The opening round of the AMA Outdoor National Championship series got underway in San Bernardino, California yesterday, and the question that might still be on a few minds was finally answered in a decisive manner. Can Kawasaki’s Ricky Carmichael ride a 250? If that question wasn’t answered at Daytona earlier this year, it was answered with a resounding YES! in San Bernardino.

Carmichael won both 250 motos in a convincing manner — reminiscent of his days of domination on a 125. Carmichael has now won four Outdoor Nationals in a row at the Glen Helen motocross track in San Bernardino, California — three on a 125 and one on a 250.

In the process, Carmichael held off two former World champions in the first moto, Honda’s Sebastien Tortelli (second) and Suzuki’s reigning 250 National champion, Greg Albertyn (third). The second moto was the classic, however, with speedster Tortelli getting the holeshot just in front of Carmichael, and Carmichael passing Tortelli before the end of the first lap.

The fans watching the second moto witnessed Carmichael and Tortelli freight train away from the rest of the field to engage in their personal battle at a higher plain than the other riders. Although Tortelli stayed a few bike lengths behind Carmichael until just three laps remained, Carmichael ultimately pulled away to win by a comfortable margin. In moto number two, third place Kevin Windham (Honda) seemed like he was half a lap behind Carmichael at the end of the race, and quite a distance behind Tortelli, as well. Windham rode well in the second moto, but Carmichael and Tortelli were just unbelievably fast.

The 125 motos were exciting as well, with Yamaha’s Stephane Roncada (1/2) taking the overall victory, Tallon Vohland (Kawasaki) finishing second overall (5/1), and Steve Lamson (Honda) finishing third overall (4/3). Suzuki’s Travis Pastrana had a strong showing today finishing fourth overall (3/4).

Check below the race results for a few pictures from the race.

125cc Moto 1 Race Results (Top 10)

1. Stephane Roncada (#26 – Yamaha)
2. Casey Johnson (#29 – Yamaha)
3. Travis Pastrana (#199 – Suzuki)
4. Steve Lamson (#6 – Honda)
5. Tallon Vohland (#711 – Kawasaki)
6. Brock Sellards (#18 – Honda)
7. Nate Ramsey (#24 – Kawasaki)
8. Ernesto Fonseca (#28 – Yamaha)
9. Roderig Thain (#120 – KTM)
10. Michael Brandes (#27 – Honda)

125cc Moto 2 Race Results (Top 10)

1. Tallon Vohland (#711 – Kawasaki)
2. Stephane Roncada (#26 – Yamaha)
3. Steve Lamson (#6 – Honda)
4. Travis Pastrana (#199 – Suzuki)
5. Greg Schnell (#63 – Yamaha)
6. Nick Wey (#23 – Kawasaki)
7. Justin Buckelew (#158 – Yamaha)
8. Nate Ramsey (#24 – Kawasaki)
9. Chris Gosselaar (#55 – Honda)
10. Paul Currie (#38 – Honda)

125cc Combined Results/Points (Top 10)

1. Stephane Roncada 1/2 (47 pts.)
2. Tallon Vohland 5/1 (41 pts.)
3. Steve Lamson 4/3 (38 pts.)
4. Travis Pastrana 3/4 (38 pts.)
5. Casey Johnson 2/12 (31 pts.)
6. Nathan Ramsey 7/8 (27 pts.)
7. Greg Schnell 13/5 (24 pts.)
8. Roderig Thain 9/11 (22 pts.)
9. Justin Buckelew 15/7 (20 pts.)
10. Brock Sellards 6/16 (20 pts.)

250cc Moto 1 Race Results (Top 10)

1. Ricky Carmichael (#4 – Kawasaki)
2. Sebastien Tortelli (#21 – Honda)
3. Greg Albertyn (#1 – Suzuki)
4. David Vuillemin (#934 – Yamaha)
5. Jeremy McGrath (#2 – Yamaha)
6. Kevin Windham (#14 – Honda)
7. Ezra Lusk (#11 – Honda)
8. Timmy Ferry (#15 – Yamaha)
9. Mike LaRocco (#5 – Honda)
10. Shayne King (#110 – KTM)

250cc Moto 2 Race Results (Top 10)

1. Ricky Carmichael (#4 – Kawasaki)
2. Sebastien Tortelli (#21 – Honda)
3. Kevin Windham (#14 – Honda)
4. David Vuillemin (#934 – Yamaha)
5. Greg Albertyn (#1 – Suzuki)
6. Mike LaRocco (#5 – Honda)
7. Jeremy McGrath (#2 – Yamaha)
8. Robbie Reynard (#17 – Suzuki)
9. Ezra Lusk (#11 – Honda)
10. Larry Ward (#10 – Kawasaki)

250cc Combined Results/Points (Top 10)

1. Ricky Carmichael 1/1 (50 pts.)
2. Sebastien Tortelli 2/2 (44 pts.)
3. Greg Albertyn 3/5 (36 pts.)
4. David Vuillemin 4/4 (36 pts.)
5. Kevin Windham 6/3 (35 pts.)
6. Jeremy McGrath 5/7 (30 pts.)
7. Mike LaRocco 9/6 (27 pts.)
8. Ezra Lusk 7/9 (26 pts.)
9. Robbie Reynard 11/8 (23 pts.)
10. Timmy Ferry 8/15 (19 pts.)

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