The whoops that followed weren't that deep, but it's safer that way and we all know that the three most skilled riders would win on a super tough track anyway. With a safe track design it's harder to get hurt. After the whoops they crossed the starting straight and went into a 90 degree left hander 
straight into a triple followed by a double. 90 degree left, 180 degree left, the finish jump and then a 180 degree left hander back to the first straight should make a circle. The track was challenging and even the KTM kids showed some serious speed. 
Being in a full stadium is awesome. When the stadium hosts close to 70.000 people, the scene for this SX race was insane. The pits itself is definitely worth a visit. The 18-wheeled trucks are gigantic and it seems like every team has one (or two). Energy drink companies are jumping in and they bring free Bookoo, Monster, RedBull, Unbound and NoFear cans and hot chicks to give them away. Riders chill in super big RV's these days while the mechanics are making sure the bikes are in top shape. It's all set up pretty professionally with tricked out golf carts driving around and catering going on at each team. It's come a long way since Pierre Karsmakers won his first SX title. 
Back to the track. For most privateers making it to the night program is the main goal. They know it's hard to compete with the well paid factory riders who do get all the support in the world and have personal trainers on their side to make sure they are in top shape. For privateers to make it to the select few, all they can do is go to the races and show what they've got. If they've got skills and speed, maybe some team manager will notice and will offer a factory ride. Until then, for most of them it's survival and trying to line up on the gate for the first qualifying night race. Check the results to see what privateers made it to the finals but we'll fast forward straight to the finals.
"Lites" (125cc). I called out Mike Alessi (800) to grab the holeshots and he did. This to the excitement of one of the members of the Dutch Special Forces who sat next to me. Haro sponsored Andrew Short took over not too long after while #132 (Laninovich) was all the way in the back and other title contender Grant Langston had to come from the back as well. He was charging though and making ground on leader Short. Nate Ramsey started in third and soon grabbed Mike Alessi for second place. Langston was flying through the pack and with a couple of laps to go the South African grabbed Mike Alessi. It could have been an ugly pass but it was clean this time. 
Next up was #25 Nate Ramsey and Grant moved into second with a lap to go. Some lappers didn't really understand what this blue flag with yellow cross means (you're being lapped, make room) which held up the Pro Circuit Kawasaki enough for Short to win the race and take the lead in the Championship.
"Supercross" (250cc). There were some privateers trying to qualify on a 250cc two stroke but non of them made it. THis means the SX class was 4-stroke 450F only. With James Stewart and Ricky Carmichael diving into the first turn in first and second, there was no excuse for either one to blame lappers or a bad start for the loss of the race. They were out in front and running away quick. 7-time supercross champion Jeremy McGrath was in third doing it for his home crowd and he actually looked really good. If you're beating your factory Honda team mates by a lot, you still have a place in supercross. What about Chad Reed? It took him a bit to pass # 2 (McGrath) and by that time RC and Bubba had already taken off. 
Goonride King Cobra (David Vuillemin) had the worst start and played catch up for the rest of the night. Golden boy Mike "the rock" Larocco rode invisibly to 5th place. There's not a lot of excitement going on in the Larocco camp but the SX-only rider still scored the points and in the end, consistency is key. Up front is where the action was. Ricky was leading 16 laps with Bubba on his tail. Was Bubba playing and checking RC's lines? Who knows but he definitely was faster. This showed when, with three laps to go, Kyle Lewis screwed up Bubba's line and RC got a bigger lead because of it. In no time Bubba was back on RC's tail and in lap 18 James made the move by jumping the "Industry Seating" triple on the inside and moving RC up in the following 180 degree left hander. The crowd went nuts when Bubba came out in front. With 2 laps to go, RC did not have a counter attack in him and the Kawasaki rider whipped his 450F to victory in Qualcomm stadium.If you have the chance to go to an Amp'd Mobile supercross we can advise to check it out. If you're into MX, go there early to walk the pits and feel the vibe. If the racing will be as exciting as we saw in San Diego, that we cannot promise.
BdJ
Results heat one 125cc class (Lites)- 1. Andrew Short
2. Billy Laninovich
3. Mike Alessi
4. Ryan Morais
5. Jake Weimer
6. Darcy Lange
7. Jason Lawrence
8. Kyle Partridge
9. Justin Keeney
Results heat two 125cc class (Lites)
1. Villepoto
2. Langston
3. Abrigo
4. Ramsey
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Results Qualifying race one 250cc (SX class)
- James Stewart
- Chad Reed
- Jeremy McGrath
- Tyler Evans
Results Qualifying race two 250cc (SX class)
- Ricky Carmichael
- Michael Byrne
- Mike LaRocco
- Ernesto Fonseca
Results 125cc Last Chance qualifier
- Eric Sorby
- Brett Metcalfe
- Daniel Sani
- Eric Nye
Results 250 semi one:
- Ivan Tedesco
- Jiri Dostal
- Jeff Dement
- Jason Thomas
- David Vuillemin
Results 250cc semi two
- Erick Vallejo
- Tim Ferry
- Jeff Gibson
- Travis Preston
- Kyle Lewis
Results 250cc Last Chance to Qualify:
- Nick Wey
- Clark Stiles
Results 125cc class main event:
- Andrew Short (Honda)
- Grant Langston (Kawasaki)
- Nate Ramsey (KTM)
- Mike Alessi (KTM)
- Ryan Villopoto (Kawasaki)
- Brett Metcalfe (Yamaha)
- Darcy Lange (Kawasaki)
- Ryan Morais (Suzuki)
- Jake Weimer (Honda)
- Paul Carpenter (Honda)
- Billy Laninovich (Honda)
- Justin Brayton (Yamaha)
- Michael Sleeter (KTM)
- Sean Collier (Yamaha)
- Colton Facciotti (Kawasaki)
- Ryan Abrigo (Honda)
- Eric Sorby (Honda)
- Justin Keeney (Honda)
- Eric Nye (Yamaha)
- Daniel Sani (Honda)
- Kyle Partridge (Yamaha)
- Jason Lawrence (Suzuki)
Results 250cc class main event San Diego
- 1. James Stewart (Kawasaki)
2. Ricky Carmichael (Suzuki)
3. Chad Reed (Yamaha)
4. Jeremy McGrath (Honda)
5. Mike LaRocco (Honda)
6. Ivan Tedesco (Suzuki)
7. Michael Byrne (Kawasaki)
8. Nick Wey (Honda)
9. Ernesto Fonseca (Honda)
10. Erick Vallejo (Honda)
11. Tim Ferry (Honda)
12. Kyle Lewis (Honda)
13. Jeff Gibson (Honda)
14. Jiri Dostal (Yamaha)
15. Clark Stiles (Yamaha)
16. Jason Thomas (Honda)
17. Tyler Evans (Suzuki)
18. David Vuillemin (Honda)
19. Jeff Dement (Suzuki)
20. Travis Preston (Honda)
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.