Carmichael Sets Fast Lap Time in Practice Today at Thunder Valley

July 22, 2006, 6:50pm

Big Crowds, Great Weather Expected for Tomorrow’s Toyota AMA Motocross Championship

LAKEWOOD,Colo. (July 22, 2006) – Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael, a winner at last year’s inaugural event in Lakewood, began defense of his title in today’s practice for the Toyota Trucks AMA Pro Motocross National at Thunder Valley, round seven of the Toyota AMA Motocross Championship, presented by FMF. Carmichael, of Tallahassee , Fla. , set a fast lap time of 2:11.097, nearly two and a half seconds quicker than the fastest time (2:13.468) of Kawasaki ’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla.

Carmichael, who has 140 career wins and is on pace for his 10th -straight AMA Motocross Championship, comes into the Colorado event on a five-race win streak and holds a 44-point lead over Yamaha’s Chad Reed, of Tampa, Fla., who skipped today’s practice to rest a sore knee. Honda’s Tim Ferry, of Largo , Fla. , had the third fastest lap time with a 2:14.408.

Kawasaki ’s Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo,Wash. , set the fastest lap time in AMA Motocross Lites practice with a 2:14.481. Colorado Springs native Andrew Short rode his Honda to a 2:15.234, good for second fastest. Honda’s Josh Grant, of Riverside, Calif. , was third at 2:17.006.

Tomorrow’s racing gets underway at 1 p.m.

AMA Toyota Motocross Championships, presented by FMF

Toyota Trucks AMA Pro Motocross National at Thunder Valley

Fans can follow this epic Toyota AMA Motocross Championship, presented by FMF, all year from the telecasts of the premier AMA Motocross class on Saturdays following each race with coverage on OLN of the Motocross Lites class set to air on the Monday after that. Two events, RedBud and Unadilla, will be seen the following Sunday, one week after the race, due to OLN’s coverage of the Tour de France.

For more information on the Toyota AMA Motocross Championship, presented by FMF,, log on to
www.amamotocross.com , where a weekly webcast of each race will available to fans throughout the season. In addition, www.amamotocross.com offers fans live@thewire live timing and scoring.