Does this pique your interest? How about seeing Ricky Carmichael race his Honda for the first time… or Ezra Lusk race his Kawasaki for the first time? How about watching Jeremy McGrath compete at the U.S. Open after boycotting the event for years?
The U.S. Open is a supercross/arenacross-style event in the tight confines of the Grand Garden Arena of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year’s event occurs on October 12 and 13 (the weekend after next). The event has never had as many top riders attend and compete. Even Travis Pastrana will ride the 250cc event with the other stars noted above, along with Suzuki teammate Kevin Windham.
Although no official announcement has been made that Carmichael will attend, the “word on the street” is that he will be there, despite only a few weeks to set-up his new machine and train on it. Ezra Lusk will be at the same disadvantage, of course. The real story is Jeremy McGrath, however. McGrath has traditionally spent this time of year riding in Europe, where he commands huge “show-up” fees, waiting until early January to take on the AMA riders at the opening round of the supercross series.
After being soundly defeated by Ricky Carmichael in last year’s AMA supercross series, however, McGrath clearly realizes he needs to compete with the best at the U.S. Open to gauge his readiness for next year’s series. He is also surely hoping to defeat Carmichael before the champ becomes accustomed to his new bike, and gain a psychological edge going into the supercross series.
In any event, the U.S. Open, with its $100,000 1st-place purse, will be a treat this year, and tickets are available (unusual this close to the race).
