Amp‰Ûªd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp‰Ûªd Mobile AMA Supercross Series lights up Phoenix‰Ûªs Chase Field this Saturday. Ricky Carmichael will line up for his final race in Phoenix, and James Stewart looks to stop Carmichael‰Ûªs two-race win streak at this venue.
The week before the Phoenix stop of Amp‰Ûªd Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp‰Ûªd Mobile AMA Supercross Series, Suzuki‰Ûªs Carmichael will be staying in Southern California as opposed to going home to Tallahassee, Fla. While there, he‰Ûªll spend some time testing with the Makita Suzuki team.
Said Carmichael: "This week I‰Ûªm staying in California. I‰Ûªll do a little testing on the Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 -- maybe one or two days of testing -- and work on the suspension. I want to work on the areas where I felt I was weak and try to improve on where I need to be better."
The Phoenix supercross is one of the three West Coast races that Carmichael plans to contest in 2007 (including Anaheim 1 and San Francisco). His wife Ursula‰Ûªs family lives in Phoenix and the city is a home away from home for him. It doesn‰Ûªt hurt that Carmichael has had good luck at Phoenix, winning there in 2005 and 2006 aboard his Makita Suzuki RM250 and RM-Z450, respectively.
"I‰Ûªm really looking forward to the race in Phoenix," he said. "I‰Ûªve won in Phoenix, I have family there and I get a special feeling when I go to Phoenix, kind of like when I got to Daytona or Atlanta."
Makita Suzuki teammate Ivan Tedesco will return home to Murrieta, Calif., this week, however, Tedesco won‰Ûªt be testing like Carmichael. Tedesco raced the first Anaheim event with an injured hand ‰ÛÒ three broken bones in his left hand after an incident at December‰Ûªs Toronto stop of Amp‰Ûªd Mobile World Supercross GP. During this down time, Tedesco will rest up and give his hand some time to heal before the Phoenix Supercross.
"This week, I‰Ûªm going to do some intense therapy on my hand," said Tedesco. "I‰Ûªm trying to move forward as much as possible and not take any steps backward."
Because Tedesco is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Phoenix Supercross is something of a homecoming for him. This is the race that‰Ûªs closest to his family and friends and they all come out to support Tedesco.
"The Phoenix race is kind of a hometown race for me," he reiterated. "I‰Ûªm from New Mexico so I have a lot of friends and family who come out for this race and I have a lot of support there. I won there when I was racing in the Supercross Lites class and I really like the track and the dirt."
Both Carmichael and Tedesco will start the Phoenix weekend with an autograph signing at Suzuki dealer, Town and Country Motorsports in Chandler, AZ. The Makita Suzuki duo will be on site signing from 6 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 12.
When asked to comment on Chad Reed's gritty ride to place a very respectable third place at Anaheim 1, despite a fractured shoulder blade and chipped collar bone, San Manuel Yamaha‰Ûªs Team Manager Larry Brooks said " I was completely amazed that Chad was even able to ride his motorcycle and he did as good as he did. The guy is tough and it will take this kind of action to win the championship. Nathan Ramsey didn't fare as well all night, but remains positive." Both Chad and Nathan are back on the track and focused on Phoenix.
As for San Manuel, nearly 150 of the 200 members of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians tribal community were in the stands at Anaheim 1 to support their team. Now that's team spirit! And Chad's race weekend success, despite injury, underscored the message San Manuel hopes to communicate to Native and non-native youth everywhere - overcoming adversity with a desire to succeed can lead to great successes in life!
Although Stewart walked away victorious from last weekend‰Ûªs race in Anaheim, the 21-year old rider and his Monster Energy Kawasaki teammates are resting on their recent success. Both Stewart and teammate Tim Ferry, who finished fifth at Anaheim, have put in a full week of testing at the team‰Ûªs test track in Corona. Both riders are Florida residents but each has a home in Corona to make the commute to the test track a quick trip.
"We are happy with our results last week and with where the team‰Ûªs at overall," said team manager Mike Fisher. "We are always looking for ways to improve our suspension and engine settings for both riders to suit the changing supercross environment.
"Tim is feeling more and more comfortable each time he races the Monster Energy Kawasaki 450F. Our team understands this is a very long season, and that we need to do our best each and every week. We need to be patient."
