Last year, Chad Reed (Yamaha) became the first ever World Supercross GP champion, but it was a somewhat hollow victory, as Mr. Reed would be first to admit. Honda’s Ricky Carmichael did not participate in the opening rounds of the World Supercross GP series (yes, the AMA Supercross series rounds were part of the World Supercross GP series), and he was therefore ineligible for the title (Reed would have won anyway with the additional points he gained by participating in the early, European rounds).
This year, RC will ride the entire World Supercross GP series, including the early, European rounds that precede the traditional opening of the AMA Supercross series at Anaheim, California.
Of course, the real reason Carmichael decided to race the European rounds this year may have more to do with Chad Reed’s dominance of supercross during the later half of the AMA Supercross series in 2003, and at the U.S. Open a month ago. The bottom line is that Chad Reed is the faster Supercross rider right now, and Carmichael knows it. Carmichael needs to race these early rounds, to gain momentum before Anaheim, and to work on his bike set-up and timing. In other words, he doesn’t want to give Chad Reed a head start this year.
| Yamaha Photo of the Day |
