August24,2007

US - The official entry list released today by the FIM for the Motocross of Nations shows Tim Ferry riding in the Open class for the U.S. team in place of the injured James Stewart.
Stewart injured his left knee late on July 29 in the second moto of the Washougal, Washington, round of the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship, presented by FMF. He sat out the subsequent round at Millville, Minnesota, and a statement issued by Kawasaki said Stewart didn't have enough stability in the knee to compete.
In addition to Tim Ferry, there was another name on the FIM entry list that U.S. motocross fans will recognize, but might not have expected to see.
Tarah Geiger will be racing for the Puerto Rico team, along with Gino Aponte and Christian Ruiz. A quick scan of the entry list suggests Geiger is the only woman competing in the Motocross of Nations. Geiger lived in the U.S. territory for many years.
Stewart's teammate, Tim Ferry, has seized the opportunity and is currently tied with Andrew Short atop the points standings in the AMA series.
Ferry is now slated to represent the United States in the 62nd annual Motocross of Nations on September 22-23 at Budds Creek in Maryland. Also on the team are Ricky Carmichael, riding in the MX1 class, and Ryan Villopoto, riding in MX2.
The 2007 Motocross of Nations marks just the second time the United States has hosted the international event, which features three-rider teams representing countries from around the world competing in three motos. The event was last hosted by the United States in 1987.
The Motocross of Nations is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), and the AMA, as the FIM's U.S. affiliate, is the host federation.

 

RC had the same surgery in 2004. Did you even see what caused the injury - no crash involved, it was really a freak thing.

 

Grant Langston is South African.

Kawasaki was already planning on fielding a bike so in that respect Ferry makes sense much like Suzuki was planning on fielding a bike last yearforRC & histeamate Tedesco went instead.

 

Really? I've missed this. Reed is definitely the 3rd fastest guy out there. No question. On SX, Tedesco (even when healthy), Ferry, Wey, etc. cannot touch him. There's also no question that he can't ride with Stewart or Carmichael. It's not close. Hasn't been for years. The only way Reed moves up the podium is if Carmichael doesn't race (obviously, every race from now on) or one or more of Stewart & Carmichael crashes. That's it and that's that. Very clear to anyone who's paid any attention to SX and MX the last 3+ years. Even outdoor, where Stewart is clearly not as dominant, Reed just can't compete with Stewart ... definitely not Carmichael.

Stewart doesn't seem that smart of a rider to me. Two years ago, he probably should have won the SX, but crashed too many times. Somehow he thought that you had to make the pass from 2nd to 1st on lap 4 of a 20 lap race or it didn't count. This past year, he really turned the corner and cut out nearly all of the bad mistakes. He was untouchable. Head and shoulders above Carmichael, who was in turn head and shoulders above Reed, who was in turn head and shoulders above whoever else showed up for the race. SX was boring as hell.

Outdoors, Carmichael was still faster than Stewart. It was closer, but RC is still king outdoors. Reed gave up. The one race he did show up for he finished ... yep, you guessed it, third to Stewart and Carmichael. If I remember, JS and RC split the heats and Reed didn't even finish on the podium for both heats.

Not necessarily a huge JS or RC fan and nothing against Reed, but tell me again how he can be as fast as anyone?

 

The past couple of races with Stewart hurt and then out has created some realy good racing. The most action in a race in many years since RC and Mcgrath battled for a couple of years.

 

The more I read IG's post, the more I'm just amazed at the total disregard for reality and fact.

Lucky would mean that he benefitted from circumstances beyond his control that allowed him to place higher than the merits of his own riding. That is not what happened at all. Rather, that's what happened each time Reed placed higher than 3rd -- he benefitted from the misfortunes of others, rather than to outrace them. Stewart simply dominated SX -- whether you love or hate the guy doesn't change that.

Well, he dominated RC, the Greatest of all time, in SX, during RC's prime. So, not sure why he's not deserving to be in that league. Oh, that's right, you have to dominate in MX, too. So, tell me why McGrath is in the list? People love to remember McG as dominant in SX and MX, but it's far from the truth.

I will agree that his longevity is in question due to the number of crashes he gets in, which takes its toll. I'd have to look up the Hurricane's numbers and RJ's, too, but I don't think JS is too far behind either in career SX wins.

If you don't like JS, that's fine. No problem with that. But some of the things you've said makes me think you've never actually watched these guys race.

 

Of the stops where RC raced, the results were:

Anahiem 1: JS, RC, CR

Phoenix : JS, RC, CR

San Francisco : RC, JS, CR

Atlanta : JS, RC, CR

St. Louis : RC, JS, CR

Daytona : JS, RC, CR

Orlando : JS, RC, CR


So JS won 5 of 7 w/RC winning 2 of 7 and you say RC dominated? Your memory is very poor if you think RC won all those races. And don't forget in St. Louis there was CR's takeout move on JS which wrecked JS putting him waaaay back in the pack, like 17th or something and he came back to not only pass and beat CR, but also give RC a run or he probably would have won that one too. In SX, JS is pretty much undisputed. Aside from the two races RC won, JS won every other race, even the races in Daytona and Orlando which were supposedly RC's "home tracks". RC is still the best outdoors, though, but I suspect JS is not really even in his prime yet.