2003 Anaheim 1 250cc Heat #2 (Ricky Carmichael Vs. Travis Pastrana #1)
51This is the 2nd 250cc qualifying heat from the 2003 Anaheim 1 Supercross opener.
In 2003, Honda's Ricky Carmichael came into the Anaheim 1 Supercross opener ready to defend his Supercross title for the 2nd consecutive time. In just 2 short championship-winning seasons, Carmichael had won 25 races (14 in 2001, and 11 in 2002). One of the riders that had been noticeably absent from the podium was the 7-time champ Jeremy McGrath.
In 2002, Jeremy only landed on the podium 3 times and they were all 3rd place finishes at Atlanta, Pontiac, and Dallas. McGrath ended up a career-low 3rd overall in the final points tally behind Ricky Carmichael and Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin. The biggest surprise of all was that Jeremy -- a 72-time 250cc Supercross winner -- DID NOT win a race in 2002. McGrath then signed a 4-year-deal with KTM and Bud Light in a Supercross-only contract through 2006, but Jeremy announced his retirement right out of nowhere, following that winless 2002 Supercross season. McGrath's deal went out the window just like that.
Team Yamaha 250cc rookie Chad Reed was looking to make a run at his 2nd and 3rd consecutive titles in just his 2nd year of AMA Supercross competition; he showed that well with a convincing heat win over David Vuillemin. After Reed won 6 of 7 races in the 125cc East aboard a Yamaha of Troy YZ250F, Chad immediately moved up to challenge Ricky Carmichael for the championship. He ended up tied with Suzuki's Branden Jesseman in the final points standings in the 2002 125cc Motocross Championship. With Jeremy gone, the time was now for guys like Reed and Vuillemin to take Ricky off his championship pedestal.
One other rider who was looking to rebound after a poor 2002 season was Team Suzuki's Travis Pastrana. After winning the 125cc East in 2001 with 5 wins out of 7, Travis moved up to the 250cc class, but his season was full of trouble. After just 3 podiums in early January, Travis ran into troubles on and off the track with illnesses, injuries, and a confrontation with AMSOIL Honda's Mike LaRocco at Minneapolis. Travis ended his 2002 Supercross season after literally passing out on his motorcycle at Daytona; his Motocross season wasn't any better as he dropped out of the series after the first moto at Hangtown (round 2) when he broke his wrist. Despite numerous knee operations, Travis showed he was ready for his first 250cc Supercross win. He would battle with Carmichael in this heat race before making a pass on Ricky after the 3rd try. Carmichael passed him back 2 corners later, but Travis hit the gas instead of letting Ricky complete the pass. Travis went down while Ricky managed to stay up; the crowd was not pleased and booed the defending champion. Pastrana pulled out of the heat while Carmichael went on to win the heat race despite the boos from the crowd. Pastrana dominated the semi and made it to the main, but it was only a matter of time before bad luck would strike Travis Pastrana.
In the main, Chad Reed got by his 125cc East rival from '02, Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Mike Brown. Pastrana ran in 3rd behind Reed and Mike LaRocco before LaRocco crashed off a blind dragon's back double. Travis had nowhere to go and plowed into Mike LaRocco's rear end; the crash also claimed AMSOIL Honda's Michael Byrne, and Yamaha of Troy's Ivan Tedesco -- two 125cc East riders. Pastrana hurt his knee in the incident; he later pulled out after another crash. As for Carmichael, he crashed twice, coming from 20th twice to finish in 2nd.
Carmichael and Pastrana would meet again in the next race at Phoenix. Unlike Anaheim 1, Ricky wasn't booed by the crowd, but neither he nor Travis won the heat race at Phoenix.
Enjoy.