1999 Steel City 125cc Moto 2 (Ricky Carmichael's Last 125cc Moto... Until 2001)
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- This is the 2nd and final 125cc moto of the 1999 Steel City Motocross in Delmont, PA.
In 1999, Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael was only 30 minutes and 2 laps away from concluding his 125cc career. For 2000 and beyond, Ricky was going to ride in the premier 250cc class full time. During the 125cc Motocross season, Carmichael had won 8 of 11 overalls and 17 of 23 motos coming into this final moto of 1999. Ricky said that one of his goals before moving up to the 250cc class full time was to win at every National race track, and Steel City was the only track he did not win at, despite 2 prior championship-winning seasons in 1997 and '98. Carmichael secured the crown at Binghamton once again with a 1-1 sweep; it was Ricky's first overall win in 2 races after a 2-2 at Washougal (2nd overall) and a 10-1 at Millville (3rd overall); however, Carmichael's worst overall finish was a 6th in the mud at Budds Creek with a 22-1.
After a perfect 8-0 125cc East SX season in 1998 (9 including the shootout), Ricky Carmichael tried his luck on the 250cc machine in Supercross 1999. His rookie 250cc season was a complete nightmare. All Carmichael could show were 11 laps led, and no better than a 4th place finish (2 times), but Ricky's season was plagued with crashes; he crashed out of 3 events and sat out 4 races due to injury. Ricky showed he could battle with Jeremy McGrath, but conditioning and strength proved to be his downfall. Carmichael finished 16th in the final points tally. When the Nationals began, Carmichael dropped down to the 125cc class for one last season (a move that people thought he should've done at the 125cc East SX opener at Tampa, FL).
Coming into this moto, Carmichael had one last chance to tie history. In 3 125cc seasons, Carmichael won 24 career overalls and was one away from tying Mark Barnett's record of 25 career 125cc wins, which he set from 1980-'82. Ricky needed 10 wins to eclipse that record before moving up, but due to his 6th at Budds Creek, 2nd at Washougal, and 3rd at Millville, Ricky could only win up to 9 overalls, which would put him in a tie with Barnett at 25 career 125cc MX wins. One rider who was catching fire late in the season though was Primal Suzuki's #60 David Pingree.
At the last round at Binghamton, Pingree hit the podium in the first moto with a 3rd place; he faltered to a 9th in the 2nd moto for 5th overall. The 5th overall matched his best overall finish, which came at Kenworthy's. Pingree was searching for speed and good finishes in Motocross after ending the 1999 125cc West Supercross season with a win at the final round of the season at Minneapolis. Pingree bested that 3rd at Binghamton with a 2nd place in the first moto here at Steel City. Carmichael ran away with the first moto, but Pingree pulled the holeshot in moto 2 once again; Ricky got around Pingree shortly thereafter and cruised to his 18th moto win out of 24, and a season record 9th overall win of the season. Ricky's 9th win of the 1999 season was his first at Steel City, and his 25th career 125cc MX win, which put him in a tie with Barnett. Ricky would represent Team USA for the MX des Nations in Brazil, which was his last official 125cc race. It was a disaster -- he crashed out in moto 1 and DNF'ed moto 2; his 250cc teammates, Kevin Windham and Mike LaRocco didn't have the best of luck either.
In 2001, Ricky Carmichael would famously return for a cameo appearance in the 125cc class at this same race track. Riding a Pro Circuit KX125, Ricky would crash early in moto 1 and fight back from the 30s to finish 3rd behind Mike Brown and Grant Langston. In moto 2, Carmichael got away cleanly, but strict team rules meant Carmichael could not win the overall to help Mike Brown win the championship. Langston, who led by 6 points coming into the final moto, needed to finish near Brown to ice the title, but a flat rear tire and busted spokes forced him to the sidelines with only 3 laps remaining. Brown won the championship by 14 points, and he famously let Branden Jesseman by on the final lap for 2nd place. Carmichael won the overall with his 3-1 to Brown's 1-3 -- it marked a record 26th career 125cc MX win. His record would last until 2004 when James Stewart eclipsed that with 28 wins in 31 races.
Enjoy.
This is a great video but nothing beats the sweet smell of VP to go along with the show.
No disagreements there.
Love rc Kawasaki
Ricky represented Kawasaki well. Although Kawasaki might've let him get away, they did get some good results from James Stewart from his 125 days and early 250/450 days.
Ah 2 strokes, 125cc rung out to the limit
No arguments from this corner.
i kinda really tried to look for mr ricky carmichael n 125 class of 1997 back then
He wasn't too hard to miss in '97 running that #70 KX125.
@@MathewVsSportsMediaandGames i kinda really had n poster of mr ricky carmichael n 250 class back n the year of 2000 mr mathew v21688
@@tonydayton909 I had one myself courtesy of the "Championship Motocross 2001" video game.
@@MathewVsSportsMediaandGamesu kinda tried to figure out championship game ft mr ricky carmichael n it back then
@@tonydayton909 Oh, Ricky was in the game -- no question about it. I have the game for both Game Boy and Playstation.
Tallon Vohland! 711! Getn some top 3
Yep, but not enough for 3rd place overall unfortunately.
Pinned ; )
At this era of racing, you bet that's "pinned" throttle.
I was bummed when RC bailed from Kawi... But, Money talks
I was more surprised that Kawi never even made him an offer for 2002, and just as surprised when Honda ignored RC willing to take a pay cut for the 2005 season with James Stewart moving up.
Amazing how well Sellards and vohland did on those Hondas. They were so god awful slow. Lol
I wouldn't necessarily call the Hondas slow -- Kevin Windham won 4 overalls in the 1999 MX season in the 250 class, Ezra Lusk won Southwick, and Sebastien Tortelli won the Glen Helen opener. Sellards, Vohland, and Jason McCormick won motos on the Honda 125s.
It should also be noted that Sellards was nursing a shoulder injury before Daytona and was only at the races to lock up 2nd place in the series behind Carmichael.
@@MathewVsSportsMediaandGames the 250’s were decent, but Tony blazer has said they weren’t much better than an 85. I suppose teams can make any bike competitive. I raced Brock back in the early 90’s on 60’s and have some footage of him at western reserve sx jumping nearly everything on a 60. Made me want to put my bike up for sale lol. Thank you as always for these uploads 🤙🏻
@@joedillon1806 Hmm. Well, honestly, I never really paid attention to how bikes were handled, having rode only one new bike in my 26 years of riding.
You're welcome on the uploads and props to you for racing with Brock Sellards before. Hope you'll see some of the other seasons I've posted in my collection of races.
I was there!
Lucky you! Ricky's last dance as a full-time 125cc MX racer and he wins at Delmont with a 1-1 sweep.
@@iamjackhill5897 Ricky was one of those guys that you just couldn't touch unless you got a good start over him. Vohland did win Budds Creek over Ricky, but the only time he really battled with RC was the Glen Helen opener when he passed him, only to crash sometime later.
Would have been cool if he did this in 2002 with Stewart
That would've been something, but at the same time, we all know what Ricky was doing in 2002 MX -- that possible perfect season.
@@richardm5467 Somehow, I seriously doubt it. It was hard enough to beat Ricky on equal displacement, but I still believe even if James rode the 250F on a different bike (only a Yamaha at that time), he'd still not beat Ricky anyway.
@@richardm5467 Stewart may have better averages outdoors than RC in the 125s, but he couldn't beat Ricky straight up on equal displacement in Motocross in the 450s. Plus, I guarantee that even if 125cc 2-strokes were still around, the end results would be no different.
If you take away the word "uh" from Ricky, he would loose half his vocabulary
Personally, I disagree.
the other half is "I tell ya what"
@@fkhan577 Everyone else has their own go-to phrase or whatnot.
Is. Yu
WTH is this mumbo jumbo???
"Uh.....uh....uh"
I think when Carmichael got on the 250cc machine (and even the 450cc 4-stroke) was when his "uh" turned into "hah", but that's my opinion.