Ricky Carmichael, Chad Reed and James Stewart will each ride 250cc two-strokes in the premier AMA Supercross series beginning in January. Carmichael and Reed both have the option of riding four-strokes, while Kawasaki does not yet have a 450cc four-stroke eligible for Stewart to ride in the the class.
The 450cc four-strokes are getting better and better. Kevin Windham was very competitive last year on his Honda CRF450R, while winning races and keeping Chad Reed (Yamaha) honest before the title was clinched by Reed. The 2005 Honda CRF450R is a much better supercross bike (our pro tester Russ Sommers raved about the hard-hitting low end and turning ability of the CRF450R — a test we will post shortly). Also, Suzuki’s RM-Z450 is getting excellent reviews in the European press (where the bike was tested before it was made available to the press here in the United States). The RM-Z450 also is very strong off the bottom and turns very well. Carmichael’s teammate Sebastien Tortelli will race the RM-Z450 in the AMA Supercross series for 2005.
The three riders to watch on four-strokes next year will be Kevin Windham (Honda), Travis Preston (Honda) and Tortelli. There will be tracks where these riders have a significant advantage on their four-stroke machines. Perhaps, several tracks. 2006 may see the top riders mentioned earlier in this article switching to four-strokes for supercross.
