Another Season in the Sun!
Three cheers to another great season in the Sun. The 2006 AMA National Motocross series wrapped up another great year with the exciting return to SoCal. There were a few surprises and in some ways there was no surprise.
Ricky Carmichael and his big #4 Suzuki once again proved without a doubt that he is still the best right now, and in fact is the greatest all time off-road racer in the history of dirt and rubber. RC was virtually untouchable again although not perfect, after all he was already perfect twice before so it was possible. And while RC claims this was his swan song, the soon to be 27 year old might still have another season in him.
While the G.O.A.T was out in front, several interesting things were going on behind him. James "Bubba" Stewart proved he is just as fast as Ricky, but perhaps not able to sustain that pace for a full season. Bubba did a lot of crashing this year, and his body has taken some wicked hits. The men in the big green rig pulled the reigns in a little on the still only 20 year old star and got him thinking about the bigger picture. Bubba ended the season finishing behind RC but he played it smart.
While most would agree Bubba will be the man to beat when RC does hang up his boots, there is another ace in the hole that has closed that gap considerably and that is Honda pilot Davi Millsaps. As as 18 year old, Millsaps rode the big 450 machine to what was without a doubt the most successful rookie season in modern times. Most 18 year olds have a hard enough time trying to compete in the Lites class, but his size and maturity made Millsaps a perfect candidate to make the leap to the big class a little eary. And it looks as though Team Honda made the right choice. Millsaps ended the season with a 2nd overall and 400 total points, good enough for 3rd place overall in the series. If not for the very strong finish of Kevin Windham, Millsaps would have finished 2nd.
Kevin Windham should be noted for his super strong finish to the season. After missing the first few rounds due to injury, K-Dub rode strong and very fast to claim yet another 2nd overall in the series behind RC. Windham has spent his entire career in the shadow of RC, and has without a doubt proved he is probably the second best MX racer of all time. Because had it not been for a guy named Carmichael the name Windham would be at the top most often over the past decade. But Windham makes no bones about it, he races and he loves it and he will continue to do it as long as it's fun, which is great news for the sport. K-Dub is a great ambassador for Motocross and Supercross alike and the fans are happy to have him around for as long as he'll stay. And who knowns, that 450cc championship is still within reasonable grasp of this ultra talented rider.
While the big boys chased Ricky, the guys in the Lites class all chased a 17 year old rookie by the name of Ryan Villopoto. Of course the KTM team will never make the mistake of being too confident again, but can the same be said for their rider Mike Alessi? Alessi once again found himself the butt end of many jokes for several things, not the least of which was his failure to believe that Villopoto could beat him straight up for an entire season. Perhaps since it was Alessi who did most of the winning as an amateur he assumed it would continue. Well he was dead wrong. And several other riders in the class regularly put Alessi behind them as the season wore on. But none did it more than Villopoto who has already drawn too many comparisons to Carmichael. But one thing that is similar is RV has the talent and the drive that makes a champion. And the fact that he now owns a #1 plate proves it.
Broc Hepler finished the season strong, and got people thinking it might have been a title chase between Villopoto and Hepler had he been healthy all season. Broc missed most of the year on the IR list but made steady progress until he was winning Nationals towards the end. He moves to Team Yamaha next year and maybe up to the big 450 class.
Now that the MXdn is coming up with Stewart and Villopoto slated to join Carmichael on Team USA, we look towards the upcoming Supercross season. If it is anything close to last year we are in for a treat.
Three cheers to another great season in the Sun. The 2006 AMA National Motocross series wrapped up another great year with the exciting return to SoCal. There were a few surprises and in some ways there was no surprise.
Ricky Carmichael and his big #4 Suzuki once again proved without a doubt that he is still the best right now, and in fact is the greatest all time off-road racer in the history of dirt and rubber. RC was virtually untouchable again although not perfect, after all he was already perfect twice before so it was possible. And while RC claims this was his swan song, the soon to be 27 year old might still have another season in him.
While the G.O.A.T was out in front, several interesting things were going on behind him. James "Bubba" Stewart proved he is just as fast as Ricky, but perhaps not able to sustain that pace for a full season. Bubba did a lot of crashing this year, and his body has taken some wicked hits. The men in the big green rig pulled the reigns in a little on the still only 20 year old star and got him thinking about the bigger picture. Bubba ended the season finishing behind RC but he played it smart.
While most would agree Bubba will be the man to beat when RC does hang up his boots, there is another ace in the hole that has closed that gap considerably and that is Honda pilot Davi Millsaps. As as 18 year old, Millsaps rode the big 450 machine to what was without a doubt the most successful rookie season in modern times. Most 18 year olds have a hard enough time trying to compete in the Lites class, but his size and maturity made Millsaps a perfect candidate to make the leap to the big class a little eary. And it looks as though Team Honda made the right choice. Millsaps ended the season with a 2nd overall and 400 total points, good enough for 3rd place overall in the series. If not for the very strong finish of Kevin Windham, Millsaps would have finished 2nd.
Kevin Windham should be noted for his super strong finish to the season. After missing the first few rounds due to injury, K-Dub rode strong and very fast to claim yet another 2nd overall in the series behind RC. Windham has spent his entire career in the shadow of RC, and has without a doubt proved he is probably the second best MX racer of all time. Because had it not been for a guy named Carmichael the name Windham would be at the top most often over the past decade. But Windham makes no bones about it, he races and he loves it and he will continue to do it as long as it's fun, which is great news for the sport. K-Dub is a great ambassador for Motocross and Supercross alike and the fans are happy to have him around for as long as he'll stay. And who knowns, that 450cc championship is still within reasonable grasp of this ultra talented rider.
While the big boys chased Ricky, the guys in the Lites class all chased a 17 year old rookie by the name of Ryan Villopoto. Of course the KTM team will never make the mistake of being too confident again, but can the same be said for their rider Mike Alessi? Alessi once again found himself the butt end of many jokes for several things, not the least of which was his failure to believe that Villopoto could beat him straight up for an entire season. Perhaps since it was Alessi who did most of the winning as an amateur he assumed it would continue. Well he was dead wrong. And several other riders in the class regularly put Alessi behind them as the season wore on. But none did it more than Villopoto who has already drawn too many comparisons to Carmichael. But one thing that is similar is RV has the talent and the drive that makes a champion. And the fact that he now owns a #1 plate proves it.
Broc Hepler finished the season strong, and got people thinking it might have been a title chase between Villopoto and Hepler had he been healthy all season. Broc missed most of the year on the IR list but made steady progress until he was winning Nationals towards the end. He moves to Team Yamaha next year and maybe up to the big 450 class.
Now that the MXdn is coming up with Stewart and Villopoto slated to join Carmichael on Team USA, we look towards the upcoming Supercross season. If it is anything close to last year we are in for a treat.
posted by motoguru at 7:06 AM
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