Ricky Carmichael and Mike Alessi lead their respective classes as the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship ventures to Budds Creek for round four of the 12-event series this weekend.
Carmichael comes to the recently-confirmed MXdN 2007 venue heavily favoured to win the premier AMA Motocross class on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z450, and it's easy to understand why the six-time champion is the clear-cut favourite. He's never lost an AMA Motocross national at the popular Maryland track since moving up to the premier class in 2000, and will be going for an unprecedented seventh victory in the class this Sunday. In addition, Carmichael is coming off a victory at Southwick last Sunday, extending the Floridian's lead over Australian Yamaha rider Chad Reed to 14 points.
Honda's AMA Motocross class rookie David Millsaps continued his strong freshman season by scoring his second podium result at Southwick, but a tight back flared up on the young Georgian last week. He's hoping to stay loose at Budds Creek so he can prolong his solid run.
Kawasaki's number one rider, James Stewart, continued his hot and cold season last week. He won the first moto before a reported mechanical problem led to a crash in the second. The winner of the season opener eventually scored a fourth overall at Southwick and currently sits seventh in the standings, but Stewart has made history at Budds Creek before. In 2003, the venue hosted his first race back after being injured during the AMA Supercross season and, even though he wasn't 100 per cent that year, he shocked everyone by making a triumphant return and winning the Motocross Lites class, then called 125.
The rivalry between Carmichael and Stewart has raised the bar in AMA Motocross this year. The two are pushing their bikes right up to and often beyond the limits in their high-speed battles.
"Either I'm crashing or he's crashing nearly every weekend," Carmichael admitted, "At this level, something is bound to happen. I'm just trying to keep stringing good motos together.
