Makita Suzuki Phoenix Results

January 15, 2007, 6:39am

Makita Suzuki’s Carmichael Podiums in his Last Phoenix Supercross & Tedesco Picks up Top-10 Finish

Round 2 – Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
Phoenix, AZ
Chase Field
Jan. 13, 2007

Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael contested his final Phoenix Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross on Saturday night and brought home a strong second-place finish in front of an enthusiastic, packed house at Chase Field. Teammate Ivan Tedesco raced in spite of his recent hand injury and finished in an impressive seventh position.

“It was tough tonight, I gave 100 percent,” said Carmichael, who was honored by the city of Phoenix and received a standing ovation during afternoon practice. “I’m proud of my Makita Suzuki team for stepping up and giving me a great bike, but I just didn’t have it tonight. I’ll be in San Francisco racing but, you know, the balloon’s got to land sometime and I don’t want to be greedy. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished in my career and I have some great things coming and I’m just excited about what life has for me.”

Earlier in the evening, Tedesco was on the starting gate for the first of Phoenix’s Supercross-class heat races. The New Mexico native got a good start and picked up a fourth-place finish. Meanwhile, Makita Suzuki’s Carmichael holeshot the second eight-lap heat race and led to the finish.

The 20-lap main event saw Carmichael get a lackluster start before charging ahead on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450. With just three laps in, however, an injured rider drew a red flag. The race was restarted and Carmichael benefited. The Floridian got a good start and took over the lead. Although he was passed midway through the race, he continued to battle for the lead until the checkered flag.

“Obviously, I’m always bummed not to win, that’s just my competitive nature,” said Carmichael. “But James (Stewart) is riding great and you can’t discount that. I am too, we’re really close. I really felt I was faster everywhere except in the turn before the second set of whoops and at the finish line. I felt solid everywhere else. It’s just frustrating because I know we’re better than that. The Makita Suzuki team is working really hard, our engine is simply amazing this year. We’ve got a great package that just needs to be a touch better. I look forward to having a bit more time and being able to perfect that.”

Still nursing an injured left hand from a Toronto collision, teammate Tedesco maintained a smooth and consistent race and, most importantly, picked up enough overall championship points to move from 14th position to 10th in the points standings.

“In the first start, I’d made my way into sixth place, but then we had the restart,” said Tedesco. “I don’t know what happened with my second start. I got a good jump but something happened and I got some wheelspin coming out of the gate. I guess I was about in 12th place or so. I made some good passes and ended up in seventh. I tried to run a consistent, smooth race because that’s the most important thing with my hand. At one point, I kind of jammed my hand and almost went over the bars and it took a few laps to recover, but other than that, it was a good race and I’m looking forward to next week.”

Team Makita Suzuki Racing will return next week for round three of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007.

Art available upon request.

Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #4
2nd Place – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
2nd Place -- Overall Championship Points Standings

Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing RM-Z450, #9
7th Place – Supercross class, Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
10th Place – Overall Championship Points Standings

Supercross Class Top 10 Finishers:

1. James Stewart, Kawasaki
2. Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
3. Chad Reed, Yamaha
4. Travis Preston, Honda
5. Timmy Ferry, Kawasaki
6. Michael Byrne, Suzuki
7. Ivan Tedesco, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
8. Kevin Windham, Honda
9. Nicholas Wey, Honda
10. Heath Voss, Honda
*Jeff Dement (holeshot)

Supercross Lites Class Top 10 Finishers:

1. Christophe Pourcel, Kawasaki
2. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
3. Christopher Gosselaar, Kawasaki
4. Matthew Lemoine, Yamaha
5. Steve Boniface, Kawasaki
6. Josh Hansen, KTM
7. Josh Hill, Yamaha
8. Jason Lawrence, Yamaha
9. Kyle Cunningham, Yamaha
10. Martin Davalos, KTM (holeshot)