Makita Suzuki's High Point Race Report

May 30, 2006, 5:48am

--Next up, round 3 of AMA Toyota Motocross 338 in Southwick, MA, June 11, 2006--

Round 2 - AMA Toyota Motocross Championship
Mt. Morris, PA
High Point Raceway
May 28, 2006
Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael captured his first AMA Toyota Motocross victory of the season and took over the points lead in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the 30th running of the High Point National in Mt. Morris, PA, on Sunday over Memorial Day weekend.

In the afternoon’s first 30-minute moto, Carmichael got an excellent start on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and led the first couple of laps. Despite being passed mid-moto, he continued to charge hard and battle for the lead throughout the race. With just four laps remaining, Carmichael’s competition made a mistake and went down. Carmichael continued his strong ride and took the win.

“I feel bad for James (Stewart),” said the defending AMA Motocross Champion. “I know some people say you should take the win no matter how you can get it but no one wants to see a rider crash. James and I had a killer race going out there and I just hope we can have as good a race in the second moto.”

Indeed, Carmichael was more than prepared for the second 30-minute moto of the day. He again got a great start on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and went on to create a gap over the field and led every lap to a well-deserved victory. By the race’s end, Carmichael was approximately 30 seconds in front of second place.

“I was just out there having a good time,” said Carmichael. ”The Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was working good and I was doing my best and trying my hardest. I could hear all the fans cheering me on and keeping me going. I was out there pounding out the laps, prepared to do battle. High Point is the closest motocross race to my home in Florida and I grew up racing minibikes here so I feel like this is my home track. It was a great day for me and a great day for the Makita Suzuki team.”

Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #4
1st Place - Moto 1, 1st Place - Moto 2
1st Place - High Point Overall
1st Place -- Overall

Motocross Class Top 10 Overall Finishers:

1.      Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
2.      Chad Reed, Yamaha
3.      Davi Millsaps, Honda
4.      David Vuillemin, Yamaha
5.      Nick Wey, Honda
6.      Travis Preston, Honda
7.      Josh Demuth, Honda
8.      Josh Summey, Honda
9.      Robbie Reynard, Honda
10.     Jason Thomas, Honda

Motocross Lites Class Top 10 Overall Finishers:

1.      Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
2.      Josh Grant, Honda
3.      Mike Alessi, KTM
4.      Grant Langston, Kawasaki
5.      Andrew Short, Honda
6.      Troy Adams, Kawasaki
7.      Nathan Ramsey, KTM
8.      Andrew McFarlane, Yamaha
9.      Matt Goerke, Yamaha
10.     Brett Metcalfe, Yamaha