RC Stages Final Race In St. Louis
Dungey Aims for AMA Supercross Lites Streak
AURORA, Ill. (February 27, 2007) – Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael will stage his final Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series race at the Edward Jones Dome this Saturday, March 3, against Kawasaki’s James Stewart and Yamaha’s Chad Reed.
A media day will be held this Thursday, March 1, from Noon-2:00 in Room 140. Riders from Motoworld.com Racing and Rockstar Suzuki will be available for interviews and will ride the track for the media.
Last weekend Stewart, 21 of Haines City, Fla., picked up his sixth win of the season before a record crowd of 70,649 at the Georgia Dome, marking the largest crowd of the year. Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey, of Belle Plain, Minn., captured the first AMA Supercross Lites win of his career and looks to start a win streak this weekend.
Reed, of Tampa, Fla., grabbed the $1,500 Progressive Direct Holeshot Award to start the 20-lap AMA Supercross class main event, but spun out on lap four, giving the position to Stewart. Carmichael, of Tallahassee, Fla., assumed the second place position and staged a spirited charge that wasn’t enough to pass Stewart.
Carmichael, who made an amazing return to racing after taking off the last three races, came within a few bike lengths of Stewart in the closing moments of the race but was unable to make the pass. Carmichael finished second and Reed finished third.
“James rode well tonight,” said Carmichael. “In the early part of the race, Chad was in front of me as well as James, so I knew I had to make my move early. Once Chad went down, I tried to reel James in, but he was going so fast in the rhythm section tonight. I’d like thank all the fans who have supported me here through the years.”
“Ricky kept honest tonight,” said Stewart. “It was a great race, but I was getting caught up with some of the lappers. Every time I went through the rhythm section I was scared. We had a great crowd on hand tonight.”
KTM’s Mike Alessi, of Victorville, Calif., won the $1,000 Progressive Direct Holeshot Award to start the AMA Supercross Lites main event. Dungey and Kawasaki’s Ben Townley quickly shot to the front, with the two riders crossing the finish line side by side at the end of lap one.
Dungey took over the lead on the ensuing lap and held off a mid-race charge from Townley to take the win. Townley dropped out of the race with an apparent mechanical failure. Kawasaki’s Darcy Lange, of Hemet, Calif., was second while Yamaha’s Matt Goerke, of Lake Helen, Fla., was third.
“This felt so good,” said Dungey. “I really want to thank Roger DeCoster and Team Suzuki for giving me this opportunity. It’s been a great experience working with my teammates Ricky Carmichael and Ivan Tedesco. I look forward to the rest of the season. Getting this win makes going into St. Louis a little easier.”
Last year in St. Louis Yamaha’s Reed picked up his first AMA Supercross win of the season in front of 52,022 fans at the Edward Jones Dome. Reed moved his way to the front of the pack as Stewart and Carmichael suffered from bad starts. Things only got worse for the two as Reed inched closer to his first win. Stewart crashed and finished a disappointing 17th place and Carmichael’s bike had a mechanical failure that ultimately put him out of the race.
“Today I was horrible,” said Reed after the race explaining his poor lap times during practice and the disappointing third place finish in the heat race. “I needed this as a confidence booster.”
In last year’s AMA Supercross Lites class race in St. Louis, Honda’s Davi Millsaps won the third race of his career and later went on to win the championship. KTM rider Josh Hansen led the first nine laps of the race before Millsaps made the final pass and lead the next six laps.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t up front at the start, but I was able to get around traffic early,” said Millsaps last season from the podium. “I saw that the top guys were up front and I knew I had to pass them to get into the lead.”
The first AMA Supercross race held at the Edward Jones Dome was on April 27, 1996, and Kawasaki’s Jeff Emig earned the second win of his career. That magical night, Emig stopped seven-time supercross champion Jeremy McGrath’s 13-race win streak. Emig was the only rider to beat McGrath that year. Reed, Carmichael and McGrath have three wins a piece in St. Louis. Yamaha’s Kevin Windham won the inaugural AMA Supercross Lites race in St. Louis. Travis Pastrana is the only AMA Supercross Lites rider to win two races in St. Louis.
This weekend’s AMA Supercross race from St. Louis will air on SPEED, Sunday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m. EST. The AMA Supercross Lites class race will air on SPEED Saturday, March 10, at 4:30 p.m. EST.
Tickets are available at www.supercrossonline.com, all TicketMaster outlets, participating Yamaha dealers and the Edward Jones box office (week of race only). Club seats are $45, Gold Circle seats are $30; Mid-Level seats are $25 for adults and $10 for kids; Extreme seats are $20 for adults and $10 for kids; Treadhead seats are $10. Practice and qualifying begins at 12:30 and racing begins at 7:00 p.m.
Past Winners in St. Louis
AMA Supercross Class
February 18, 2006: Chad Reed
March 5, 2005: Ricky Carmichael
March 13, 2004: Chad Reed
March 22, 2003: Chad Reed
April 06, 2002: Ricky Carmichael
March 31, 2001: Ricky Carmichael
March 18, 2000: Jeremy McGrath
March 27, 1999: Jeremy McGrath
March 28, 1998: Kevin Windham
April 05, 1997: Jeremy McGrath
April 27, 1996: Jeff Emig
AMA Supercross Lites Class
February 18, 2006: David Millsaps
March 5, 2005: Grant Langston
March 13, 2004: James Stewart
March 22, 2003: Branden Jesseman
April 06, 2002: Chad Reed
March 31, 2001: Travis Pastrana
March 18, 2000: Travis Pastrana
March 27, 1999: Ernesto Fonseca
March 28, 1998: Ricky Carmichael
April 05, 1997: Stephane Roncada
April 27, 1996: Kevin Windham
KTM Junior Supercross Challenge
Christopher Boothe, Atkins, Va., KTM
Hunter Neal, San Antonio, Texas, KTM
Logan Nance, Lakeland, Fla., KTM
Bugsy Murphy, Lafayette, La., KTM
Kyler Godwin, Valley Grande, Ala., KTM
Matthew McFadden, Goshen, Ohio, KTM
Michael Thibodeau, Bridgeport, Conn., KTM
Brandon Porter, Waldorf, Md., KTM
Kobe Woltz, Loomis, Calif., KTM
Taylor Cobb, Prattville, Ala., KTM
Nicholas Webre, Youngsville, La., KTM
Dallas Davis, Frankfort, Ind, KTM
Colton Weisheim, Las Vegas, Nev., KTM
Adam Toldo, Windsor, ON, KTM
Clay Mullins, Elsinore, Calif., KTM
Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 232
Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 216
Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 180
Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 138
David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 127
Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda, 121
Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 120
Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 120
Nicholas Wey, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 108
Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 108
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Atlanta
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki
Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha
Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki
Bryan Johnson, Cairo, Ga., Honda
David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda
Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda
Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Kawasaki
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 188
Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Yamaha, 171
Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 145
Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda, 119
Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 108
Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 101
Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 96
Heath Voss, Mico, Texas, Honda, 94
Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 91
David Vuillemin, Menifee, Calif., Honda, 86
Amp’d Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Event Results, Atlanta
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
Darcy Lange, Hemet, Calif., Kawasaki
Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha
Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki
Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., KTM
Matt Boni, Geneva, Fla., Kawasaki
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ken., Honda
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Suzuki
Amp’d Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 25
Darcy Lange, Hemet, Calif., Kawasaki, 22
Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha, 20
Ryan Morais, Temecula, Calif., Suzuki, 18
Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha, 16
Justin Brayton, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Yamaha, 15
Zach Osborne, Abingdon, Va., KTM, 14
Matt Boni, Geneva, Fla., Kawasaki, 13
Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ken., Honda, 12
Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Suzuki, 11
Amp’d Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 172
Jason Lawrence, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha, 135
Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda, 103
Christopher Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki, 97
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 92
Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha, 88
Josh Hansen, Lake Elsinore, Calif., KTM, 87
Matthew Lemoine, Pilot Point, Texas, Yamaha, 86
Troy Adams, Homosassa, Fla., Suzuki, 71
Kyle Cunningham, Springtown, Texas, Yamaha, 66
For more information about the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, please log on to www.supercrossonline.com. For media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig at 630-566-6305 or e-mail at dennyhartwig@livenation.com.