Team Suzuki's Ricky Carmichael stormed to his seventh win in the ninth-round of the 2005 THQ AMA Supercross Championship at St. Louis on Saturday - providing the flying Floridian with an increased 35-point championship lead.
The RM250-mounted 25-year-old led the 20-lap main event at the Edward Jones Dome from start to finish to beat reigning champion Chad Reed.
The Australian had passed Ernesto Fonseca’s Honda for the runner-up position on lap three, but was unable to catch Carmichael while 'The Fonz' faded to an eventual sixth leaving fellow red rider Kevin Windham to complete the podium.
However Carmichael’s night was far from easy: "I had a couple of near falls. I'd made a few changes to the bike for the main event, which I'm not sure were the right thing to do, and I got a bit wild at times which allowed Chad to catch me up in the last few laps. But I did what I had to do," he said.
"It's a long season - we've still got seven rounds to go - and anything can happen, but I've got a vision of being at the top of the box when the last race at Vegas comes around."
Meanwhile, in the 125cc East Coast championship, last weekend’s winner Grant Langston earned the holeshot award en route to his third career victory, leading all 15 laps in the main.
Behind the South African, KTM’s Josh Hansen had moved into second place on the opening lap, followed by Honda’s Steve Boniface, while Suzuki’s Davi Millsaps - who started near last place - charged up to fourth by lap 7.
While holding third, Kawasaki’s Matt Walker fell, allowing Millsaps to move into third, and on lap 13 Davi passed Hansen for second.
"This was the best start I have probably ever had," said Langston. "I crashed in my heat race, and I had a bad gate pick, so the great start was really surprising. I am going to donate the $1,000 Butterfinger Crisp Holeshot Award to the tsunami relief fund."
Racing moves to
Daytona next Friday, March 11.
Results - 250cc AMA Supercross/World SX GP:
1. Ricky Carmichael - Suzuki
2. Chad Reed - Yamaha
3. Kevin Windham - Honda
4. David Vuillemin - Yamaha
5. Sebastien Tortelli - Suzuki
6. Ernesto Fonseca - Honda
7. Mike LaRocco - Honda
8. Michael Byrne - Kawasaki
9. Andrew Short - Suzuki
10. Tim Ferry - Yamaha
