CARMICHAEL WINS SOUTHWICK MOTOCROSS
13 June 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Makita Suzuki''s Ricky Carmichael claimed overall victory at the Southwick AMA 250cc National Motocross despite crashing in the opening moto

The RM-Z450-mounted rider fought back from a first-race fall to take second behind Chad Reed - his first defeat in two seasons in the AMA outdoor series - then took the lead and was never headed in the second moto.

He said:''In the first moto, I made mistake and crashed. I''m only human. I guess all good things must come to an end, but this is what racing is all about. Nothing lasts forever and now I''ve got some motivation. Falling wasn''t from pressure from the winning streak. When you''ve got a streak going, you can''t let it get to you because you still have to win a championship so I''ll take this second place. Over the last two years I''ve won something like 30 motos so I''ve got to give it up every now and then.

''You know, it was a hell of a streak, but it had to come to an end. People keep asking me if I''m bummed, but how can you be bummed with 30 moto wins? Chad Reed has been working hard now for two and half years and he finally got me today. But I got the overall and it''s always good to get a win. I''m more bummed for the Makita Suzuki team because they''ve been working really hard. And hey, the fans got to see a good race, what with me having to come from behind and everything.''

In the 125 class, Team Makita Suzuki Racing''s Broc Hepler and Davi Millsaps both suffered from bad starts. Hepler came off the gate mid-pack in the first 30-minute moto and then in the second he fell and had to come from behind. In the end, he charged hard on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 and picked up a ninth place finish overall. Similarly, Millsaps was off to a slow start in the first moto and had a lap-one crash in the second. Even with starting at the back of the field, Millsaps and his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 brought home a 13th-place finish overall.

Said Hepler: ''I didn''t get a good start in the first moto and then I moved into the top 10 but everybody was going about the same speed. Even though my Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 was going good, I couldn''t get ahead. By then, the track was really rough and sand really isn''t my specialty. In the second moto, I got a bad start again and I was about mid-pack, then I fell on the second lap. I got the Suzuki running and I just tried to catch up the best I could with the heat and everything.

''I''m excited about the race next week at Budds Creek because I''ve ridden there several times. And last year I got second overall there so that track has been good for me in the past. I''m looking forward to getting back on top there.''

Millsaps added: ''Overall, the track was just really rough and it just wore me down in the first moto. In the second moto my Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 got me a decent start and the bike was going good and I was looking at a podium finish. But I made a small mistake and went down. I got the bike started but I lost too many positions early on in the race and just couldn''t recover. I''m looking forward to Budds Creek, which is a more technical, Supercross-style track that I like.''

250 Top 10 Finishers Overall:
1. Ricky Carmichael (Makita Suzuki).
2. Chad Reed (Yamaha).
3. John Dowd (Suzuki).
4. Kevin Windham (Honda).
5. Doug Henry (Yamaha).
6. Nick Wey (Honda).
7. Travis Preston (Honda).
8. Ernesto Fonseca (Honda).
9. Ryan Clark (Honda).
10. Juss Laansoo (Honda).

125 Top 10 Finishers Overall:
1. Grant Langston (Kawasaki).
2. Mike Brown (Honda).
3 Ryan Hughes (Honda).
4. Ivan Tedesco (Kawasaki).
5. Josh Grant (Honda).
6. Thomas Hahn (Honda)
7. Mike Alessi (KTM).
8. Matt Walker (Kawasaki)
9. Broc Hepler (Makita Suzuki).
10. Danny Smith (Yamaha).

www.suzuki-racing.com

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