Bench Racing Ammo: Tim Ferry
April 17, 2007 1:06pm
When Ricky Carmichael made his exit from AMA Supercross earlier this season, it raised a very interesting question: With one of the “Big Three” guys bowing out of the series, who would fill in the vacated podium position?
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You have to admit, it’s a very pleasant surprise seeing Ferry become one of the frontrunners in supercross. And who would’ve thought that? After all, this is the rider who won the 1997 Eastern Regional 125cc Supercross championship without notching a single race win (something we may seen that happen again on Saturday night). Heck, he was rewarded by Suzuki by not having his contract renewed!
Be that as it may, Tim Ferry has personified the “never say die” attitude and all his hard work is paying off in 2007. So for this edition of the Motosport Outlet Bench Racing Ammo, we wanted to discuss Tim Ferry, as well as his age.
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Looking back, has there ever been a rider over the age of 30 that was in the top three overall? The obvious rider that comes to mind is Mike LaRocco. In 2004 “Iron Mike” finished third overall behind Chad Reed and Kevin Windham, and in front of youngsters like David Vuillemin, Nick Wey and Michael Byrne, among others. At the time Mike was 33 years old.
Another 30-something who finished in the top three overall was seven-time AMA supercross champion Jeremy McGrath. At exactly 30 years of age, MC finished third overall in the 2002 AMA Supercross series. Carmichael (on a Honda that year) and Vuillemin (Yamaha) topped the king that year, who went winless.
Being in the same league of Jeremy McGrath and Mike LaRocco is very respectable by any measure, and Tim Ferry shows no sign of slowing down on the #15 KX450F. Well done, Tim.