Carmichael and Stewart Set for Rubber Match at Anaheim III
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (February 1, 2006) – Ricky Carmichael and James
Stewart have one win apiece at Angel Stadium so far in this year’s
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the two riders
will have an opportunity to settle the score as to who is the 2006 King
of Anaheim, as the three-act drama in front of an expected 40,000-plus
fans at Angel Stadium comes to a close.
Kawasaki’s Stewart took the first win at Anaheim I on Jan. 7, to open
the 2006 Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series. Defending champ Carmichael
then rode his factory Makita Suzuki to victory in Anaheim II on Jan.
21. Only two points separate series leader Carmichael from Stewart.
Whoever manages to win at Angel Stadium will have a slight edge as the
series moves on to San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium on Feb. 11. Of course,
Yamaha’s Chad Reed is hoping to have his breakthrough win this weekend
as are a host of other top riders including Ivan Tedesco, Mike LaRocco
and Michael Byrne.
Stewart closed the gap on Carmichael with a victory in the rain
drenched San Francisco Supercross last Saturday. Stewart and Carmichael
battled for the lead much of the race in spite of the treacherous
conditions. It was Stewart coming out victorious to earn his second win
of the season in the AMA series. Reed, who was second in the series
standings going into San Francisco, dropped to third with a fifth-place
result last week. The Australian will have some work to do this weekend
to close the points margin on the two series leaders.
“I think Ricky and I have been on the same pace at almost every race
this year,” said Stewart after winning in San Francisco’s SBC Park. “I
think it’s going to come down to whoever is the smartest over the
course of the entire season. Even though I was slipping and sliding
everywhere in San Francisco I never felt like I was pushing it at all.
Every time I heard the crowd roaring I figured Ricky had either crashed
or was right back on me. I looked back and there he was. It was a great
race and I think we’ll be taking this battle to every round this year.”
While Stewart was thrilled with his San Francisco victory, Carmichael sounded happy to survive the mud race.
“I was just happy to escape San Francisco without a crash,” Carmichael
said. “I look forward to moving on to Anaheim III and hopefully getting
back into another dry race. I might have been able to take some risks
and go for the win in San Francisco, but I didn’t feel it was worth it
where I might have taken myself and James out of the race. So I met my
goal of staying on two wheels and getting out of there with the points
lead.”
A surprise podium finisher last weekend in San Francisco was Nick Wey.
It marked Wey’s first AMA Supercross podium result and moved him up to
fourth in the series standings.
“I feel like I’ve been working hard and Randy Lawrence has been helping
me,” Wey said. “My next step is to have this kind of ride on a dry
track. I’m excited to be up here with the best riders in the world and
I want to put myself in a position to finish in the top five in the
series.”
Nathan Ramsey has overcome a poor opening round performance and charged
back to take the lead in the AMA Supercross Lites West Series with a
win, his second this season, Saturday in San Francisco. The Red Bull
KTM rider took a close win over Brett Metcalfe. Ramsey’s teammate, Mike
Alessi, who is riding in his first season of AMA Supercross, scored his
first podium in the series last week and hopes to keep his momentum
going in Anaheim III.
Anaheim III will receive tape-delayed coverage on SPEED Channel starting at 5:00 pm Eastern on Sunday, Feb. 5.
Tickets are available at the Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, all
participating Yamaha Dealers or charge by phone at 213-480-3232 or
714-740-2000. There is also family fun section available at Angel
Stadium. When ordering tickets through Tickets.com, request the Family
Section for an alcohol-free family atmosphere.