Well, Ricky Carmichael can fly in the mud (remember that muddy Motocross des Nations years ago, after which RC was labeled a “poor mud rider”). Clearly, Carmichael was the fastest guy on the track during the main event. We also learned that Kevin Windham and Mike LaRocco are smart mud riders — riding a comfortable pace, while minimizing crashes.
Finally, for the competition, the best lesson is that Bubba Stewart is human. Yes, we know he has crashed before, but in his 250 class debut, he crashed several times, and did not have Carmichael’s speed on the mucky track.
What else did we learn? We learned that defending champ Chad Reed has his hands full after several crashes and a bike problem requiring a visit to his mechanic on the side lines places him in a significant points deficit going into Phoenix next weekend.
Phoenix will be the first dry race (it has to be, the place has a roof). We should learn a lot more about how these riders stack up there.
