Bubba vs RC--now it begins

[heath brinkley]

Interesting to see how the next few races go. RC's been giving his "well I'm where I need to be" speech with "points" and all. Now that he's clinched the championship the next race will have no bearing on his points, then to the outdoors where everybody starts with zero. Time to put up or shut up. Now we can see how good Bubba is with no excuses. Although, everyone else he's been mowing down has been running for points.

[Hack02]

I hope everyone stays healthy for the outdoors. I think Carmichael will ride the 450 and Stewart will have to ride 250; but it didn't seem to bother him last year when he rode 125's and everybody else rode 250 fourstrokes. Bubba's fast, and he'll get more comfoetable on the 250 as time passes. I'm picking Ricky for the outdoors though.

[heath brinkley]

I'm with you on the healthy part. Everytime you seem to have a couple guys who can really fight each other and make it fun, one gets hurt, then gets old. :(

[heath brinkley]

I can't wait for outdoors either. Both guys are so fast outdoors, once Bubba gets a few races under his belt on the new bike, those two should make for some interesting lap times. It'll be fun to see how much time they (both) put on the third place guy.

[Hack02]

I can't beleive how he does the Bubba Scrub over the tops of jumps on outdoor tracks. In still photos he sails across the peak of the jump perpindicular to the ground, barely clearing the ground. I've raced on and off over the years, 48 now, and I've watched Ricky when he was a little short chubby red headed kid and I've watched Stewart since he was 12 and up. When they were young both would come up here to GA to the local tracks and turn laps as fast as the 250A guys and they were on 80's.

[heath brinkley]

easy with your words, I'm a chubby little redhead. :mad: :D

It is amazing to watch Bubba make those jumps. Saw a picture of him and I would swear the foot peg was touching dirt. :confused: Hell, his leg and butt were only inches off the ground.

[GP-1]

I just want the US to send those two guys plus.... well, whoever to the MX des nations.. Time to start winning again..

[Hack02]

Those two and Windham on one of his good days. I don't know why theres not more interest in the Des Nations. It would be great to be able to watch it on TV. I try to watch the MX races from Europe whenever possible, though they rarely show them. Everts is fast and smooth. It seems like he's not trying hard and hardly ever gets out of shape. His style reminds me of Windhams as he's kinda tall and sits very upright on the bike.

[FAST RALLY SPORT]

I do Bubba's phone system work, he act's a little slow but he's the real thing on the track :cool:

[rpm racing]

the outdoors should be really good, I do think however that Bubba will hurt himself trying to keep up or passing Ricky, which will put him out for a couple of weeks and give him the excuse. These guys are so fast on tracks when they are just playing around it is mind blowing. I have actually been on a track with both of these guys at different times and I thought I was fast, I think RC could have cut my lap times in half, with out trying!!!

[heath brinkley]

Bubba and RC at des nations.... :D :D

can you say whoop ass ! :cool:

[Jeff Akers]

the outdoors should be really good, I do think however that Bubba will hurt himself trying to keep up or passing Ricky, which will put him out for a couple of weeks and give him the excuse. These guys are so fast on tracks when they are just playing around it is mind blowing. I have actually been on a track with both of these guys at different times and I thought I was fast, I think RC could have cut my lap times in half, with out trying!!!

Must have been fun to be on the track with those two! Reading your post reminded me of my racing as a youth, I was on tracks with the likes of Brad Lackey, Danny "Magoo" Chandler, Billy Grossi , "Rocket" Rex Staton, just to name a few. Hell I can remember racing Dick Man, he would be running the oldtimers class on some old 500cc BSA , and I was running a YZ 100cc in the youth class(they combined classes back then) he kicked are butts once in a while with that thing.
I look back now and think of how fortunet I was to ride with sutch talent !!!
If you ever get the chance again, Savor the moment!!!

BTW: I think Ricky has the best chance at the outdoor title.
Lets just hope they all stay healthy, what a year it could be :cool:

[heath brinkley]

Lets just hope they all stay healthy, what a year it could be :cool:

Amem, this could be the first really good championship since the 80's when Ricky Johnson, David Bailey, Jeff Ward, Broc, Johnny O', Ron Lechien ect. where givin' it hell.

[GP-1]

Amem, this could be the first really good championship since the 80's when Ricky Johnson, David Bailey, Jeff Ward, Broc, Johnny O', Ron Lechien ect. where givin' it hell.



I hope you're right, but I have some doubts.. I just can't see anybody beating Carmichael consistantly outdoors.. It'd be nice if Stewart could step up, but even if he does, it's still just a two-man race.

[heath brinkley]

Yeah, I'm getting ahead of myself with those wishes. I was just impressed with the way Chad was running the second half of the Supercross season, was hoping he could keep it up when they switch to outdoors. Of course then it would still only be a three man show.

[heath brinkley]

Hangtown, moto1 , RC by 50 seconds... :eek: :eek: Geeeeezzzzzzz. :cool:

[heath brinkley]

2 fer 2.

[Jeff Akers]

I was try ing to follow the race on the live webcast yesterday but didn't here the last moto. :(
2for2, I'm not surprised. :D

GO RICKY ! ! ! :cool:

[heath brinkley]

125 class moto 2 - sounded like it was quite an exciting race.

[Jeff Akers]

125 class moto 2 - sounded like it was quite an exciting race.

I just read that Langston and Alessi had a little contact in the last turn :eek:
Langston reportedly has a dislocated ankle (no broken bones)
Can't whait to see it on the tube ! :cool:

[Hack02]

I bet Alessi's dad went ballistic. The kid has speed. He finished third overall in his second 250 race last year.

[heath brinkley]

Alessi led every lap up until the last turn where they wrecked. He couldn't get his 4 stroke to restart and ended up 15th. I think 15th anyway. Langstrom is reallyt fast too, he was haulin' at Daytona but kept wrecking, he was easily the fastest guy at Daytona.

[MERC1000]

That 450 RC is riding is a work of art. Those other guys are in trouble. I bet that bike is so much better than the ragged Honda he road last year. Bubba said he intimidates the others when he whips his bike over the jumps. I wonder if he intimidated RC that last race? "Wait 'til he comes around to lap me again, then I'll whip it and scare that red headed fool"!

[heath brinkley]

next time he laps me. :D :D LMAO!!!

[heath brinkley]

Alessi in moto1 - Langstrom next to last. Guess it makes up for last week.

RC in moto1 - although Stewart came from fouth to pass RC in half a lap...........then crashed, ended up second. He's got the speed if he'll pracice patience.

[Jeff Akers]

Alessi in moto1 - Langstrom next to last. Guess it makes up for last week.

RC in moto1 - although Stewart came from fouth to pass RC in half a lap...........then crashed, ended up second. He's got the speed if he'll pracice patience.

True on both accounts :D :cool:

[heath brinkley]

RC in moto 2 as well, Bubba led the first half and ended up second, but only 18 seconds behind.

OK, he needs to work on conditioning as well as patients. :D :D

aside from being really fast RC's biggest asset is his conditioning, he's always running as fast in the end of the second moto as he was in the beginning of the first.

At least James provided a little challenge, fun to see somebody run close to him for a change.

[MERC1000]

Yes it is always good to see at least some kind of race instead of one person winning by a large margin everytime.

[Jeff Akers]

It's only round 2, things could change in a hury. Remember, Bubba's from FL too and like RC he Kick's it up a notch or two when the tracks get closer to home (sand). It shouldn't take long for James to match RC's conditioning level. Just depends on how bad he wants to win. .....He may just have to slowdown (relax) to go fast..... :D

Reed ?
Windham ?

[Hack02]

These guys are unreal. Cycle News said in the first moto by the fourth lap Carmichael and Stewart had a 27 second lead over third place. Unreal when you consider they're running with some of the fastest riders in the world, Vuellimum, Reed, Windham, etc. And congrats to old TN boy Mike Brown for a moto win in the 125 class. Leading the points too.

[heath brinkley]

He may just have to slowdown (relax) to go fast..... :D

Reed ?
Windham ?

exactly

[Jeff Akers]

First moto 250,
#1.....Chad Reed.
#2......RC.
#3......John Dowd !!! @ 39 years old !!!!!
#4 .....KDub.

Stewart pulld off the track after 10 min :eek: :confused:

Moto two 250,
#1......RC.
#2.......Reed.
#3.......John Dowd. :cool:

Bubba was a no show (DNS) for moto two. Don't know what hapend to him. :confused:

Doug Henry broke the top 10 ! I love it when the old guys kick ass :D

[heath brinkley]

I fell out of my chair when I pulled the results of moto 1 and saw John Down in 3rd. :cool: good for him.

Dont know what happened to Stewart, looked at the lap by lap chart, he went from somewhere around 7th to I think 2nd in a few laps, said he left with ?mechanical problems. Doesn't explain why he DNS'd moto 2. :confused:

[GP-1]

Finish on the podium at 39??????


I just know he's taking steroids...... :D

[heath brinkley]

start mandatory drug testing now. :D

[Jeff Akers]

RC wins again, Bubba takes third.
Dowdy gets 10th overall....hmmm must have mist his dose of ROIDS this week :eek: :p :rolleyes:

[heath brinkley]

At least he didn't crash out this week.

[Hack02]

I just read on Racer X where Bubba is really wanting that big Kawasaki 450 big time. Says he is out motored in some sections, has to ride harder than the other guys. He says things will be different when he gets on a 450. I guess we shall see. It's got to be a humbling experience for him to go from winning everthing to getting beat every race.

[MERC1000]

Just think about my favorite rider Rodney Smith. He turned 40 and kicked everyones a#$ bad! He's so smart and experienced, he knows how to get through the woods better than anyone for 3 hours.

[heath brinkley]

Hack, your right about getting outmotored. Big difference from SX track to the BIG, LONG, MX tracks. He's having to ride balls out every second just to keep up.

[Hack02]

Red Bud, Ricky again. Cycle News said Ricky fell early in practice then went out and bested everyone by at least two seconds a lap. Also said Bubba cased the Laroccos Leap jump and broke his shock---ouch. I remember a few years ago when Tortelli came up short and crushed one wheel and bent the axle in the other. Windham and Bubba had a good battle going on in the second moto, Kevin coming out on top.

[Jeff Akers]

Windham did a great job of comin back from crashing in the second moto to pass Stewart for the #2 spot :cool:

Here's the points for the top six.
1...247-RC :eek:
2...178-Reed
3...176-Windham
4...148-Vuillemin
5...143-fonseca
and a Tie for 6th both Stewart and Dowd at 118 each.

[Jeff Akers]

R/C & Bubba tangle in the first moto :eek:
Bubba stayed on the ground :( and R/C ended up on the podium in second.
Windham First, Reed takes third with his 50th Aniversary YELLOW & BLACK Yamer :cool: :D
R/C says the 259 landed on him Outch ! (Was not happy)
Sounds like Bubba is a no show for moto two :(

[heath brinkley]

Didn't see the report, but saw the lap chart. Looks like RC holeshot, Bubba passed him (on a 250) and led until they tangled near the end of the race. No doubt RC's conditioning is second to none, and a big factor towards the end of the race. BUT, seeing what Bubba does on a 250 makes me think the rest of the field may not know what to do with him when Kawasaki comes out with a 450.

[Hack02]

I think Ricky fell on his on in the first part of the first moto, then came back thru the field to pass Stewart near the end of the race. They said it was an ugly crash when him and Bubba got together. Brown is gonna have to pick it up a little if he wants to win the championship. He's just on cruise right now, and the other guys are gaining points on him every week.

[Jeff Akers]

I don't remember R/C compalining obout guys on four strokes when he was on a two stoke. Didn't seem to bother him mutch as I remember , He gave up a few hole shots but but rode hard and smart to the win most of the time :D

Bubba's the fastest guy out there but he needs to get off his "High Horse" and get his head strait " be smart" and stop making what seems like excuses?
Just my opinion ;)

[Hack02]

Looks like we'll have a Des Nations team; Carmichael, Windham, and Brown. Hope we win. Where the hec is Bubba! Who over there could beat him on a 125\250F.

[heath brinkley]

I thought the same thing.

[GP-1]

Windham doesn't always impress me.. He can go fast, but will he.

Stewart was/is probably too big a DNF risk for the team.

[Jeff Akers]

Looks like both Stewart and Reed are out for Washougal on sunday.
Maybie Windham can make a good race out of it .

MXDN Team looks good to me. I'm just glad we have one !!!!!!

Brown will be strong as allways, Windham might suprise us all and R/C, well he's R/C :D

[heath brinkley]

what are the three classes ? used to be 125/250/open ?

is it 125/250F - 250 - 450F ?

[heath brinkley]

or do they still run open class 2 strokes overseas ??

[Hack02]

I think they have a 125 class, which is open to 125 two strokes and 250f's, and a 250/open class, which can be run by either a 250 two stroke or 450 fourstroke. One team member in the 125 class and the other two in the 250/open. Pretty simple eh. I remember the year Johnny Omara went overand beat almost all of the 500's on his 125. I also remember the O Show coming here to Atlanta for a Supercross and quading one section that nobody else would do, this was in practice. Don't know what happened, maybe the track changed, but he didn't do it in the race. Did anyone read about the big jump at Colorodo on Cycle News .com. I think they said it was a tripple with an uphill at the end and the tripple was easy but then, in practice, Reed connected the tripple with the uphill. Then Carmichael, Windham, and Fonseca. They said Ernie was the only one to do it in the race but the turn before got rutted up and he couldn't get the drive out of the turn so he quit doing it. Wait a minute, it could have been RacerXill I read it on. Good reading though.

[heath brinkley]

yeah, I remember that year O'show finished 2nd overall in the 125/500 round. :eek: O'mara was a badass. :cool:

[Jeff Akers]

Looks like we'll have a Des Nations team; Carmichael, Windham, and Brown. Hope we win. Where the hec is Bubba! Who over there could beat him on a 125\250F.

Looks like Brown is off of the MXDN Team :confused:
Tadesco is in :eek: :confused:

Big contraversy , check it out over at www.racerxill.com

[Hack02]

Wonder what happened to Brownie? He went from leading the 125's to barely making top 10. Tedesco is strong right now, he should do good over there. Windham is cooking right now too. It'll be interesting to see what the track is like over there. It seems the Euopeans go to great lenghs to build a track not to suit the American style. Sometimes they're not very technical, no jumps, no rythem sections, just open and fast. I'm really looking forward to the Everts, Carmichael meeting.

[Hack02]

Did anyone read about the final moto in the 125 class at Glen Helen? The Alessi-Tedesco incident. An instant classic.

[heath brinkley]

Wonder what happened to Brownie? He went from leading the 125's to barely making top 10. .

this is funny. I was talking to my Brother early in the season. Grant Langstrom had a DNF or two and Mike Brown had a big point lead. I told him with the DNF's Grant would never catch Brown (meaning for the points lead) well weeks passed and I hadn't thought about it. Phone rings, it's my Brother, he says " Hey Heath, Grant cought Brown in the points, only it's for sixth" :rolleyes: we lauged our fool asses off about it.

[heath brinkley]

I need to check out the Alessi-Tedesco deal.

Funny hoew they don't look at rider talent anymore, just who's leading the points for MX de nations. Even if James Stewart wins every race in the 250 SX and Nats next year, they should send RC on a 250 and Bubba on a 125. Thats the way it should be this year and next barring injuries. Even if Bubba's dominating on a 250 next year, when it comes to overseas I don't think anyone can beat RC on a 250 or Bubba on a 125.

[Hack02]

Over on RacerXill they have a film clip from an amateur photographer. Shows the whole thing.

[Hack02]

U.S. won the Des Nations. Ricky went 1---1.

[heath brinkley]

two weeks into the SX series...WOW !!...what a difference a 450 makes eh !

[GP-1]

Yea, I'm pretty surprised. Actually, the Vancouver one wasn't such a big deal -- he got out front and stayed there. The first race... crashing, then getting up and running RC down -- that really impressed me. I'll be surprised if he can do that on a regular basis, but we'll see. Funny, but there always seems to be one guy that's faster than everybody else.. It would be nice to have a SX season where five different guys win races, but it isn't gonna happen in the near future..

[heath brinkley]

Yeah I miss the old days of Johhny O, Broc Glover, Bob Hannah, David Bailey, Mark Barnett, ect. At any race you had 10 guys capable of winning. Not only that But if Broc or whoever you liked finished 12th it wasn't like he had a bad race, I mean 5th and you were happy.

[heath brinkley]

It seems like since the Rick Johnson, Jeff Ward, Ron Lechein era, it's been one guywins everything until the NEXT one guy comes along.

[GP-1]

It must really suck to be Chad Reed. He's pretty fast, but that one championship has him convinced that he's gonna be up with theses guys -- when in reality it just means third place almost every weekend that the other two don't DNF.. We can just hope that carmichael finds a bit of speed, other wise... what?? Stewart...... 30 seconds later .. Carmichael... 30 seconds later... Reed... 30 seconds later... one of the other "factory" riders fighting for fourth place every weekend...

I'll probably watch it, 'cause what else can a motorcycle guy do in the winter... but maybe they should make Bubba and Ricky ride 250 4-strokes in that class. I'll bet anything they'd still be top-5..

[Hack02]

I watched one of the Canadian National rounds on TV the other day. British Columbia I believe. Great outdoor racing. Big track, lots of good close racing. I caught it on Speed.

[heath brinkley]

They show alot of good motorcycle racing on speed, I just never have time to follow their schedule and miss alot of it. :(

[heath brinkley]

. but maybe they should make Bubba and Ricky ride 250 4-strokes in that class. I'll bet anything they'd still be top-5..

LAst year when Bubba came back from his injury he ran the last 4 or 5 (?) rounds of SX on a 250 and won 3 (?). No doubt he can win at least half of the races and the SX championship on a 250. He just has no chance outdoors on one. Although unfair, it would be fun for the fans to make him run a 250 in SX. :)

[Hack02]

It all comes down to Sat. night in Vegas. Live on Speed, 10:30 et. Chad and Ricky tied in points and Stewart only five down. Should be a good one.

[GP-1]

It's actually pretty interesting -- for once. Unfortunately, the fastest guy (Stewart) has just about no chance for the AMA title. What are the chances that neither Carmichael or Reed finish second? It's close, but the final (season) is pretty much determined now.... Might as well hand RC another championship. He doesn't have to finish in front of Stewart, and I just don't think Reed has enough speed to stay with him for all the marbles. I'm really curious to see if Stewart is going to be as fast outdoors..

[heath brinkley]

I think he's going to humble about 20 guys (badly) week in and week out. He was matching RC's times on the 250 last year, but having to ride way to hard to do it. Which resulted in DNF's and injuries. This year he's way faster and hasn't had to push it so hard. Wrecks may still cost him a outdoor championship, like they did in SX this year, but I think there will no question he's the fastest.

[Hack02]

That was a cool track last night. I liked the section where they went outside the stadium in the big sweeping left hand turn. Looked like a big flat-track turn. All three riders set a blistering pace.
I hope Windham bounces back in the outdoor series.

[Jeff Akers]

Thought it was kind of a bummer that they never got close to each other..
Just wasn't exited about about the track ....Looked fast and not very tecnical.....but then agian it's Vegas...not the best place for a supercross:eek:

I am glad to se RC go out a champion though!....He knows he cant stay with Stewart (safely) so it's time to start having more fun and less pressure...RC loves the outdoors and will be more relaxed even if Stewart is out front.:cool:
I think he's headed to NASCAR anyhoo:eek: :(

[Ripper]

Motocross rules!

Ripper

[GP-1]

I think he's going to humble about 20 guys (badly) week in and week out. He was matching RC's times on the 250 last year, but having to ride way to hard to do it. Which resulted in DNF's and injuries. This year he's way faster and hasn't had to push it so hard. Wrecks may still cost him a outdoor championship, like they did in SX this year, but I think there will no question he's the fastest.


Based on what we saw in SX, that sounds right.. but I don't think it'll turn out that way. Everybody say that Carmichael's really an outdoor guy -- and not as much a SX specialist as Stewart and McGrath. No matter how it turns out, at least this year it should be interesting. Maybe the US can win every moto at MX des nations...

[Hack02]

Ricky found the ground in the first race (Cali.) and Stewart found it in the second round (Penn), although Bubbas crash was a lot worse. They said he'll be back in two weeks.
In the 125/250 class theres got to be at least a half dozen guys that could win on any weekend. Good racing.

[heath brinkley]

yeah, that 125/250 class could put on a good show this year.

So could the 450's if Bubba could stay upright. I thought he would blow RC away, but hat's off to RC, even though James passed him RC stayed with him and challenged him at the end. He may have even beat James if James hadn't crached ??? He was certainly there. The second moto of the first round, I don't think Stewart even made an attempt at winning, since he had the winwrapped up. Second moto second round he was knocked out. BUT, the two rounds where both guys were racing has been two of the best 30 minute motos we've seen in a decade. Hopefully James will stay healthy the rest of the season and give us something worth watching before RC retires. Even though he's out as far as the championship goes.

[MERC1000]

Think about this: On our best day Bubba would blow past us and take our graphics with him. Now he is flyin', no doubt, but RC is going so fast that Bubba is crashing trying to keep up/out run him. That just blows my mind folks.

[Hack02]

RC-Champion. Villipoto-Champion. RC hit the ground yesterday and is questional for the MX de Nations next week. Even if he doesn't go we still should have a strong team with Stewart, Villipoto and Windham.
On a side note I bought a CRF 450 a few weeks ago and have started riding/racing again. Love that big fourstroke power. Very fast, but easy to control. I'll be 50 in Nov. and am racing the +40 and +45 class. Its still as fun as its ever been.