Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Carmichael Wins Budds Creek & Hepler Podiums in MX Lites

June 19, 2006, 2:05pm

--Next up, Red Bud Track ‘n’ Trail in Buchanan, MI, July 1-2, 2006--

Round 4 – AMA Motocross Championship Series
Budds Creek, MD
Budds Creek MX Park
June 17-18, 2006

Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael won his third consecutive AMA Toyota Motocross race of the 2006 season at a hot and humid Budds Creek on Sunday afternoon. The 2006 Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Champion and defending AMA Motocross Champion won both of his 30-minute Motocross-class motos to take the overall victory. This Father’s Day win marks Carmichael’s 138th combined AMA Supercross/Motocross career victory.

Ricky Carmichael:
“This win is special, since this year the competition has been tough. Chad (Reed, second-place overall) definitely stepped it up this weekend. He always rides well at Budds Creek and I knew it was going to be tough. This track has changed a lot since I first came here. It isn’t nearly as deep as it was and the turns kind of slot themselves into a single groove. It’s actually getting like this at most of the tracks we go to. The dirt just seems to be fading away or something. We just tried to put ourselves in a good position and it turned out to be a great weekend for Makita Suzuki. Now, I think we are all looking forward to the weekend off.”

In the Motocross Lites class, Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Broc Hepler returned to race his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 after missing the entire AMA Supercross season and the first few AMA Motocross races while recovering from a broken foot. He didn’t disappoint – the young rider finished an impressive second overall after coming in second in the first Lites moto and sixth in the second moto.

Broc Hepler:
“I was actually surprised at how well I did and I’m pretty happy with how it went. I felt good out there and I think I’ll be better for the next race. I don’t think my conditioning is too bad – it’s not where I would like it to be, but it is pretty good, for the amount of time I’ve had off. So we will just go out there and do the best we can and hopefully I will pick a few things up right away. I will just try my hardest to get my Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 back up on the podium.”

Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #4
1st Place – Moto 1, 1st Place – Moto 2
1st Place – Budds Creek Overall
1st Place -- Overall

Broc Hepler, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z250, #60
2nd Place – Moto 1, 6th Place – Moto 2
2nd Place – Budds Creek Overall
19th Place – Overall

Motocross Top 10 Finishers Overall:

Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
Chad Reed, Yamaha
Kevin Windham, Honda
Nick Wey, Honda
Jason Thomas, Honda
Timmy Ferry, Honda
Travis Preston, Honda
Josh Summey, Honda
Davi Millsaps, Honda
Ryan Clark, Honda

Motocross Lites Top 10 Finishers Overall:

Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
Broc Hepler, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
Josh Grant, Honda
Brett Metcalfe, Yamaha
Andrew Short, Honda
Andrew McFarlane, Yamaha
Nathan Ramsey, KTM
Mike Alessi, KTM
Sean Collier, Yamaha
Steve Boniface, Honda