DETROIT (March 25, 2006) – Kawasaki’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., won his second consecutive Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series race before 40,101 fans at the inaugural race at Ford Field. Honda’s Josh Grant, of Riverside, Calif., won the AMA Supercross Lites main event.
Stewart, who trails the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series points leader Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki) by 20 points, grabbed the lead from the $1,500 Progressive Direction Holeshot Award winner Nick Wey two turns into the race.
Behind Stewart four-time AMA Supercross champion Carmichael, of Tallahassee, Fla., and former World Supercross GP/AMA Supercross champion Chad Reed, of Dade City, Fla., battled throughout the early laps.
“I got out and ran a good pace, saw those guys coming – congrats to Ricky and Chad,” said Stewart. “I got my pace on the first lap and really didn’t change anything after that.”
Reed slammed the door on Carmichael in the same spot of the first pass and shot out to a two-second lead. Carmichael bounced back and passed Reed for the second-place finish.
“That was definitely a race for the fans,” said Carmichael. “I felt like we had the speed to win, but got caught up at the start. That’s the way it goes.”
As for the title chase, Carmichael holds a touchy 10-point lead over Reed. “I’m not settling in, the points are too close,” said Carmichael. “James (Stewart) is obviously riding really well.”
Reed struggled through the main event and salvaged his points.
“I’m not going to give up,” said Reed. “It takes me a few laps to get going, but I’ve decided I’m going for it. No excuses. I chose to do this and I’m happy to be on the podium again.”
In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Grant got out to a solid start behind Progressive Direction Holeshot Award winner Teddy Maier (Kawasaki) and Bobby Kiniry (Honda). Grant grabbed the lead midway though the first lap and eventually built a seven-second lead on second place rider Davi Millsaps (Honda) – the AMA Lites’ Easter Region points leader.
“Feels great. A win’s a win,” said Grant. “I’d struggled in the whoops earlier in the day, so once I figured that out, I was good.”
Cruising to second place, Millsaps now carries a 22-point lead over Grant into the finals Easter Region championship next weekend in Houston.
“Josh set a fast pace, didn’t want to lose it there,” said Millsaps.
Rounding out the AMA Supercross Lites podium in somewhat spectacular fashion was Chris Gosselaar (Kawasaki). The Californian was tied with Grant heading into Detroit (94-94), and had pretty much settled on fourth place when Kiniry went down in the whoops just before the final turn – dashing his hopes for a first-ever podium finish.
Tonight’s race will air on SPEED on Sunday, March 26, at 6:00 p.m. EST. A separate one-hour broadcast of the AMA Supercross Lites racing will air on SPEED on Sunday, April 2, at 5 p.m. EST.
Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 286
2. James Stewart, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 283
3. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 267
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 227
5. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 215
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 209
7. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio,, Honda, 151
8. Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda, 147
9. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 134
10. Tyler Evans, Corona, Calif., Suzuki, 116
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Detroit
1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
3. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
5. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz.
8. Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda
9. Tim Ferry, Largo, Fla., Honda
10. Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 259
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 249
3. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 239
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 194
5. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 185
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 181
7. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 146
8. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 125
9. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda, 108
10. Tim Ferry, Dade City, Fla., Honda, 96
Amp’d Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Event Results, Detroit
1. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda
2. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda
3. Christopher Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki
4. Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
5. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Much., Honda
6. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda
7. Josh Woods, Flint, Honda
8. Josh Summey, Stanley, N.C., Honda
9. Jay Marmont, Murietta, Calif., KTM
10. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Yamaha
Amp’d Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
1. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 141
2. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 119
3. Chris Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki, 114
4. Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha, 96
5. Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 80
6. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Honda, 67
7. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda, 66
8. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 59
9. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki, 48
10. Michael Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda, 45
Amp’d Mobile Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
1. Andrew Short, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 118
2. Grant Langston, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 116
3. Nathan Ramsey, Menifee, Calif., KTM, 107
4. Billy Laninovich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda, 99
5. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM, 95
6. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 94
7. Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 91
8. Paul Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y., Honda, 78
9. Darcy Lange, San Jacinto, Calif., Kawasaki, 55
10. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda, 52
KTM Junior Supercross Challenge Results
Ashton Hayes, Rockford, Mich.
Aden Merchant, Kokomo, Ind.
DJ Christie, Flat Rock, Mich.
Justin Bunch, Mt. Washington, Ky,
Blake Bocek, Crandon, Wisc.
Jake Newman, Escondido, Calif.
Brandon Larsen, Newport, Ohio
Yusef Roberts, Simpsonville, N.C.
Brandon Bringedahl, Hudsonville, Mich.
Jacob Pyne, Bloomfield, Ind.
Jordan Micka, Kennewick, Wash.
Alex Little, Hamilton, Ohio
Larry Gregoricka, Owosso, Mich.
Hunter Mayo, Apex, N.C.
Matthew Fusco, Mentur, Ohio
For more information about the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, please log on to www.supercross.cc.com. For media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig at 630-566-6305/e-mail at dennyhartwig@livenation.com or Pat Schutte at 248-821-3380/e-mail pat@highprofilepr.com.
Supercross LIVE!, the only place on the planet to catch Amp’d Mobile Supercross live at home, is available for fans at every race, starting at 7:00 p.m. local time at supercross.cc.com. Listen as Supercross LIVE! hosts Jim Holley and Jason Wiegandt capture the live race call, a pre-race show, a post-race show, post-race press conference, on-air industry guests and celebrities, in-depth interviews, promotions, call-ins and more. In 2004-2005, more than a three-quarters-of-million listeners logged on to Supercross LIVE!
About Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP™/Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series
Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP is a 17-round global off-road motorcycle stadium racing circuit. Riders must compete in the international rounds to be eligible to win the world championship. In 2005-2006, the 17-event Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP will be comprised of two international events and 15 of the 16 events that are conducted in major cities throughout the United States as a part of the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series. Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series is a 16-event series solely conducted in the United States. The other Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series event held in Daytona Beach, Fla., is independently produced by the International Speedway Corporation and is not a part of the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP. An Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series rider will be crowned as the national champion for the series of events conducted in the United States only.
About the FIM
The FIM, Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, is the body that globally governs motorcycle sport at the world level. Among other matters, the FIM groups together 85 affiliated National Federations relating to the sport of motorcycle racing. AMA Pro Racing is the National Federation representative that sanctions motorcycle-racing events in the United States. Dorna Off Road S.L. is an internationally recognized sports management group established in 1988 with an emphasis on major international motor sports events. Dorna is headquartered in Madrid, Spain with branch offices in Barcelona, London and Tokyo. In addition to its involvement with Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, Dorna manage the rights to MotoGP. For more information on Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP/ Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, log on to www.supercross.cc.com.
About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship and the AMA Supermoto Championship. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com. Accredited media outlets can also access AMA Pro Racing's online Press Room at www.amaproracing.com/pressroom.