2007 Red Bud AMA National
What luck. Ricky Carmicheals last race and he did it at Red Bud.
So hell ya I had to go see his final race and what a day it was. It's sad to see Ricky Carmicheal go!
There are not many riders at this point in time that can fill his shoes. Bubba Stewart is trying hard and I have to believe if Ryan Villapoto can stay on track, stay focused that he is the next in line.
Racing in the MX Lites class was awesome. Villapoto clearly spanked everyone. However both Ben Townley and Jason Lawerence rode very well and both of these guys got some speed. Josh Grant was a huge let down and was never much of a factor all day.
In the big boys class it was the Ricky and Bubba show. Bottom line is that there is no one. Thats right no one, not one rider that has a chance at beating these two guys unless they break.
Both Carmicheal and Stewart are so far superior, well I think they are just totally focused on winning and they ride like it. Everyone else is a backmarker to these two guys.
Of course there are other riders who if they could just get on track and focus might come out and play with these guys. At Red Bud it was the often disappointing Mike Alessi who looked very good in morning practice and qualifing.
In all honesty it was a complete shock to see him holeshot not one, but both motos and in moto one it took both Bubba and Ricky a while to get by him.
So ya, it's possible to run with these two and I can only hope that Alessi gets his game together and is able to focus on beating Bubba. Otherwise it's going to be a boring year and it might get more boring down the road as Bubba mops these guys.
Both Bubba (moto two) and Ricky (moto one) crashed. In the end each won a moto and each had a second place with Carmicheal taking the win in his last race.
One thing you gotta say is that there will never be another Carmicheal. His devoution to winning and doing everything in his power to get there makes him the king of the hill, best ever and it's going to be something if Bubba can replace him.
Having said that, I have nothing but admeration and respect for Stewart. The guy is fearless and god aweful fast. He's got giant balls and tries things that totally intimidate the other riders.
Overall we had a good time. But along with many others there are things that a track of this caliber needs to do!
(1). The PA system SUCKS! it's useless! The helicopters flying overhead and the fact that the PA only covers the infield area make it impossible to know what is going on at other parts of the track.
This is an AMA problem.
(1). As with Stupidcross we now get the in your face advertising. Constant reminders about sunglasses, energy drinks (which in reality are not good for people who race). It's getting old and after a while it makes you want to NOT BUY products from these companies. The idiot marketers can't seem to find a reasonable ground that makes sense and makes you want to support them.
(2). What about a autographs. Are you kidding. That is just about out of the question. First you have to get a pit pass. Riders are completely out of view the entire day. The pit viewing is from 9:00 AM - 11:00. The cost is $20.00 per person. The line to get a pass was miles long and still miles long at 10:00 AM.
To top it off there were specific times the riders signed.
I realise now how awesome, how cool it was in the old days where rubbing shoulders with say Joel Robert or Roger Decoster was. Them days are long gone.
T. Shirts were 25 dollars. Now I have some experience here having produced a few shirts in my time and 25 dollars is insane. ANother way to price families out of the event.
Those who run AMA racing SUCK. They suck at road racing and they suck at motocross. They've all but ruined Flat track and Supermoto is next.
They need to give the racing end to someone who knows how to run a friggin racing program and they need to go back to serving riders.
To get into the event we paid $30.00 each, another $20.00 to park on the backside of the track. When you throw in gas, food and hotel this is an expensive weekend for two. I feel for the families of 3 or more.
One thing is for sure. Someone is milking the shit out of our pocketbooks at these races. Either the riders (all of them) are getting a backdoor kickback or they are just plain stupid. Carmicheals winning purse was 3 grand. And the privateers, they get little, while I'm sure Monster was piling in the dough.
The racing was great, the BS fee's suck as do the constant media BS.
Another annoying deal was the Doug Henry Benefit auction. Awesome idea. Roger Decosters signed jersey and pants brought close to 10 grand, Ricky's signed jersey I think 5 or 6 grand. Also thumbs way up to Mitch Payton from Pro Curcuit who donated a bunch. You da man Mitch!
So we tried to just give them some money for Doug's cause and we were turned away. Lame, they were not set up to take donations to help him, they could only take auction money. Hell I don't know a lot of people walking around with 5 grand or more for a jersey. However some of us would like to help. Totally lame on whoever set the deal up.
Congrats to Ricky on the win, to Bubba for putting up a fight to the finish in both motos and almost winning the overall, to Mike Alessi for showing up and making it a three rider battle until he pooped out. To Ryan Villapoto, Ben Townley and Jason Lawerence and the rest of the Lites class which has had some great racing this year.
We are off to MPR for a day of karting and next weekend the AMA Supermoto comes back to Michigan.
