CARMICHAEL TAKES 7TH CONSECUTIVE WIN
25 July 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Makita Suzuki Racing''s Ricky Carmichael won his seventh consecutive AMA Motocross race of the season at Thunder Valley on Sunday after taking both moto wins.

The overall win at the Lakeville, Colorado circuit is Carmichael''s 122nd combined AMA Supercross/AMA Motocross career victory.

In the first 250 moto, Carmichael got a good start on his RM-Z450 and took the lead by the third lap. In true Carmichael fashion, he led the rest of the laps and finished almost 20 seconds in front of second place.

In the second moto, Carmichael had to fight a little harder for his win. Again with a good start, he settled into second place for the first half of the race while reeling in the race leader. Once he''d moved into first place, however, he created a gap and held on for the remainder of the race.

Ricky Carmichael:

''I''m glad I''m healthy and I''m glad I''m here. I like this place, the fans are awesome and I''m looking forward to coming back. We got a great racetrack here and great fan participation from the fans. It was a great day today and my Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 was as good as it could be. It was great to come to a new place and see some new faces. This track is very, very technical and I couldn''t get by leader Kevin Windham, so I just held back and regained my composure and then got the lead and took it home to the chequered flag.''

In the 125 class, Team Makita Suzuki Racing''s Broc Hepler crashed early on in the first moto, but then rode his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 consistently to make his way up to ninth place. In the second moto, he got a good start and rode a smart race and walked away with a podium position and a fifth-place overall.

Team mate Davi Millsaps, meanwhile, got bad starts in both motos and ended the day 15th overall.

Broc Hepler:

''The track''s really rough and the ruts are really deep. In the first moto, I crashed in the second turn and that really cost me today. I''ve got to give it to these guys because they''re riding great. In the second moto, I just tried to ride smart. I''ve been making a lot of mistakes lately and I just tried to stay calm. When I reeled in third place, I knew I could get by him because my RM-Z250 was going good on this track. I''m just glad to get up on the podium.''

Davi Millsaps:

''I got bad starts in both motos, although the RM-Z250 helped me get ahead. I was still trying to get a good finish, but I made a few small mistakes and just couldn''t recover.''

250 Top 10 Finishers Overall:

1. Ricky Carmichael (Makita Suzuki).
2. Kevin Windham (Honda).
3. Chad Reed (Yamaha).
4. Ernesto Fonseca Honda).
5. David Vuillemin (Yamaha).
6. Travis Preston (Honda).
7. Michael Byrne (Kawasaki)
8. John Dowd (Suzuki).
9. Sean Collier (Honda).
10. Nick Wey (Honda).

125 Top 10 Finishers Overall:

1. Ivan Tedesco (Kawasaki).
2. Andrew Short ( Honda).
3. Josh Grant (Honda).
4. Mike Alessi (KTM).
5. Broc Hepler (Makita Suzuki).
6. Thomas Hahn (Honda)
7. Mike Brown (Honda).
8. Grant Langston (Kawasaki).
9. Ryan Sipes (Suzuki).
10. Matt Walker (Kawasaki).

www.suzuki-racing.com

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