Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael, of Havana, Fla., bounced back from a last-place finish at the previous race with a win tonight at the Georgia Dome before a crowd of 70,133, a record attendance for supercross in the 28 years of racing in Georgia. Honda’s Joshua Grant, of Riverside, Calif., won the AMA Supercross Lites main event.
Yamaha’s Chad Reed, of Dade City, Fla., won the Progressive Direct Holeshot Award to start the 20-lap feature event. He settled into the lead as Carmichael began working his way through the field after a seventh place start. Kawasaki’s James Stewart, of Haines City, Fla., went down in a first-turn crash that ultimately cost him a shot at the win.
With Reed out front, Carmichael began to make his move, and by lap eight, he had closed to within a couple bike lengths. On lap 11, Carmichael shot to the inside of Reed in a turn to take the lead. Reed stayed close down the stretch but was unable to get close enough to make a move as Carmichael took the victory, the fourth of his career at the Georgia Dome. Reed finished second and Stewart was third.
“(Chad) hounded me for while out there and I was just sticking to my lines,” said Carmichael, referring to the latter part of the race. “As the track wore out it just got harder and I knew that it would be harder for Chad to get by me. We got our back against the wall and I’m going to try to win every race from here on out.”
Grant won the Progressive Direct Holeshot Award to start the AMA Supercross Lites main event. He held the lead in the early stages of the and avoided a cluster of crashes that kept series front runners KTM’s Josh Hansen, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., and Honda’s Davi Millsaps, of Cairo, Ga., out of contention.
Grant cruised to the easy victory ahead of Millsaps and Martin Davalos, of Cairo, Ga., who finished third for his first career podium.
Tonight’s race will air on SPEED on Sunday, February 26, at 6:00 p.m. EST. A separate one-hour broadcast of the AMA Supercross Lites racing will air on SPEED on Saturday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m. EST.
Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 217
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 211
3. James Stewart, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 211
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 173
5. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 164
6. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 163
7. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio,, Honda, 113
8. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda, 112
9. Jason Thomas, Melrose, Fla., Honda, 110
10. Tyler Evans, Corona, Calif., Suzuki, 94
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Event Results, Atlanta
1. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki
2. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha
3. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
5. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
6. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda
8. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda
9. Ryan Clark, Waddell, Ariz., Honda
10. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda
Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Chad Reed, Dade City, Fla., Yamaha, 171
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 152
3. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 140
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 126
5. Michael Byrne, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 118
6. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Honda, 117
7. Ernesto Fonseca, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 110
8. Mike LaRocco, Corona, Calif., Honda, 108
9. Travis Preston, Hesperia, Calif., Honda, 90
10. Jeremy McGrath, Encinitas, Calif., Honda, 67
Amp’d Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Event Results, Atlanta
1. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda
2. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda
3. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Honda
4. Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha
5. Matthew Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha
6. Michael Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda
7. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki
8. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda
9. Christopher Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki
10. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
Amp’d Mobile Eastern Regional AMA Supercross Lites Season Standings
1. Davi Millsaps, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 47
2. Branden Jesseman, New Brighton, Pa., Yamaha, 38
3. Chris Gosselaar, Victorville, Calif., Kawasaki, 34
4. Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., Honda, 30
5. Teddy Maier, Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kawasaki, 27
6. Joshua Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 25
7. Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 25
8. Robert Kiniry, Lafayette, N.Y., Honda, 25
9. Josh Hansen, Lake Elsinore, Calif., KTM, 23
10. Michael Blose, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda, 20
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
- Jerry Robin, Big Lake, Minn., KTM
- Cole Mattison, Boiling Springs, S.C., KTM
- Brett Smith, Tallahassee, Fla., KTM
- Greye Tate, Buford, Ga., KTM
- Tanner Myers, Edmond, Okla., KTM
- Scott Stockunas, Mahanoy Plane, Pa., KTM
- Kyle Mitchell, Charlotte, N.C., KTM
- Mason Beasley, Evans, Ga., KTM
- Bryston Ivey, Bowdon, Ga., KTM
- Justin Hendrix, Alamo, Ga., KTM
- Zachary Hall, Bluff City, Tenn., KTM
- Bradley Beavers, Vienna, Ga., KTM
- Jacob Johnson, Greenwood, Ark., KTM
- Alec Locklear, Hiram, Ga., KTM