Many supercross fans (including us) were surprised when Ricky Carmichael retired on the second lap of the AMA Supercross main event in St. Louis. Although at one point Carmichael was known as a somewhat reckless rider, he has steadied down since his second year in the 250cc (now just ‘Supercross’) class. Today we would consider him one of the most consistent finishers in Supercross and Motocross racing – Ricky rarely finishes off the podium, and we can’t remember the last time he didn’t finish at all!
Racing, however, is like life in that it contains many uncertainties. While good preperation by the team can prevent most mechanical DNFs, it is almost certain that at some point every rider will encounter a mechanical problem. Apparently this is what happened to Carmichael last night in St. Louis – at some point, either in a first-turn collision with another rider, or when he cased a jump hard on lap 2, Ricky damaged his Suzuki’s shock so badly that he was unable to continue.
Luckily for Ricky, misfortune also struck Kawasaki’s James Stewart, who had been sitting in the second position in the points race. Chad Reed, who had been third in the points before yesterday’s race, took the win and the points lead – but he doesn’t have too big of a lead on Carmichael, with 149 points to Ricky’s 140. Stewart isn’t much further back either, in third with 132 points.
This means that all three top riders are still in serious contention for the title, and with nine races left in the season, they have plenty of time to make up lost ground. The biggest winner last night was Reed, although he definitely wasn’t handed the win – Yamaha’s main man was showing more speed than he has all season, and was battling head to head with Stewart before the latter crashed. No, Reed certainly earned his win, but the uncertainties of racing have gifted him with a significant points lead.
How will the season play out? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess, but we hope that it will go down to the bitter end in a three way battle between Carmichael, Stewart and Reed. They might not prefer it that way, but the fans certainly would.
