James Stewart has put an end to Ricky Carmichael's three race win streak by taking a dominant victory in Saturday night's Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross/World Supercross GP event at Orlando's Citrus Bowl.
Stewart won the $1,500 Progressive Direct Holeshot Award with Kawasaki team-mate Michael Byrne in second and Suzuki’s Carmichael in third. Reigning champion Carmichael soon moved into second, but was unable to trouble Stewart - who led the early part of the 2006 championships, before bad luck and mistakes dropped him down the order.
Meanwhile, Honda privateer Nick Wey made a last lap pass on Suzuki’s Ivan Tedesco to finish third with championship contender Chad Reed just fifth. That meant that Carmichael extended his AMA lead over Reed to eight points - with Stewart a further 15-points behind - but RC is now just six points clear of nearest rival Stewart in the World SX GP standings.
"It has been a good day, all day," said Stewart after his victory. "I felt very comfortable on the track today and wanted to win for Polk County where I live. I am the local boy at Orlando so I wanted to win for the fans. I had a scary crash last week in
Daytona but put it back together for this week. I am going to keep my head down and see what happens the rest of the season."
"I gave it my all tonight. I just didn’t have anything for James Stewart," admitted Ricky. "It was frustrating. It’s too bad I couldn’t get up there and give the crowd a better race. I’ll have to go home and work a little harder."
In the East Coast AMA Supercross Lites race, Yamaha’s Bryan Johnson earned the Holeshot Award with Kawasaki’s Chris Gosselaar in second. But on lap 3 Josh Grant moved into the lead after he passed Gosselaar, while fellow Honda rider Davi Millsaps - the current championship leader - started mid-pack and moved into second place on lap 3.
Grant held on for the next 12 laps to pick up the win, with Millsaps second and Gosselaar third.
"I made my pass on Gosselaar in the whoops, which was a big for me because I have been working on riding the whops a lot lately," said Grant after his second win of the season. "My team-mate Kevin Windham has been helping me in the whoops and it paid off tonight."
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Orlando:
1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
3. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
5. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
6. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda
7. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
8. Tim Ferry, Largo, Fla., Honda
9. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
10. Jeff Dement, Kingwood, Texas, Suzuki
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings:
1. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 237
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 229
3. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 214
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 176
5. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 169
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 166
7. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 136
8. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 125
9. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda, 108
10. Tim Ferry, Dade City, Fla., Honda, 84
