Ricky Carmichael. Mike Brown. Kawasaki. Champions.
But there was a bit more to it than that. 12 rounds. 48 motos. Mother’s Day to Labor Day. Early season problems for the defending champions (Travis Pastrana and Ricky Carmichael). A new contender from overseas (Grant Langston). “Old time” guy making good (Mike Brown). Challengers to Carmichael’s dominance (Kevin Windham, Tim Ferry, Sebastien Tortelli). Injuries. DNF’s. Strategy. Intrigue.
Here’s how they finished in the final point standings for 2001:
| 250 class |
125 class |
- Ricky Carmichael – 490 (He won seven out of 12 250 events. He also won one 125 event.)
- Kevin Windham – 482
- Tim Ferry – 439
- Mike LaRocco – 411
- David Vuillemin – 346
- Sebastien Tortelli – 339
- John Dowd – 326
- Stephane Roncada – 305
- Kyle Lewis – 228
- Robbie Reynard – 227
- Ezra Lusk – 214
- Travis Preston – 202
- Ryan Hughes – 195
- Jason Thomas – 128
- Paul Carpenter 104
|
- Mike Brown – 458
- Grant Langston – 444
- Ernesto Fonseca – 335
- Larry Ward – 332
- Brock Sellards – 312
- Travis Pastrana – 311
- Nate Ramsey – 249
- Rodrig Thain – 223
- Branden Jesseman – 207
- Scott Sheak – 201
- TIE: Damon Huffman, Nick Wey – 192
- Greg Schnell – 175
- Kelly Smith – 161
- Steve Boniface – 153
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| And here are 23 photos from the series. Click on the image to see the larger version |
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Ricky Carmichael and Mike Brown celebrate their championships. Kawasaki won 250 supercross, 125 motocross, and 250 motocross. |
David Vuillemin winning in the mud at High Point. |
John Dowd did not race supercross, but came back to do the Nationals on the big four-stroke KTM. Let’s hope he comes back next year too. |
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Grant Langston (calm down girls!) |
At the Southwick round, many riders contesting the Grand Prix circuit came over to race on an off-weekend, including 500 World Champ Joel Smets. |
Kevin Windham took his RM 250 to second in the 250 class. |
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Ricky Carmichael at Unadilla. |
Remember all the problems RC had early on? |
Ernesto Fonseca rode the Yamaha of Troy machine consistently to take third in 125 points. |
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The top three of the 250 class for 2001 – Ferry, Carmichael, and Windham. |
Ricky’s got quite a few #1 plates. |
Mike LaRocco started the season riding the CR 250. But towards the end he started spending time on the CR 450 four-stroke. |
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125 champ Mike Brown and the AMA’s Duke Finch. |
Tim Ferry rode the Yamaha YZ 426 to third overall in the 250 class points. He won at Glen Helen. |
Grant Langston on the Red Bull KTM. He finished second in the 125′s, but he will challenge for more titles in the future. |
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Ezra Lusk had high expectation for the season, but nagging injuries held him back. He has switched to Kawasaki’s for 2002. |
Travis Pastrana was the defending 125 champion. He had the points lead during the middle of the season. A few falls helped end his season. He’s expected to be back stronger than ever for next season. |
2001 was Stephane Roncada’s first full year on the 250′s. Expect him to improve even more next year. |
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Sebastien Tortelli has the speed. He has the equipment. He has the experience. He won at Hangtown. But some DNF’s and falls hurt his championship run. |
Travis Pastrana |
David Vuillemin is hoping to win more in 2002. He won at High Point this year. |
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Larry Ward – he won the overall at Red Bud. |
Windham sans helmet. |
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