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Ricky raced a great race in St. Louis...took the victory after having a poor start and needing to chase Chad down from mid pack. Even still his back is against the wall.

He learned earlier that he was docked 25 points for using a fuel with a lead content that was too high for AMA standards during the San Diego SX.

can you believe this? 25 points!!! That's like a DNF. He now sits in third place and will need to win every race from here on out. I can't believe that the AMA took perhaps the most interesting season in years and flushed it down the toliet with some 2-stroke fuel rule.

for those interested, lead in a 4-stroke does nothing for performance. in fact, the only thing they should really care about is the O2 levels. which by the way ricky's team was well under the allowed amount.

thanks AMA for jacking up a really great season and putting the THIRD fastest rider in the points lead...one he hasn't earned.

this rule should be eliminated for 4-stroke motors.

ken

While I agree that this was a lame penalty (25 pts), especially that the lead does nothing to enhance performance on a 4 stroke. But what bugs me is that everybody is saying Chad doesn't deserve to be the points leader. He WAS the points leader before this penalty. His consistency is what makes him a great rider! He may not be the fastest, but to be fair, he is almost always on the podium. That is a sign of a true champion. Like I said, he is not as fast as R.C. or J.S., but he is a hell of a lot more consistent with being on the podium and staying on 2 wheel the whole race......every race! Just to be fair, my favorite rider is not Chad. In fact, I don't have a favorite rider in SX. I just like to watch the races for what they are......races! - Mike

I'll echo Mike's comments.

I enjoy watching Reed ride....he's very consistent....I also felt like he did a great step-up this past weekend by holding onto RC's wheel for so long after getting passed...he literally had to take his game up a notch right in the middle of the race.

Also, I don't understand the 2 different Points series...I take it the one that RC got docked in is the one that counts, and that other one (which RC still leads) is just a fluff one or something (this is my first year of paying attention to the AMA racing).

Rest of the year excitement will be:
*can Reed keep the points lead?
*can Stewart stop crashing and start riding consistently?
*can RC get back into at least 2nd?

Here's a question for you: Should Bubba and Reed sit out a race to let RC get back his docked points in protest? Now THAT would be the sportsman like thing to do. If I was either of them, I would do it - if the other would agree as well. I wouldn't want to win on a bogus thing like that....if you follow the TDF, then it's like a few years ago when Jan crashed, Lance waited, then 2 yrs ago, Lance crashed on that climb and Jan waited....it's no good to win due to something unfortanate happening to your competition. But that's just me.

I also agree that the lead situation is BS to say the least, Ricky did a good job defending his awesome team through this ordeal. I love watching the SX series but I do think that while watching this series is great they just follow the top 3 riders every race, if you've ever been to a canadian race or watched there pro series it awesome to say the least they follow riders throughout the race from first to last. if you havn't had the chance to watch one I'd recommend it. More competitiveness throughout the field. Kinda like watching the SX lights. But its all good and the sport is still the best to watch live

The only way to get AMA's attention is if thousands of fans write/call/email them and tell them this is BS! The guy to contact is Merrill Vanderslice, Vice President, Director of Competition although he just quit today. They say he will be on until the end of March so fill his email box up! Hit this guy up too: Steve Whitelock, Series Manager.

Go to:

http://www.amaproracing.com/proemail.asp

I wouldn't hold your breath on waiting for a change with the penalty. I think they would look like a bunch of idiots (worse than they do now) if they reversed the penalty. I don't think it will happeen, no matter how many people e-mail, call or write to them on how ridiculus this penalty is. They've made their decision and made it public already. It's too late! But one thing is forsure, you will see that this rule (4 strokes only) will be modified for the next SX season and maybe even for the MX series for this season. - Mike

Did you guys see stewart this past weekend? he is so fast. He crashed at the start and still came in third !! He just needs to stay on the bike. I also agree AMA ruined the year with that point penalty. They should at least allow anyone to present their case before taking points.

chad is only in the lead because ricky effectively didn't race two races and james might as well have missed one race. i'm not taking anything away from chad but this kind of a lead was handed to him by the AMA...he didn't earn it. prior to the ama taking 25 points from ricky there was no doubt that chad would not lead this series by winning on his own. look how close ricky is to chad after a DNF due to an equipment failure and a 25 point penalty.

about stewart and reed sitting one out...it won't happen and i wouldn't do it if i were them. this is racing and the stakes are huge. at the same time i wouldn't be holding up my index finger saying i'm number 1 if i was chad. this is nothing to be proud about as if he actually raced for the lead.

ken

What excatly was R.C.'s mechanical that resulted in the DNF? I never did hear what it was. Was it a result of his crash in the first turn of the heat race? Whatever the reason though, I don't feel that the AMA handed Chad anything. R.C. crashed twice that night without any help from Reed. I whole heartedly agree that the fuel issue is bogus and has put a damper on the whole season. (and I let the AMA know my feelings on the subject) Chad kept it on two wheels and his equipment held together. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be done? But I think it will still be interesting to see how the season plays out and who can keep it together.

and, no, im not a charter member of the Chad Reed fan club. none of the top 3 ride Red, so I really have no preference about who wins, as long as the racing action is good.

thanks again AMA.

ricky's rear shock broke during the main...it had nothing to do with his heat race fall in the first turn.

ricky hasn't crashed out of any race...the dnf was a mechanical failure...and the 25 points was actually a 2nd place finish.

i'm not taking anything from chad...he has raced with heart and keep it on two wheels but he hasn't raced himself into first place. that was a gift from the AMA rule book of yester-year. One team has reported they have spent over $10,000 so far this year just on fuel testing to make sure they were in compliance. that's a lot of money for a rule that is clearly a 2-stroke fuel rule. however, in hindsight i bet ricky would have gladly paid twice that to make sure the fuel was within the guidelines.

ken

These averages was actually posted by another person on a different forum. I think personally. that this explains and proves that Chad deserves to be where he is at:

R.C. / J.S. / C.R.'s Finishes & Overall Average Finishes:


Chad Reed's Results:

2,2,2,5,2,3,1,2 average finish=2.3


Ricky Carmichael's Results:

3,1,1,2,1,2,20,1 average finish=3.8


James Stewart's Results:

1,3,3,1,8,1,17,3 average finish=4.6



I think Chad deserves to be where he is at!

i hear you...and like i said i'm not taking anything away from him. my main point is the AMA effectively took the best season in years and flushed by taking...errr stealing 25 points from ricky. there's a lot of season left...we'll see what happens from here. stewart has a real shot at chad...it's a stretch for ricky.

ken

Ok.....lets make this even more confusing:

http://www.yamaha-racing.com/sx/reports ... RaceID=921

From what I'm understanding and from what I've read elsewhere, R.C's points were given back to him for the failed fuel sample after San Diego. Now at Atlanta, he was tested again and failed again and now the points were taken away again. So now he's in the same spot as before. I'm kinda confused now?!?!?

Yes chad deserves to be where he is at right now, BUT.....RC should not have gotten dinged, the lead &oxygen levels should be limited to the levels of pump gas, the AMA blew it bigtime when they wrote the lead rule.

You ready for fishing Stoughty???

What a farse! You would think an investigation would be conducted first, then a penalty assessed. The latest from AMA:

http://supercross.cc.com/news/Article.2006-03-01.4747