Bench Racing Ammo: The Best Season Ever?
Thursday, October 20, 2011 | 2:30 PM
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The sports media world created the term "Tiger Slam" when Tiger Woods, at the peak of his powers, won all four major golf tournaments in a row—the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship through 2000 and 2001. At the same time, Ricky Carmichael was doing the same in motocross and supercross (not coincidentally, both Woods and Carmichael turned pro at about the same time, so they were reaching unbeatable status in parrallel). Between the summer of 2000 and the end of 2001, Carmichael won the AMA 250 National Motocross Championship, the Motocross des Nations and the U.S. Open supercross. The golf folks coined the term "Tiger Slam" and the moto folks called Carmichael's season an "RC Slam."
Although Woods won his foursome in consecutive tournaments, he never won all four in a single calendar year (his first "Tiger Slam" came from the summer of 2000 through the spring of 2001—just like RC). And as prolific as Carmichael’s career was, even he only once won all four of these major titles in the same calendar year—2005.
Carmichael would complete the 2005 season by sweeping all four major titles.
Photo: Simon Cudby
It wasn’t always Carmichael’s fault. He could have won everything in 2001, but Team USA elected to skip the Motocross des Nations after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks put a hault on overseas travel. In 2002, he was in line for another "RC Slam" until the des Nations became a des Bacle, with the event originally scheduled for a California track that never existed, then cancelled, then reshedueled in Europe. By then, Team USA was over the deal and didn’t send a team.
RC won both major AMA championships again in 2003, but even though he won the one moto in the one-moto-format des Nations, Team USA lost the event due to crashes and bad luck for Timmy Ferry and Ryan Hughes. Then Carmichael himself crashed at the U.S. Open, and Mike LaRocco scored the win.Carmichael missed the 2004 supercross season with a torn ACL. But in 2005, everything finally aligned for him on his new Suzuki, where he ripped off the AMA SX and MX crowns, the Motocross of Nations and the U.S. Open in the same year. He also won every overall outdoors and 22 of 24 motos. Pretty much the RC slam to end all RC slams.
No one has done it since. Carmichael won both the AMA SX and MX crowns again in 2006, but he missed the MXdN with an injury, and James Stewart took him down at the U.S. Open. Stewart seemed destined for a "Bubba Slam" in 2007 when he won the AMA SX title, but a knee injury cost him a shot at the motocross title—just like it cost him a shot in supercross for 2008 (although he did win every single moto outdoors later that year). Stewart did win the 2009 SX title and U.S. Open, but he didn’t race motocross, and the 2009 MX Champ, Chad Reed, didn’t race the U.S. Open, and his Australian team ran into probelms at the MXoN.
The U.S. Open has been on the shelf since. The next chance to win four big ones in the same year came this year, and Ryan Villopoto just did it with what we now need to call the "RV Slam"— AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships, Motocross of Nations and Monster Energy Cup.
RV caped off the first "RV Slam" at the inaugural Monster Energy Cup this past weekend.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Looks like the "RC Slam" lives on! The key might be in the level of domination, as RC never so much had to even bring an outdoor championship down to the last round.
What do you folks think? Where does Villopoto’s 2011 season rank among the all time greats? Leave your comments below and we’ll discuss this further next week.
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Weege please don't talk about the US Open like it was a major title. It was a lousy overhyped arenacross and the only reason anyone showed was the money. I attended two and they sucked....
RV had tougher competition but he didn't dominate like RC, well at least not until MEC. Ricky was unflapable, focused, determined, and consistantly dominating in his prime.
RV beat RC when he was sick at the Budds MXoN, but that doesn't count its a unique format, Ricky was on his way out and Villo on his way up. I don't recall them ever racing heads up in the same class. The only way to settle this is for the GOAT to lose his spare tire (I'm not talking about his car) and race in 2012. How bout it Ricky?
I believe RV had a outstanding season, considering the ankle/leg hurdle, or not. But I just don't think it was as dominating as RC's, Ricky flat stomped everyone every race, No BS.
I'd agree that the old US Open wasn't comparable to a golf major or a national MX championship. It's more like a preseason football game.
Hard to compare seasons, but RV's was a lot more stressful than most of RC's, if that adds difficulty points.
It's a matter of perspective since both have the same result (4 big-a** wins). If the best means the most dominating, then RC2005 gets the nod. If you're a fan then it has to be RV2011. Also, there's the matter of fulfillment; a hard fought battle is always more fulfilling than a romp. RV also fought through adversity and a fair share of his own bad luck during the SX, MX and even the MXoN. Of course nobody can claim he had any bad luck at MEC.
@bob the builder ...you think the open sucked you should have been at the Mcgrath invitational....not fun...+ they had the balls to say it was sold out except for 65$ tickets and when I walked in it was 3/4 empty.......sucked. Now RC on the 2pop vs Kdub on the 4fity at Hangtown ...thats worth double the admission....RC ,RV Great seasons ,great attitudes and unbelievable skills.......
RC has always been my favorite rider hands down. RV is next. RC had just as much competition... Bubba AND Reed, both in their primes. RC didnt always dominate indoors, but outdoors he destroyed everyone repeatedly. There will never be another rider as dominant outdoors as Ricky. I love them both but RV would not have beat RC in his prime. If he did, even once, RC would have pushed harder and not let it happen again...just like he always did.
RV is the man now. No question. But... if you were to put up the stats to compare the two seasons metioned in this article? No question. Laps led? Races won? Motos won? RC is still the GOAT by a long shot. This is RV's time slot now.
And hey... AM I the only one in the world that noticed RC was hammered while announcing the MEC? "Man, that's cool." Slurring, stammering... Holy shit that was funny.
I think that people are quick to forget how awesome RC really was. It is way too early to compare RV and RC. Although RV has many wins and surely alot more to come, as of right now he is not even in the same realm as RC. I personally am not sure if little Ricks records will be broken
RV beat 3 former Champs this year, RC never had to do that. Lots more depth this year. Win total's don't tell the whole story. RC was a BAD BAD DUDE no question but it just stinks he did not have the Comp. JS was the only one who ever beat him no one else could get to that level.
RV was extremely lucky that there were as many mechanical failures amongst the factory teams as there was. Luckily for RV, he never had to push his bike back to the pits, nor did he have to start a lap down. RV was in no way, shape, or form "dominant" this year, just consistent and his team made the least failures. RC, on the other hand, handed it to every person on the line, every moto.
if ur gonna consider the US open a major title, and the MEC...even though they have never been stacked with talent, then you have to include the WORLD SX CHAMPIONSHIP....at least that included all the riders seeking the ama sx title. Go back and rewrite this article please...one-offs don't count regardless of the prize money...otherwise best trick should be mentioned, it payed more than 3rd place at the MEC...lame...
I think RV2 will only be considered as a great rider when he backs it up the next year. Dungey has no mention in this story, my case in point. I'm a RV2 fan but let's not make him a GOAT comparison until they line up at A1!!
GO RV2 GO!!
Don;t disagree with the point, Billc...but a part of the reason RC didn;t have to beat any former champs is because he didn;t let anyone else have any
wow dak 446, i had to make an account just so i could comment on your ridiculous post!!!!!!!!! let me guess your a dungey fan, villopoto is probably the fastest man on the planet right now, yea dungeys good but poto is on another level, yea dungey had issues bad luck ones at that but then so did poto!!!! so if dungey didnt have them issues and nor did poto then i would bet you poto would of done what he always does....
While it certainly does not change the fact that RC is hands down the GOAT, I think it is worth noting that Dungey's season looks a little more impressive when you consider he was a rookie in the class, regardless of what people say about the competition that year. Again, nobody can touch RC though.
It's really too hard to pick a "better" season between RC'05 and RV'11. In the end, they both won their respective SX/MX MXoN and MEC/US Open ......
RC "slam" run in 05' was not as much of a surprise with all his previous titles and he was obviously more dominant outdoors that year. However RV's "slam" had the tougher road in 2011 in both MX and SX as things came down to the wire in both series.... RV's slam happened sooner in his career than RC's, but RV does have a way to go to catch up to RC's title count...so I call it a draw !!! .....They are both kick-ass gingers !!!
@ Waldo - Very true!!! But he did dethrown MC in SX......
RC will ALWAYS be king! Don't get me wrong, I think RV is great, but I just don't think RC will ever have an equal. Sure Bubba got a perfect season outdoors too, but against who? Alessi was the closest rival and RC would've had a perfect season that year (even racing against Bubba) and in 2008(?) when Langston won. I personally think if he started training again he could come back and win even more titles.Not to mention, who has ever lapped the entire field? Only RC, and I don't think it'll ever be done again.
Lol, factorymatty, I'm glad you made an account to say verify that RV is in fact a god after winning a couple of championships. Points don't lie, bro. RV didn't win the MX championship by over 25 points, which is what RD lost at Freestone. Technically, more than that considering RV was handed another position, but that isn't the point. RV was not dominant; rather, he lucked his way in to two championships. Sure, he had a small amount of "adversity" to overcome but nothing like RD or even Reed with his gnarly wreck. (btw, I'm neither a Reed or Dungey fan, just stating facts)
Waldo- Right on
Gasket- yep, RC lapping everyone. that was amazing and dont expect it to happen again soon-people forget about that one.
Lol yea for sure he wasnt dominant but i dont think he was him self or defo didnt have something figured out that i think equals dungeys misfortune because you know deep down if their both on it then potos on another level right? i think every one had misfortune in sx? if i remember poto didnt even quali for one of them
Yeah, he didn't qualify due to his own riding that night. RD never faltered except when his chain was derailed. RD was more consistent and deserving of both championships this year than anyone, even though he lost them both due to mechanical failures. To say that RV was dominant this year is a flat out lie. He was awesome, no doubt, but did nothing close to dominating for an entire year. However, he was very impressive the last couple of rounds in outdoors, which ultimately sealed the deal, but it was still close. Freestone and The 'Wick killed Dungey's outdoor title hopes.
factorymatty - What you are saying is based on opinions, you have no evidence to support that Villopoto is faster than Dungey. I agree with what Dak446 is saying, Dungey lost both championships due to mechanicals. Sure I'm playing the "what-if" game, but the "what-if" game is the same reason that Dungey is discredited for winning Supercross and Motocross his rookie season. Dungey only got 1 win to Villopotos 5 in Supercross, but 4 overalls to Villopoto's 3 in Motocross (and thats not including Freestone, which Dungey would have won if it hadn't been for the mechanical failure). I would say that Villopoto had to face the least amount of adversity amongst any of the Big 5, with Stewart crashing in over half the mains, Reed funding out of his own pocket and eating it big time at Spring Creek and then getting up and continuing the race, and Canard who got injured in Supercross and Motocross. I would say there is 5 guys on the same level right now, and ANY of those 5 could win next year.
read my post bro i didnt say he was dominant.... he would of been if he had has shit sorted out, its a cruel sport weather it will be a chain derail or a crash like potos red bud 1st moto one which ended up in a worst position than dungeys sandwick one but either way its shit luck on both parts but like i said if there both on it u know poto will come out on top, dungey was a top 5 in sx this year with chad bubba and canard racing. there all ridiculously fast anyway lol....
RC 2005 7 Supercross wins, 12 Motocross overalls
RV 2011 5 Supercross wins, 3 Motocross overalls
They don't even compare
just think to say poto only one coz of dungeys bike failures is unfair.... fair enough if poto was on his A game every week and didnt have any issues then i would say it should of been dungeys but it wasnt.
yea your right rc's the man, i didnt try comparing them
would of been coool to see them race each other tho, think rv would of stepped up to the mark if they were in the lites together but not in the 450s rv's still finding his feet in the big boys class.
RV has swagger. There is no denying that he has given the fans a season to remember. When he passed Dungey on the last lap to win during the Steel City round it reminded me of boxing. Jab, jab, jab with the lead and then right hook for the KO. It was masterful.
What can you say about RC? He would say things like "laying wood" or "hoops" and I would dare anyone to snicker. The guy could part the seas. His competition new without a doubt it was a race for second place. I would put him up against the man in the Dos Equis commercials.
I will give the nod to RC for the greatest season sans the excitement. RV is the rising star. He is on the podium as well. I do admire the courage of all the riders that line up to race in what is the greatest show on earth.
" Stay thirsty my friend".
If it was Villo's fault that he didn't qualify for Jacksonville, then it was Dungeys fault that his chain derailed. They were both hit by other riders. Villo earned everything he got this year. Still saying Dungey deserved them is assinine.
thats difficult. but i have to consider evolution and go with RV by a wisker. RV has to beat 2-4 guys with very compairable lap times. RC's lap times were seconds faster than everyone and when Bubba moved up and had close lap times he could not do those times for 30+2 like RC. now everyone trains hard off the bike and scrubs it off every jump. much tougher now then 2005. sorry to my hero. still the GOAT career, no doubt
Yup, when you absolutely have to have a clutch win to seal the deal, RV is your guy. He TOOK IT from Dungey twice and there no championship for woulda shoulda coulda. Just like he stepped up and took it at MXoN and MEC. I be suprised if RV's consistency wasn't improved in 2012.
these last few posts are exactly my point
RV definitely does well under pressure, doesn't mean this year was anything like RC's. What smee113 says is exactly true. 5 to 7 and 3 to 12, not even close. Just because RC wasn't racing JS, Reed and Dungey every weekend doesn't mean he didn't have competition. It may have looked that way because he smoked everyone who dared race him (with the exception of JS and Reed on a few occasions), but I assure you, he had some incredible talent to deal with a well.
truth is nobody dominated this year,nobody.Yes that includes RVs last rounds, now RC dominated, not just by 10 seconds 15 seconds, he beat the field by 35 40 seconds. RV will get there, but he has yet to prove that he can beat JS straight up, maybe i am mistaken but he just hasn't done it.
actually, Freestone wasnt a mechanical entirely, it was partial rider....Dungey was haulin' the mail and should have backed it off coming down to the last few laps...He was clearly 30+ seconds ahead of Reed and rode the bike dry.......If you watch some of the behind the scenes, the Honda guys say to Goose... " tell your boy to slow it down" the last few laps....not so Reed could catch him, but for that very reason.....he ran the bike out of gas....he would have backed it off...he would have won the moto....
Wickipedia clearly states that a "Bubba Slam" is when Stewart looses control and takes another rider out. I think the article may have used it in the incorrect context.
Example......Windham, skimming the whoops in surgical fashion, helplessly watched in horror as the impending Bubba slam would to send him to the crashing to Vegas hardpack.
RC is clearly the winner at this time. He won in such a dominating fashion that there is no comparison. On the other hand I think RV is still maturing as a rider and may be as pass RC dominats in the next couple of seasons if he stays injury free. RC seemed beatable indoor (well by stewart), but outdoor the guy really was untouchable. On the other hand RC could still be riding and dominating, but chose to go make more money, and save his body, well I think the heart attack may get him at this point after seeing the belly he sporting. On another note, this sport that I love suffrers from inconsistent events, such as the US open was an event, now its not. If you look at golf they always have the same events to compare competitors. Our sport suffers from a lack of support which I will never understand how people would rather watch nascar………….
@ Smee113
For the record. Pretty sure RV could've taken the second
Moto at Pala and won the overall. Be was way faster than RD. He's also a professional stacking up championships by taking what's given to him and riding smart when necessary.
BTW. That would've given RV 4 overalls and RD 3.
@ Dak
It's obvious you don't like RV. That's really unfortunate cause he's gonna be kickin ass for a long time.
I think it is a little tough on RC. When you look at the riders maybe it was not as stacked as this year but maybe it was and RC was just so much better.
He did make everyone look average including Stefan Everts in his own back yard.
RC is the GOAT and I
I need to finish that.
RC is the GOAT and deserves that title and I think his was the better season.
Full credit to RV2 though. Whenever he had to win, whenever he needed a performance he pulled it out the bag and over the whole season was the best rider.
I do think people forget also that RC made Mcgrath look slow in SX and he was the greatest SX rider ever.
He also beat JS7 and he is apparently the fastest rider ever the world has ever seen ever ever inthe history of two wheeled racing.
RC did what he had to do to win. Sometimes riding over his head but he always got the job done.
That perhaps is what made him the GOAT.
The guy goes away for a couple years and people forget why he was named the GOAT. RV is absolutely rippin right now, but he's not the greatest of all time.
Side note: Saying that RC had no competition is ridiculous and anyone who did should be ashamed at their complete and total lack of a long term memory.
Sps101 nailed it!
Sps101 nailed it!
Sps101 nailed it!
The question wasn't "who's the best rider", it was "what was the best season"? As a fan, I got more out of RV2011 than RC2005.
Des Bacle... Des-mn that's clever.
lol thats what i was thinkin rip down!!!!!
Moments in time. That is what these achievements come down too. While at the time RCs domination was supreme in and his taking all 4 titles/victories, it was 2005.
6 years later all the top riders are now training at an increased level, the number of top competitors is higher, the speeds and skill has increased.
RV taking all 4 titles/victories was done at against a tougher field, and he arguable is a faster/better rider that the people in 2005. Evolution of the athlete and the game. Look at all competitive sports and compare current vs. 5, 10, 15 year older teams.
So there are two ways to compare these accomplishments. At the time of each, and against each.
At the time of each:
RCs total domination came while the sport and it's athletes were still sleeping. Few competitors had taken the training and commitment to the level RC had. He had a relatively easy time taking it to the competition.
RV had to compete against a field that does train and maintain the highest level of commitment, and a deeper field. This includes against the MxoN field as well. The sport has leap forward and the commitment by teams and riders is unparalleled in the history of MX
While a perfect season is incredible, he was never challenged and did not have to race with any pressure.
Nod goes to RV
Against Each other:
The sport, talent, equipment, and speed have all advanced in 6 years. Today's victories against competition would be domination against the skill and speed of 6 years ago.
Having to ride at the top of your game while under incredible pressure down to the last race, that is harder to do than being so dominant that you have no real competition. Think of how hard it would be to push so hard knowing that any falter will cost you a championship....right down to the last event. Nerves of steel. Truly a test of mental strength.
RC never had to be tested on mental strength like this, against this caliber of talent, all the way to the end.
Nod to RV
P.S. I still love the GOAT! He is responsible for taking our sport to new levels.
P.P.S. - I believe RC and RV share the same "X" factor. Pure desire to win and the ability to reach down and find a little extra.
-OC
RV2011 produced a season of highs and lows, drama and suspense. Although RC2005 was dominant, it just wasn't as exciting. Bring on RV2012! (just hope it's more like 2011; not like RC2005)
RC was way more of a dominating rider than Villopoto....I think. When I think of Ricky I think of total dominance. Villopoto just makes me think of the typical west coast grunge type with no personality who just happens to ride a motorcycle very well.
jairtime... I would be happy to quote it but I can tell you right now your $1,000 guess is not even close to what it would cost!!
lets see here, when Rc raced CR, Chad wasnt even close, like 40-50 seconds off, yes i believe he has gotten better, but come on, Chad at times matched RVs speed, No one could match RC ever.