Sacramento, CA - May 16, 2004
By Steve Cox

Team Honda’s Ricky Carmichael is back, and he has served notice. In his first race aboard the factory Honda CRF450R, Carmichael started near the front in both motos and sped off to the win both times out, extending his record to 97 AMA National wins.

" It’s a lot different," Carmichael said of his new mount. "My bike setup is a little more neutral, and obviously it’s a four-stroke and not a two-stroke. It’s got a lot of torque, and it’s a good bike. I think if you’re going to be competitive, you can make it a little easier on yourself to ride the four-stroke – at least outdoors. We still have 11 more to go."

Carmichael stayed extremely clean as he moved his way into the lead early on in moto one, followed closely by a game David Vuillemin. The Yamaha rider pressured Carmichael for a few laps before finally dropping off of the pace, and then eventually falling back to fourth behind his teammate Chad Reed and Amsoil/Chaparral Honda’s Kevin Windham.

"In the first moto, I rode with Ricky, and we were going really fast and I got a little tight and a little arm pump," Vuillemin said. "It was the first moto of the year, and Chad and Kevin were riding really good too, and I still got fourth."

As Carmichael streaked away, Windham moved to second and had his hands full with Reed. Reed actually made it by at one point, but Windham fought back. Windham beat Reed by just a few seconds at the finish.
Vuillemin grabbed the second-moto holeshot over Carmichael, but the Honda rider made his way by up the first uphill. However, Vuillemin made much more of a race out of it this time, pressuring Carmichael for a large portion of the race.

"You always learn from Ricky, he’s the king of motocross, so it’s fun to be behind him," Vuillemin said. "I was kind of proud to be that close to him for that long. We had different lines and we had different bikes, but I was comfortable and I’m really happy about the bike. Nobody expected me to do good in the outdoors because I kind of struggled in supercross, but it’s good for me."

Carmichael eventually sped off with the win, while Vuillemin hung on for a strong second over Reed, who was charging hard until the end.

" I got pinched off the start of the second moto, but I was able to put my head down and charge and I got Windham," Reed said. "It felt great, and when I was chasing David I kind of made a mistake and went off the track, so I just rode for third."

But Carmichael was the man of the day, as he has been 96 times before.

" It was a good day for me, and it’s nice for me to come back to outdoors," Carmichael said. "I wish I could’ve raced indoors with Chad, but, you know, I had an injury, and I’ve had a great career, so I can’t complain. As bad as I wanted to win today and make a statement to, none of the riders, but all the people who have talked so much crap about things and jump to conclusions, and the lack of respect that I get, I had a lot to prove. But on the flip side of things, it’s a 12-race series. This wasn’t a championship race. We’ve got a long way to go, and Chad’s stepped it up, and so did David. I’m proud to be up here with these guys – I respect them a lot and they’re fun to race with, and I’m sure they like to race with me. It was good. We’re all on 450s, and I love my bike. I’ve been doing this a long time, so I know how to adapt to something."

250cc Moto 1:
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, FL Honda
2. Kevin Windham, Centreville, MS Honda
3. Chad Reed, Menifee, CA Yamaha
4. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, CA Yamaha
5. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, CA Suzuki
6. Jean-Sebastien Roy, Canada Honda
7. Clark Stiles, Athens, AL Honda
8. Heath Voss, Mico, TX Yamaha
9. Nick Wey, Dewitt, MI Suzuki
10. Rusty Holland, Clovis, CA Honda

250cc Moto 2:
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, FL Honda
2. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, CA Yamaha
3. Chad Reed, Menifee, CA Yamaha
4. Kevin Windham, Centreville, MS Honda
5. Damon Huffman, Valencia, CA Honda
6. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, CA Suzuki
7. Jean-Sebastien Roy, Canada Honda
8. Heath Voss, Mico, TX Yamaha
9. Michael Byrne, Temecula, CA Kawasaki
10. Pierrick Paget, France Honda

AMA/Chevrolet 250cc National Points Standings (and overall results):
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, FL 50
2. David Vuillemin, Murrieta, CA 40
3. Chad Reed, Menifee, CA 40
4. Kevin Windham, Centreville, MS 40
5. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, CA 31
6. Jean-Sebastien Roy, Canada 29
7. Heath Voss, Mico, TX 26
8. Damon Huffman, Valencia, CA 24
9. Nick Wey, Dewitt, MI 22
10. Michael Byrne, Temecula, CA 21
11. Pierrick Paget, France 21

For full results, visit usmotocross.com