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Team Makita Suzuki Racing’s Ricky Carmichael won his third consecutive AMA Supercross of the season and regained the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross points lead at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Friday night.
This victory is Carmichael’s sixth win of the season and his fifth Daytona win, making him the only rider to have won five races here. It also marks Suzuki’s first Daytona victory since 1981.
“When I was at the gate I heard the announcer say that the last time Suzuki won here was in 1981 and I was two years old,” said the defending AMA and World Supercross Champion. “I’ve got to thank Makita Suzuki - it’s great to win a race here on a Suzuki. I’m happy to get the win, but I’m really, really happy for my Makita Suzuki team.”
The Supercross class heat races saw Carmichael come in second in his eight-lap qualifier and team mate Ivan Tedesco take the win in his qualifier. “I’ve been working really hard, training on my Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I’m just happy to get the win and I hope to get on the podium tonight. This is my first time racing Daytona and I feel good. I’m still learning and trying to run with the big boys. Hopefully I’ll get up there tonight and we’ll see what I’ve got,” said Tedesco.
In the 20-lap Daytona main event, Carmichael got a good jump off the gate and was running in second place. He was battling for the lead when the competition went down. Carmichael began to create a gap and then quickly pulled away from the field, eventually winning by more than 30 seconds over second place.
“My goal was to come here and do better than I did last year,” said Carmichael, who finished second at Daytona in 2005. “In the Main, I felt super-comfortable on the Makita Suzuki RM-Z450 and I just rode my own race. I’m glad to get out of here with the points lead.”
Tedesco didn’t quite get the start that Carmichael did, going down in the first turn. But the aggressive Supercross rookie put his head down, charged hard and moved quickly and consistently through the field. By the end of the race, Tedesco had moved up to seventh place.
“I got a bad start and then I tried to make something happen in the first corner but obviously that didn’t work out for me,” Tedesco said. “But I felt really good and that I rode a really good race. You can’t really start 20 seconds back and expect to get on the podium.”
In the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP, Carmichael still leads the points chase and Tedesco remains in fourth position overall.
