track that made it much more of a high speed track and also helped to make it more spectator friendly. Tons of sand was hauled out of the riverbed that runs through the property and added to the track, which made it sort of a mini-Southwick in certain sections. In addition, the long front straight that is normally disced right before the race and ends up with a multitude of deep squiggly grooves, was left alone this year and ended up as a sandy high-speed straight, which dumps into a sandy set of turns. The riders will be coming into the end of this straight with lots of speed, which should make this section of the track a place where lots of passing occurs.

The battle raged in 125 Moto 1. It was this close for most of the Moto Photo: Hal Kennedy

As the riders made their way to the gate for 125 Moto 1 it was clear that Mike Alessi was looking for his remote chance at the title. This was the opportunity that he had been groomed most of his life for and he wasn't going to waste it. At the same time, Grant Langston came to the line looking confident. Glen Helen has always been good to Langston. Ivan Tedesco was on a mission to finish in the top ten and wrap up the title. The high drama was about to begin.

As the gate dropped and the pack roared up the start straight and into the giant Talladega bowl turn, it was the usual cast of characters at the front of the pack. Langston was leading Alessi, Short and rookie Ryan Villopoto around the circuit. Meanwhile, Tedesco was following a very fast Broc Hepler a little further back.

Tedesco rode hard, but finished out of the points in 125 Moto 1 Photo: Carl Stone

Langston was ahead of Alessi for most of the Moto Photo: Karl Ockert

Then it happened. Hepler went down and Tedesco plowed into his bike. Hepler's day was over, meanwhile Tedesco had picked himself up and had to put his chain back on as the entire pack roared past. Tedesco found himself at the very back of the field, and without much of a chance of catching up to a points paying position for the Moto.

At the front of the pack it was a freight train as everyone fought for bragging rights. On the fifth lap Alessi managed to get past Langston, but Langston wasn't giving up and was able to retake the position on the sixth lap. The two battled back and forth for the entire Moto, and it seemed like they were never more than a few bike lengths away from each other. At one point Alessi took Langston wide and Langston was forced off of the track, which would come back to haunt Langston after the Moto.

Behind the Langston/Alessi battle, young Ryan Villopoto was putting on quite a show himself. He had gotten a good start and was 4th at the end of the first lap. He was riding at his own pace and his consistency paid off when he was able to get past Andrew Short on the 6th lap. With the steady improvement that Villopoto has shown in his three races on the season it appears that he will be a serious force in next year's Outdoor Series.

Alessi crosses the finish line behind Langston, but wins 125 Moto 1 Photo: Carl Stone

"So this is what it looks like from the podium"?..Villopoto could get used to this Photo: Karl Ockert

At the end of the Moto Langston crossed the line first, but was docked five seconds by the AMA for cutting the track when he was pushed out by Alessi. This meant that the official finishing order for 125 Moto 1 would be Alessi, Langston, Villopoto, Short, Danny Smith, Matt Walker, Billy Laninovich, Brett Metcalfe, Ryan Sipes and Jason Lawrence.

Tedesco ended up finishing in 22nd place, out of the points. This meant that Tedesco's 35 point lead over Alessi had now shrunk to 10 points, setting the stage for an incredible battle to come in the 125 Moto 2.

250 Moto 1 (Motocross Moto 1)

What can be said about Ricky Carmichael that hasn't already been said? 250 Moto 1 showed us once again why RC is called the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). When the gate dropped for 250 Moto 1 it was Fonseca, Windham, Carmichael and Vuillemin at the front of the pack. At the top of Yamaha Hill Carmichael made his way to the front and it was all over from there.

RC gets ready for 250 Moto 1 Photo: Karl Ockert

Windham giving it his all in 250 Moto 1 Photo: Hal Kemmedy

By the end of the first lap it was Carmichael, Windham, Vuillemin and Fonseca and the order would stay the same through the entire Moto. The race that everyone was hoping for between Vuillemin and Fonseca never really materialized as everyone pretty much kept their distance with Carmichael putting a second or more per lap on the field each lap.

Tortelli tests out his new wrist in 250 Moto 1 Photo: Hal Kennedy

Although it sounds kind of boring, it is interesting to note that the crowd goes nuts every time that Carmichael goes by. Just watching him ride is an awesome sight and the fans respond with each lap that he clicks off. The sheer display of speed and form that he puts on is truly amazing and is really the only thing that keeps the racing at the front of the 250 class from being completely boring.

What do you write on a Pit Board for a guy with a 40-second lead? Photo: Carl Stone

At the same time, followers of the sport have to be impressed with Windham's improvement this season. While he hasn't been able to catch Carmichael, he has bested the rest of the field week after week and seems to be matching his improvement to Carmichael's. He has also shown his staying power and rose to the occasion earlier in the season when he had challenges from both Chad Reed and James Stewart.

The best racing in the 250 class on the day was between Ryan Hughes, Sebastian Tortelli, who was returning for a last race before heading to Europe for next season, and Travis Preston. All three of these guys looked very fast and stayed close to each other throughout the entire Moto.

The Glen Helen crowd prepares for another RC sighting Photo: Karl Ockert

At the end of 250 Moto 1 it was Carmichael, Windham, Vuillemin, Fonseca, Hughes, Tortelli, Preston, Michael Byrne, Sean Hamblin and Jeff Dement. As much of a push as there is to eliminate the two stroke, it is interesting to see that Kawasaki could still put two 250's in the top ten with Byrne and Hamblin. With all of the additional development that Kawasaki is getting by running a two stroke in the Outdoors this season, it should be interesting to see where they are come Supercross time, where the two stroke is still the preferred power plant for much of the 250 class.

125 Moto 2 (Motocross Lites Moto 2)

Villopoto leads the first half of 125 Moto 2 Photo: Hal Kennedy

With only a ten point gap between Tedesco and Alessi, the gloves were definitely off for 125 Moto 2. There was a tremendous amount of fidgeting on the line by Alessi as he waited to take his position on the gate. Before the gate even dropped he was bumping elbows with Langston and getting psyched up.

When the gate dropped and the pack made its way up into the monstrous Talladega turn it was two orange KTM's amongst a sea of green Monster Energy Kawasaki's at the front of the pack. Villopoto actually got the holeshot and was leading Jeff Alessi, Langston, Mike Alessi, Tedesco and Walker. Villopoto was out in front, followed by Jeff Alessi. Mike Alessi, Tedesco and Langston were neck and neck, while Walker was bringing up the rear.

This was the race that everyone had been waiting for. As the lead pack roared around the Glen Helen circuit, up and down Mt. Saint Helens, up and down Yamaha Hill, over the giant table top and up to the top of the track, the crowd went wild. As the riders approached the long front straight, it was Villopoto, Jeff Alessi, Tedesco, Mike Alessi, Langston and Walker. Mike Alessi pinned it down the straight in an attempt to get by Tedesco, but Mitch Payton's green bikes are very fast.

As the threesome of Tedesco, Mike Alessi and Langston approached the 90 degree sand turn at the end of the straight, Alessi held it pinned and ended up T-Boning Tedesco in the middle of the turn. Both riders went down and Langston went around on the outside. Alessi was immediately up and went straight to Tedesco's bike and stood on the front wheel. At the same time Alessi reached for his own bike and started dragging it over to Tedesco's bike until his bars were over Tedesco's front wheel. All the while the entire field of the 125 class was roaring by.

The aftermath. Alessi, Tedesco and Walker as the last of the pack goes by Photo: Michael Mansfield

Alessi all alone trying to start his KTM Photo: Michael Mansfield

Tedesco was trying to push Alessi off of his bike, but Alessi was standing his ground, as if to say that neither of them was going anywhere. Mike seemed to be watching his championship hopes go down the drain and was taking drastic measures to change the outcome. Matt Walker must have seen what was happening when he went by, because he turned around on the track and came back to the scene of the carnage to help his teammate Tedesco. Walker jumped off of his bike and pushed Alessi out of Tedesco's way. At this point Tedesco was able to remount and take off, as he somehow managed to keep his bike running through the entire fiasco.

Langston leads the second half of 125 Moto 2 Photo: Carl Stone

Walker was next up, got his bike fired in a couple of kicks and roosted Alessi on his way out of the turn. Meanwhile Alessi had gotten back on his bike, but had killed it in the process and was now alone in the corner kicking his bike. Mike kicked and kicked, and at one point threw up his hands in frustration. After some more kicking his bike finally fired and he was off and running??in dead last.

Now the championship would be determined by pure heart. Could Alessi catch and pass Tedesco and put enough positions between himself and Ivan to take the championship? This was as long of a long shot as there could possibly be. As the laps clicked off, Alessi was not able to close on Tedesco, who maintained about a 15-20 second lead over Alessi for the rest of the Moto.

Tedesco charges hard to keep his gap on Alessi Photo: Karl Ockert

Neither Tedesco nor Alessi would get anywhere close to the front in 125 Moto 2. This has been a super competitive class all season and Glen Helen was no different. Up at the front of the pack it was Ryan Villopoto leading the way, followed by Jeff Alessi, Grant Langston, Paul Carpenter, Andrew Short, Danny Smith, Billy Laninovich, Ryan Sipes, Mike Brown, Brett Metcalfe and Joaquim Rodriquez.

Villopoto was putting on a show at the front as he somehow managed to hold on and ride out a giant endo-turned-nose-wheelie off of the finish line jump. This kid looks more like RC every time he rides, seemingly able to hang it out on the ragged edge and hold it there. Langston quickly made it around Jeff Alessi on the second lap and Andrew Short did the same on the third lap. Mike Brown also continued to make up ground as the laps went by.

On the fourth lap Matt Walker went down hard and had to be attended to by the Asterisk Medical team. It turned out that Walker had a broken jaw and some additional injuries and ended up being hospitalized.

On the seventh lap Langston finally caught and passed Villopoto. At this point the top five stayed stable, expect for a last lap pass by Mike Brown to take 4th away from Paul Carpenter.

If the Motocross thing doesn't work out, Villopoto could always try Flat Track Photo: Miuchael Miles

Tedesco holds on for the Championship Photo: Carl Stone

When it was all over, the top ten finishing order was Langston, Villopoto, Short, Brown, Carpenter, Danny Smith, Ryan Mills, Ryan Sipes, Jeff Alessi and Billy Laninovich. Ivan

Tedesco rode to an eleventh place finish, while Mike Alessi had crashed out on the second-to-last lap.

This was one of the most intense Motos that anyone had ever seen and was a fitting end to the end to a 125 season that has had all of us on the edge of our seats more times than can be counted. It will also surely be something that is talked about for a long time and will end up going down in the lore of Moto history.

Then there is the apparent Cinderella story of Ryan Villopoto. As an amateur coming into the Pro ranks late in the season, into one of the most competitive classes in memory, he has certainly put in some impressive performances, showing improvement from race to race and from Moto to Moto.

250 Moto 2 (Motocross Moto 2)

With all of the drama in the second 125 Moto it might seem like it was all over but the shouting. But the 250 class still had one more race to go and the battle for 3rd overall on the season was still raging. Vuillemin had beaten Fonseca by one position in the first Moto. For Fonseca to take 3rd overall away from Vuillemin for the season he would have to place at least two positions ahead of Vuillemin. Just finishing ahead of Vuillemin would leave them tied for 3rd on the season.

Fonseca continued his streak of impressive starts by pulling another holeshot with Windham, Carmichael, Vuillemin, Preston and Byrne in tow. Other than RC getting by both Windham and Fonseca, and Byrne getting by Preston late in the Moto, the running order would not change. While this may sound boring, it was far from it.

Fonseca held the lead for most of the first lap in 250 Moto 2 Photo: Karl Ockert

RC out in front again Photo: Hal Kennedy

Fonseca ended up putting in what is probably the ride of his life. Ernesto was holding it wide open and hanging it farther out than he has ever done in the past. Down the first big downhill he ended up taking out a section of banners as he went completely banzai down the hill, riding right on the edge of disaster. Fonseca was taking lots of chances and showing everyone that he really wanted to claim that 3rd overall for the season.

Fonseca hangs it out in 250 Moto 2 Photo: Carl Stone

Windham chases Fonseca in 250 Moto 2 Photo: Karl Ockert

watched the race may disagree with this, but based on the fact that Carmichael's lead did not develop as quickly or as dramatically as it usually does, and that neither Windham or Vuillemin were able to make up ground on Fonseca, they just might be telling the truth.

At the end of the Moto the four top riders were miles ahead of the rest of the pack, the three guys behind Carmichael having run a pace that kept RC within at least a straightaway's length throughout the Moto.

At the end of 250 Moto 2 it was Carmichael, Fonseca, Windham, Vuillemin, Byrne, Preston, Kyle Lewis, Sebastian Tortelli, Ryan Hughes and Sean Collier.

The 250 Season ended much as it had begun, with Carmichael totally dominating the entire field for the entire season. Of course, RC didn't have a perfect season by winning each and every Moto like he has done twice in the past, but he did win every overall and only lost two Motos in the process. Once again, RC has set a new standard and has rewritten the record books.

Wrap-Up

Of course the drama didn't end on the track?. The Press Conference after the race was also epic as team Green took out their anger on Alessi in front of the press. There was also a reported incident at the Pro Circuit Semi as Mike Alessi had gone there to talk to Tedesco and was not let inside. As the tempers cool over the next couple of weeks there should be some interesting developments to all of this. Surely the AMA will review the whole situation and try to come up with some sort of resolution. I wish them luck.

Ms. Supercross 2006, Brittney George, was on hand to preview the upcoming season Photo: Carl Stone

Meanwhile Team USA will be preparing for the MXdN. At the Press Conference, RC and KW both indicated that they had begun testing with their Euro bikes, while Tedesco said that he had not yet ridden his. The main difference between the bikes run in the US and those run in Europe are that the Euros require an unleaded spec fuel that is pretty much like pump gas in the US, and the Euros have a lower threshold for noise, so the exhaust systems in use in the US will not work over there.

According to Ricky's comments in the Press Conference, he doesn't see that big of a difference between the bikes and is still totally confident that the US will bring home the Des Nations trophy.

As we all look forward to the US Open and the start of Supercross, it is the end of another Outdoor Season, which for many of means that we can start looking forward to the release of the next "The Great Outdoors" DVD of season highlights. Most of the riders will take a few days off and then be right back into testing their Supercross setups. Many teams are still deciding on what brand of bikes they will be on and many riders are still looking for rides.

So the drama will continue. Personally, I will be looking forward to the next Outdoor Season, where the tracks are rough, the speeds are high, and only the strong survive. There is still nothing like Outdoor Motocross?..except maybe a WORCS race with Ryan Hughes.

We'll see you at the races?...