EVERY RIDER TO EARN A POINT IN 2003–MAY 20

It used to be that Supercross points were hard to come by and AMA National points were easy. Not this year. Since most of the major stars were injured during the 2003 Supercross series, riders who have never finished in the top 20 in an outdoor race were making main events in the Supercross series. Now the tables have turned. The AMA 125/250 Nationals have started and all of the stars are back in action (save for Travis Pastrana, James Stewart, Branden Jesseman and Danny Smith). Getting a top ten finish is out of the question for the majority of riders and earning a point (or a handful of points) becomes the goal.

HOW MANY PEOPLE EARN POINTS?

How hard is it to earn a point? Very hard. The AMA awards points to the top 20 finishers in every moto, which means that after two rounds (four motos) there have been 80 potential points paying positions in the 125 and 250 respectively. So, how many riders have taken advantage of those 80 possibilities? 34 riders in the 125 class have earned at least one point and 33 in the 250 class. The winner of a moto gets 25 points, and the rest of the field gets proportionally less–down to one point for 20th place.

HOW TOUGH IS IT TO EARN A POINT

How tough is it? Let’s put it this way, after four motos (two 125 Nationals) David Pingree only has one point more than James Stewart, who hasn’t raced a 125 National this year. Even worse, Pingree is 88 points behind Mike Brown–that is more than three motos behind after only four motos.

But Ping is better off than Steve Lamson, Shane Bess, Paul Veracka, Michael Blose, Colt Humphrey, Erick Vallejo and Casey Johnson. These riders have had enough trouble with injuries, bike problems, crashes and bad starts that they haven’t earned a single point in the 125 class. In the 250 class, Ryan Clark, Blair Morgan, Jason McCormick, Spud Walters and Travis Pastrana have failed to earn points so far (and Travis has decided not to seek any further points because of a knee injury).

WHO HAS EARNED POINTS SO FAR?

The MXA wrecking crew has compiled a complete list of every rider to earn and point so far (after Glen Helen and Hangtown). This is the most important list in AMA National motocross–at least to the riders trying to make it on the National circuit.

125 CLASS POINTS

(After two rounds of 12)
89…….Mike Brown
88…….Ryan Hughes
76…….Eric Sorby
76…….Grant Langston
57…….Brock Sellards
51…….Brett Metcalfe
50…….Steve Boniface
43…….Mike Brandes
42…….Ivan Tedesco
42…….Chris Gosselaar
30…….Stephane Roncada
26…….Steve Mertens
21…….Brian Gray
20…….Andrew Short
20…….Michael Byrne
18…….Billy Laninovich
18…….Craig Anderson
15…….Tim Weigand
15…….Darryl Hurley
14……Josh Hansen
13…….Kelly Smith
10…….Troy Adamsÿ
8…….Buddy Antunezÿ
7…….Ryan Millills
7…….Mathiew Lalloz
5……Turbo Reif
4…….Bobby Kiniry
4…….Jeremy Chaussee
3…….K. Toda
2…….Sean Collier
2…….Richie Owensÿ
1…….David Pingree
1…….Tucker Hibbert

NO 125 POINTS

Shane Bess
Paul Veracka
Michael Blose
Colt Humphrey
Steve Lamson
Erick Vallejo
Casey Johnson

250 CLASS POINTS

(After two rounds of 12)
97…….Ricky Carmichael
82…….Chad Reed
76…….Tim Ferry
69…….Kevin Windham
61…….Mike Larocco
54…….Ezra Lusk
47…….Larry Ward
37…….Sean Hamblin
35…….John Dowd
33…….Sebastien Tortelli
32…….David Vuillemin
30…….Nick Wey
29…….Robbie Reynard
28…….Kyle Lewis
27…….Ernesto Fonseca
25…….Greg Albertyn
17…….Nathan Ramse
16…….Bobby Bonds
15…….Joaquin Rodrigues
13…….Craig Decker
11…….A. Narita
10…….Evan Laughridge
7…….Jason Thomas
6…….Pierre Paget
5…….Keith Johnson
5…….Clark Stiles
5…….Damien Plotts
3…….Chris Wheeler
3…….Jeff Northrop
2…….Keith Johnson
2…….James Povolny
1…….Heath Voss
1…….Joe Oehlhof
ÿ

NO 250 POINTS

Ryan Clark
Blair Morgan
Jason McCormick
Spud Walters
Travis Pastrana