2002 Minneapolis 250cc Main (Jeremy McGrath's First Win of 2002?)
5This is the 2002 250cc main from the H.H.H. Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN.\n\nIn 2002, Yamaha's David Vuillemin #12 was having the best season of his life by leading the 250cc Supercross series. The Frenchman had won 3 of the first 6 races coming into round 7 of the 2002 series; his worst finish was a 3rd at Phoenix and Anaheim 3.\n\nThe season began at Anaheim 1 where Honda's Ricky Carmichael #4 was carrying the sport's longest win streak of all. Carmichael had won the last 13 Supercross races going back to 2001 when he rode for Kawasaki; unfortunately, his win streak went down the drain when he crashed out of Anaheim 1 and finished 20th.\n\nEverybody expected a Yamaha to beat Carmichael, and it happened, but it wasn't the rider they were thinking of. The Supercross world thought that the icon, Jeremy McGrath on his #2 Bud Light Yamaha, was the man for the job; unfortunately, an awful start for McGrath (and a pre-season back injury nobody really knew about) relegated him to a 13th place finish.\n\nVuillemin would win round 2 in San Diego over Suzuki rookie #199 Travis Pastrana. Carmichael, who traded his red and black gear for orange, immediately improved to a 4th place finish behind AMSOIL Honda's Mike LaRocco #5. As for Jeremy McGrath, he got another bad start and could only salvage a 10th place finish. Going into Anaheim 2, Vuillemin was the points leader with 50 points while Carmichael and McGrath were tied for 11th place overall at 19 apiece.\n\nMike LaRocco would win Anaheim 2, but he sprained his wrist the following week at Phoenix and finish 4th. Carmichael got on the board next by winning Phoenix over Pastrana and Vuillemin; he made it two wins in a row at Anaheim 3 when McGrath led the first half while Carmichael started near the end of the top 10; McGrath would fade to 6th.\n\nVuillemin won the last race at Indianapolis amid some boos from the RCA Dome crowd to Carmichael after an incident with Travis Pastrana in the main. Vuillemin passed Carmichael on the final lap while Carmichael had to settle for 2nd place.\n\nIn this race, Team Honda's Sebastien Tortelli #13, in his first race back from a shoulder injury, grabbed the early lead. Tortelli was followed by his rookie teammate Ernesto Fonseca #24, and 3 riders further back was Yamaha's McGrath.\n\nJeremy McGrath, who won 6 straight races in the Metrodome from 1994-99, would move up to 3rd around Kawasaki's Ezra Lusk #11 and Honda's Nathan Ramsey #25. He was looking for his seventh career win in the Metrodome after a 3rd in 2000 and a 2nd in 2001.\n\nTortelli led the first several laps before he was overtaken by Fonseca and McGrath. On the next lap, McGrath executed a clean block pass on Fonseca to lead his third race of the 2002 season.\n\nAt the same time, Mike LaRocco, who had to go the Last Chance to qualify for the main, tangled with Travis Pastrana, and both guys crashed. LaRocco was down and out with a broken right wrist while Pastrana pulled out after a second crash (and some heated words from LaRocco's mechanic Paul DeLaurier).
Pastrana and LaRocco finished 19th and 20th respectively.
\nIt looked like Jeremy McGrath would win his 73rd career Supercross race and his 90th career AMA win altogether, but on lap 10, disaster struck! McGrath spun out in a rut and lost two positions to Fonseca and Carmichael. From that point on, McGrath's main event was ruined; he would fade to a 6th place finish.\n\nCarmichael got around Fonseca right away and cruised to his third win of the 2002 season. Fonseca held on for 2nd (besting his 3rd at Anaheim 1), and David Vuillemin recovered for a 3rd place finish after being as far back as 12th.\n\nIn the points standings, Carmichael moved up to 2nd with LaRocco's DNF and shaved another 5 points off of Vuillemin's 28-point lead. That meant after 7 races, Carmichael, who was down by 24 points to Vuillemin after his 20th at Anaheim 1, had only picked up ONE POINT on the Yamaha Frenchman.\n\nMinneapolis started a six-race win streak for Ricky Carmichael, who won 9 of the remaining 10 races en route to the 2002 250cc Supercross crown. He would seize the points lead from Vuillemin after Daytona when David skipped that race due to a shoulder injury. From 20 down to 5 up, Ricky Carmichael continued to gain points on David Vuillemin, who never won a race after Indianapolis 2002.\n\nFor Ricky Carmichael, the 2002 250cc Supercross title was his second of five total. It was also Honda's first since Jeremy McGrath in 1996. If that wasn't enough, Ricky would go on to SWEEP the 2002 250cc Motocross season and win Honda's first Motocross title since McGrath in 1995.\n\nEnjoy.