ONE PHOTO & ONE STORY: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

On Jan 20, 2016 Last updated Jul 30, 2016

By John Basher

The 2007 AMA 450 Nationals were a changing of the guard. Ricky Carmichael was on his way out. He raced an abridged season in his last year as a Pro. The Makita Suzuki rider won the opening five Nationals of the series, only losing one moto to James Stewart in the process. Carmichael held a 16-point lead on Stewart after Red Bud, with a massive 62-point gap back to Tim Ferry in third place. Then, as Ricky promised before the season began, he parked his bike in the pits, only to return a month later at Millville for the final 450 National of his career.

Several stories developed during Carmichael’s absence between Red Bud and Millville. (1) James Stewart took control of the series, only to crash in practice at Unadilla and skip both motos after sustaining a concussion. However, he came back at Thunder Valley, won the overall, and took the first moto victory at Washougal. But then…(2) In the second moto at Washougal James Stewart went down hard and tweaked his knee. It spelled disaster and squashed his 450 outdoor title hopes–a title he was supposed to win. (3) Kawasaki teammate, Tim Ferry, quietly chipped away at Stewart’s lead. With Bubba out of the running, Ferry seemed rejuvenated by the opportunity to capitalize on his great fortune. He went 1-11-1-2-2 in the five motos leading up to Millville. (4) Similarly, Grant Langston emerged as a sudden challenger for the crown. The South African trailed Tim Ferry by 27 points as the series headed to Minnesota, but he was gaining market share after winning the second moto at Washougal. (5) Andrew Short, then riding for factory Honda, was making headway in his battle for the title. Short wasn’t overly impressive through the first half of the series, but like Ferry and Langston, he saw opportunity.

Ricky Carmichael walked away from the field at Millville. It was a storybook ending to a masterful career (capped off by Carmichael piloting Team USA to the MXDN win two months later on home soil). Behind RC was where the real stories were taking shape. Grant Langston went 2-2 and cut deeply into Tim Ferry’s lead (going from 27 down to a mere 11 points) after Ferry turned in 8-6 scores. Andrew Short went 3-5 for fourth and pulled up into a tie with Ferry for the points lead. Mike Alessi crept into the picture, as he was only 19 adrift of the leaders.

ASIDE FROM WINNING THREE STRAIGHT NATIONAL OVERALLS TO CAP OFF THE SERIES, LANGSTON IS PERHAPS BEST REMEMBERED FOR HIS BLEACH-BLOND HAIRDO. IT WAS A FASHION NIGHTMARE, BUT THAT LIKELY DIDN’T MATTER TO GRANT, WHO LAUGHED ALL OF THE WAY TO THE BANK AFTER COLLECTING A COOL MILLION DOLLAR BONUS FROM YAMAHA FOR WINNING THE TITLE.

The final three Nationals proved advantageous for one and unfortunate for three others. Grant Langston rode like a man possessed, winning the last three overalls and scoring no worse than third place. Grant started the season so unimpressively. He went 6-5 for fifth overall at Hangtown. However, he flipped the script at the end of the 2007 Nationals and won his one and only 450 National title by 16 points over Mike Alessi. Aside from winning three straight National overalls to cap off the series, Langston is perhaps best remembered for his bleach-blond hairdo. It was a fashion nightmare, but that likely didn’t matter to Grant, who laughed all of the way to the bank after collecting a cool million dollar bonus from Yamaha for winning the title. At one time Langston had the check framed on a wall in his office. Fortunately he no longer has the bottle-blond hair.

Somehow the MXA wrecking crew managed to collect the top factory bike from every manufacturer and tested each within a two-week period. I rode Ricky Carmichael’s Suzuki RM-Z450 at Budds Creek the day after the Motocross des Nations. It wasn’t an enjoyable ride. I also rode Grant Langston’s Yamaha YZ450F, Mike Alessi’s KTM 450SXF, Andrew Short’s Honda CRF450, and Tim Ferry’s Kawasaki KX450F. Alessi’s Katoom was far and away the fastest bike in the bunch. Shorty’s Honda was preferred most by our Pro-level testers. Langston’s Yamaha was decent in all areas, but not outstanding anywhere. Of all the bikes, Tim Ferry’s Kawasaki was my favorite. Why? Unlike so many factory bikes, Ferry’s KX450F was actually fun to ride. Conversely, James Stewart’s KX450F, which I rode a year later, couldn’t have been more different.

The photo above was taken at Glen Helen during our test of Tim Ferry’s 2007 Kawasaki KX450F. Daryl Ecklund bravely blipped the throttle and launched Ferry’s ultra-expensive factory bike into the air. Fortunately he saved it, or else Kawasaki would have pulled the plug on our test and I never would have been able to throw a leg over Timmy’s steed. Luck was on my side that day.