Makita Suzuki Toronto Race Report

December 3, 2006, 5:26pm

Makita Suzuki’s Carmichael Rallies After Crash to Finish Second at Season-Opening Round of World SX GP

Round 1 – Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP
Toronto, ON, Canada
Rogers Centre
Dec. 2, 2006

Team Makita Suzuki Racing had an exciting, albeit bittersweet, weekend at the opening round of the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP Saturday night. Displaying the skill that helped him win 15 AMA titles, 2006 AMA Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael recovered from a lap-two get-off and rode his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 from the back of the field to a stunning second place in front of an enthusiastic Canadian crowd of more than 30,000 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

Unfortunately, Carmichael’s Makita Suzuki teammate Ivan Tedesco didn’t fare so well. Competitor James Stewart landed on Tedesco in the day’s first practice session and the resulting crash left the Makita Suzuki rider with an injured left hand. Because there were no X-Ray facilities on-site, Tedesco will have the hand examined when he returns to the U.S. Tedesco has filed a formal protest against Stewart for unsafe riding with the FIM, the event’s sanctioning body.

Although Carmichael is slated to run an abbreviated schedule in 2007, the 2006 AMA Motocross Champion still gave his all in the Toronto event. He started the evening in true championship-winning fashion by getting the holeshot, leading and winning the first eight-lap Supercross-class heat race of the evening.

“I just had to come to these two Canada rounds,” he said about racing the first two World Supercross GP events. “The fans are awesome. This is my third time here and James and I had a good battle last year. It’s great to see everybody coming back for more racing action.”

The 20-lap main event saw Carmichael get a good start, going into turn one in second position. He was battling for the lead on the following lap when his handlebar clipped a Tuff Block and he went down. In spite of the get-off, Carmichael put his head down and rode his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 through the field, overtaking competitors left and right. With just one lap to go, he moved into second place and cruised to the finish.

“This was a good weekend for me, minus the fall,” said 27-year-old Carmichael. “I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t give myself a chance to win this race. I took a shot, I fell but next week there’s another race at Vancouver. To come back and finish second at this level, I’m really proud of myself and I’m happy with the way that I rode. I’m also really happy with my bike, the Suzuki is working good, my training camp is going well and my attitude toward racing is great.”

Next weekend’s Vancouver, B.C., race is the last World Supercross GP event until the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Championship Series starts Jan. 6, 2007, in Anaheim, Calif.

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

Supercross Class Top 10 Finishers:

   1. Chad Reed, Yamaha
   2. Ricky Carmichael, Team Makita Suzuki Racing
   3. James Stewart, Kawasaki
   4. Timmy Ferry, Yamaha
   5. David Vuillemin, Honda
   6. Nick Wey, Honda (holeshot)
   7. Ryan Clark, Honda
   8. Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki
   9. Heath Voss, Honda
10. Jeff Gibson, Kawasaki

Supercross Lites Class Top 10 Finishers:

   1. Martin Davalos, KTM (holeshot)
   2. Broc Tickle, Yamaha
   3. Zach Osborne, KTM
   4. Michael Willard, KTM
   5. Troy Adams, Suzuki
   6. Tyler Medaglia, Suzuki
   7. William Ainsworth, Kawasaki
   8. Robert Marshall, Kawasaki
   9. Benjamin Ritter, Kawasaki
10. Logan Martin, Honda