Vital Buzz


Wow, Ricky Carmichael is really done with two wheels? Even thought we've been preparing for it for a while, that seems weird to say. (Click any photo in the article for a larger version.)

So who else is looking forward to this weekend’s two nights of racing at the Rockstar Energy U.S. Open in Las Vegas?

Instead of an “off-season” that had several events sprinkled throughout, with the U.S. Open, the Bercy SX, a couple World Supercross rounds (and yes, a few one-off international Supercross events attended by a handful of U.S.-based riders), this is the last big fling for U.S. riders before the 2008 Supercross season kicks off at Anaheim 1.

Here are a few reasons why I’m looking forward to this weekend…well, beside the fact that I’m a sick little puppy, and am already missing the weekly race action we’ve grown accustomed to…

Mixing up the Lites and Big-Bore bikes. Watching the 250Fs and big-bore machines together at last year’s Jeremy McGrath Invitational was extremely interesting. While the 250Fs were overmatched on the more spread-out X Games course, running them together on the tight confines of the MGM Grand Garden Arena’s Superarenacross circuit sounds good on paper, and they should be much more evenly matched. Like always, starts will be key.

James Stewart’s return to racing. According to Kawasaki’s press release from today, James said about his recently repaired knee, “It’s probably feeling stronger than it has in a long time.” That makes you wonder how long he’d been riding with it at something less than 100 percent. There was the time at last year’s U.S. Open when he snagged his foot on a tuf-blok, and hopped off his bike at the end of the straightaway. You have to wonder if that was the start of his knee woes…or with the abuse that they take, if it had been injured even prior to that.



James Stewart

During practice at last year's U.S. Open, James Stewart tweaked his knee after snagging his foot on a tuf-blok. When he reached the end of the straightaway, hopped off, he dropped the bike, and waited for the pain to subside. We're guessing that the $100,000-plus that he took home at the end of the weekend helped ease the pain.

Seeing Chad Reed again. After taking off much of the summer and skipping the bulk of the U.S. outdoor season, the results he turned in at the X Games’ Moto X racing event couldn’t have been what he was looking for. Both Grant Langston and Kevin Windham reeled in and passed Reed, which would have been highly unusual during the ’07 Supercross season. Was it just an off day? Will he be back on his game?



Chad Reed, Grant Langston, and Kevin Windham

While Ricky Carmichael ran away with the X Games, these three (Chad Reed, Grant Langston and Kevin Windham) put on quite a show behind him. Will the U.S. Open set a new pecking order among the top riders? Probably not, but it gives them something to think about for the long break in racing between now and Anaheim 1.

Seeing riders on their new bikes. While getting a solid “confirmed” list of riders is always tough, we know Mike Alessi has been busy testing on his number 800 Suzuki RM-Z. Will he be the fuel-injected version? Or the tried-and-true carburetor-equipped model? We’ll know for sure on Thursday.

Superpole Qualifying. Last year was the first time a fastest lap qualifying system had been used, and it was interesting to watch the top guys out there by themselves, turning in their fast laps. Well, with the exception of DV, of course, who gooned his way through a lap of the circuit…and still turned in a pretty respectable time.

Here’s James Stewart’s fast lap on Friday night.





…and Kevin Windham’s $10,000 lap on Saturday. Check out how he finesses his way through some sections, and attacks others.





Watching past champions in action. Damon Huffman, Jeff Emig and Mike LaRocco are all well-retired, but will be doing what’s termed an exhibition race. We’ll be curious to see how much of it is exhibition, and how much is race.

Here are some highlights from 2006 edition of the U.S. Open.





Don’t forget to check back throughout the weekend for full coverage from both days (and nights) of the U.S. Open.

While we'd heard rumblings of some kind of bug bothering Ricky Carmichael as early as the Sunday of the Motocross of Nations, and that he was opting out of the remaining two-wheeled races in his career (that was the bombshell that we'd alluded in the News section last week), there was still an odd sense of finality to the press release that we received earlier this week. Ricky's had an amazing career, he's always been a first-class guy to deal with, and hope that his future, whatever it may be, is a successful and happy one. For those of us who've had the pleasure of watching you race over the last decade or more, thanks.



Ricky Carmichael and Roger DeCoster

With Ricky done on two wheels due to chronic fatigue, Makita Suzuki Team Manager, Roger DeCoster, will turn his attention to Mike Alessi, David Vuillemin, and Michael Byrne.

One final note, did you catch the press release about ESPN’s Moto X World Championships on April 12th and 13th at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium? It will feature the full slate of Moto events, including Freestyle, SuperMoto, Best Trick, Step Up and Moto X Racing. To say things might get a little interesting that weekend could be an understatement, considering that the East Coast Lites and Supercross-class competitors will be in the midst of their AMA title chase, and all the way across the country in Detroit. Also, we’re wondering if the FIM gets a little squirmy about the event’s World Championship designation, which they use for the World Championship Grand Prix series. Ah, what would life be without a little drama?

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