2006 AMA Motocross Photo Gallery

On the heels of his perfect 1-1 weekend, Alessi inked a two-year extension with KTM - Hangtown

The kid did pretty well, and with a lot less controversy than last year's Hangtown - Hangtown

Langston hobbled his way through some laps in Moto 1 but pulled out and called it a day with his injured wrist - Hangtown

When you're an 18-year-old motocross prodigy, it's ok to get drenched with booze - Hangtown

The Yamaha of Troy contingency of Metcalfe and Andrew McFarlane is Australian and second-place in the championship after one round - Hangtown

Ricky got Moto 2 off with a holeshot and coasted from there - Hangtown

In his last full-time MX season, the GOAT wants to head out with another championship - Hangtown

Reed couldn't quite hold off Stewart long enough, succombing on the final lap of Moto 1 - Hangtown

Stewart is a hot commodity, breaking up Carmichael's stranglehold in the series - Hangtown

Let's hope that this season's outdoor series is as hard fought as the Supercross - Hangtown

Could this be a familiar sight in 2006? - Hangtown

Alessi won Moto 1 but stumbled in Moto 2 - High Point

Alessi went down in Moto 2, costing him a shot at his second overall of the season - High Point

Josh Grant made the podium twice with a pair of third-place finishes - High Point

Ryan Villopoto claimed the overall will a 2-1 performance - High Point

Ricky dominated Round 2 with a holeshot and a double victory - High Point

Millsaps was able to get on the podium, but has a lot of speed to make up if he wants to challenge for the win - High Point

Millsaps got his first taste of the 450 podium - High Point

Carmichael has the championship in his back pocket now - High Point

Stewart and Carmichael were dueling, until Stewart's crash - High Point

Chad Reed delivered his usual podium-worthy performance - High Point

Windham dropped out of Moto 1 but in the second race he finished just off the podium in fourth - High Point

Carmichael celebrates his perfect weekend - High Point

With Bubba’s rash of problems, Davi Millsaps is becoming a familiar face on the podium. - Southwick

With Bubba’s rash of problems, Davi Millsaps is becoming a familiar face on the podium. - Southwick

This is what the battle for the overall win came down to, a second-moto, throttle-pinned finish-line jump with feet of the pegs. If the best rider in the world has to pull this kind of stunt to pass James Stewart, you know those guys are going fast. - Southwick

Millsaps chased Carmichael in the second moto, earning third overall despite fading after trying to match RC’s furious pace. - Southwick

Andrew Short got the overall win with his 1-4 moto finishes. It was a good day for Honda. - Southwick

It wasn’t the result Ryan Villopoto was hoping for, but after a first-moto DNF, a fifth in the second race could prove vital later in the series. - Southwick

Brett Metcalfe is now in a tie for third place in the standings with Josh Grant. His runner-up in the sand was a big boost for the Aussie. - Southwick

After falling victim to a mechanical letdown, Grant Langston rallied to victory in Moto 2. - Southwick

Mike Alessi’s sand-riding skills were on display as he railed the soft berms. - Southwick

Sandblasted. Stewart tries to run and hide at Southwick.

RC followed Stewart for much of the first moto, waiting until the final stages to make his pass. It didn’t work out quite like he planned after the Makita Suzuki rider went down and handed the lead back to Stewart. - Southwick

Stewart and Carmichael started their day of epic battles under the sunny Massachusetts sky. It doesn’t get any better than this. - Southwick

The Red Bull KTM camp has reverted to physical punishment as motivation. Here Alessi tries to avoid the dreaded pitboard tomahawk. - Southwick

Grant Langston takes a breather after his Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki crapped out during the first moto. - Southwick

Andrew Short finally brought his winning ways outside proving that he’s more than capable of winning outside the confines of an SX track.- Southwick

Heroes of the sport. John Dowd, Roger Decoster and Doug Henry are living legends of American motocross. - Southwick

Sobe/Samsung’s Kevin Windham found the podium with a 5-3 tally. Hopefully this could be the jump-start he needs after a relatively slow first quarter. – Budds Creek

Without Stewart on site, RC ran away with the Budds Creek National. – Budds Creek

Jason Thomas was a nice addition to the top-five this weekend. Stewart’s no-show was good for someone at least. – Budds Creek

Carmichael takes on Jeff Gibson (48) early in a moto while Nick Wey (27) has his hands full with Robbie Reynard (17). - Budds Creek

Andrew McFarlane dices with Josh Grant in the first moto. Grant wound up on top finishing seventh with McFarlane right behind. – Budds Creek

It was all Ryan Villopoto at Budds Creek with the Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki taking his first sweep and second victory. – Budds Creek

It was good to have Broc Hepler back on his Makita Suzuki RM-Z250. The Pennsylvania native showed remarkable speed after such a long time off the bike. – Budds Creek

Motocross Lites warriors try to chase down the eventual race-winner Ryan Villopoto. – Budds Creek

Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi retains the championship points lead despite missing the podium for the first time this season. He finished a distant eighth courtesy of a 16th first-moto score. – Budds Creek

American Honda’s Andrew Short had to contend with a poor first-moto finish to land in the top-five. – Budds Creek

Despite his lackluster starts, Villopoto came through for his Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team and claimed his second overall of 2006. – Budds Creek

Ben Townley will make his return to racing at Red Bud.

Congrats Kelly Smith, you've made the 2006 AMA Motocross gallery! - Red Bud

KTM's Nate Ramsey is still in the top 10 put had a rotten outing at Red Bud, finishing 22nd - Red Bud

Josh Grant is doing his best, but Alessi and Villopoto are ripping it up - Red Bud

After Villopoto's start-to-finish victory in Moto 1, Alessi came back to take Moto 2 and retain his slim 5-point championship lead - Red Bud

Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto has his sights set on Alessi for the title - Red Bud

Carmichael was his usual dominating self in the Motocross class - Red Bud

Tim Ferry had one of his better outings with a 7-5 finish - Red Bud

After being the top-placed Honda and privateer in Supercross, Nick Wey has been a top 5 rider in Motocross - Red Bud

Chad Reed is pushing it, but when Stewart and Carmichael are on their game, third-place is the best he can hope for - Red Bud

Making the jump to the premier class, Davi Millsaps is a top 5 regular - Red Bud

The injury may have killed his championship hopes, but Stewart is still going to be gunning for some wins this year - Red Bud

GOAT - Red Bud

Ricky Carmichael thrills the crowd when he takes the inside away from Stewart - Red Bud

It’s quite likely that this will be Ricky Carmichael’s last race at the ‘Dilla. The GOAT won eight times for the fans in New York. - Unadilla

Villopoto tries to work his way around American Honda’s Andrew Short. - Unadilla

John Dowd made his second appearance of the 2006 season and scored another top-10 finish. He definitely still has it for being such an 'old guy.' - Unadilla

David Vuillemin was another rider who fared well, but not quite as well as he could have. DV is currently in seventh in the points. - Unadilla

It was good to have Michael Byrne back on the track as he made his 2006 outdoor season debut. Burner was a bit off the pace, but he was Kawasaki’s only presence with Stewart sitting this one out. - Unadilla

It’s quite likely that this will be Ricky Carmichael’s last race at the ‘Dilla. The GOAT won eight times for the fans in New York. - UnadillaChad Reed struggled a bit to find himself off the podium for the first time this season. - Unadilla

The Lites class battle continued at Unadilla. Ryan Villopoto (51) claimed the advantage this week, but the stacked cast of 250F riders leaves this division up in the air each week. - Unadilla

Nate Ramsey and Josh Grant came together at Unadilla. Rubbing is racing, as they say. - Unadilla

Brett Metcalfe dodges the rocky roost of the famous Unadilla circuit. - Unadilla

Andrew McFarlane is sitting pretty with a 4-4-4 tally last weekend and is within striking distance for fourth in the overall standings. Josh Grant is only three points ahead and McFarlane has been riding well. - Unadilla

The Red Bull KTM camp can’t be too disappointed with the weekend at Unadilla. Mike Alessi lost the lead for the title, but he managed to win the opening moto. - Unadilla

Davi Millsaps picked up a little bonus cash with the holeshot in this 450 moto. Davi-boy swapped 3-2 finishes with Kevin Windham with K-dub getting the overall nod. - Unadilla

Mitch Payton must be happy with the way his youngest rider is developing. Villopoto now has the championship lead and has claimed four overall victories. – Unadilla

Carmichael made it another 1-1 performance. With Stewart on the sidelines, RC is back to his boring self. - Unadilla

Andrew Short has been making a push in the points standings. He’s currently in third after his runner-up finish in New York. - Unadilla

Andrew Short was on fire after losing his hometown race to a mechanical problem. Denying the factory Honda rider two years in a row at Thunder Valley has lit a fire under his butt-patch. - Washougal

Honda’s Davi Millsaps does his best to be seen after holeshotting Moto 1. His time at the helm was limited as Carmichael and Stewart raged through the pack. - Washougal

Didn’t they name this move after him or something? - Washougal

Sobe/Samsung/Honda’s Josh Grant had his best race of the season. After dominating the East Coast Supercross Lites, it was a little letdown to have Grant missing from the podium for so long. - Washougal

Bubba was back to his normal self, and the battle between him and Carmichael had every fan on their feet. - Washougal

Chris Gosselaar was the quickest of the gate in Moto 2, but he had some fast number plates that wouldn’t stay in his mirrors for long. - Washougal

This wasn’t the kind of fan interaction that Ryan Villopoto was hoping for at his hometown race in Washougal. A first-moto DNF left RV on the sidelines instead of the podium. - Washougal

Makita Suzuki's Broc Hepler took the Lites overall - Millville 2006

A lonely figure stands, poised to get the mudfest underway - Millville 2006

David Vuillemin took second overall in the MX class - Millville 2006

When the mud settled, Carmichael had passed everyone in Moto 2 (That's lapping the field, past second pace) - Millville 2006

MX Moto 2 action gets underway - Millville 2006

Hang Loose Chad, one more year and that pesky No. 4 guy will be gone and it will be you and Bubba battling for the titles - Millville 2006

Yamaha's Chad Reed calls it a season after dislocating his shoulder in Moto 2 at Millville

Josh Hansen made his first appearance outdoors aboard a 2007 KTM 250 SX-F. He finished 20th. – Steel City

Chris Gosselaar finished inside the top-10 at Steel City in what has been a slow outdoor season for the Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider. – Steel City

Ryan Mills has been switching between the 250F and 450 class all season. A third in Moto 1 should be enough to keep him in the big-boy’s division. – Steel City

Stewart nabbed another $500 check from Racer X for this Moto 2 holeshot. – Steel City

Josh Grant returned to form and found the podium in the Lites class. – Steel City

Ryan Villopoto is in firm command of the championship. A decent showing at Glen Helen will give the Washington youngster his first major title. – Steel City

Zach Osborne won his qualifier and ran towards the front for awhile on Sunday. – Steel City

Makita Suzuki’s Broc Hepler got the jump on his Lites classmates and is steamrolling the final half of the series. Iceman has been working the circuit with three straight wins and is enjoying a few uncharacteristic holeshots. – Steel City

Ryan Mills apparently didn’t have the energy to enjoy his third-place Moto 1 with his ecstatic crew. The day soured for Mills with a DNF in the second outing but his early performance was the best to date. – Steel City

If it weren’t for a second-moto crash, James Stewart might have upset Ricky Carmichael’s big day. As it was, things stayed the same with Stewart hitting the ground and Carmichael hitting his stride. – Steel City

Thanks to a heavy dose of rain on Friday and Saturday, the Steel City course became loaded with treacherously deep ruts. Davi Millsaps stayed focused throughout for fourth overall. – Steel City

Red Bull KTM’s Mike Alessi attempts to reduce the likeliness of cross-rutting by using only one wheel. – Steel City

Villopoto’s sometimes erratic style has been working for him this season. Another runner-up in Pennsylvania put him more than a full moto ahead of his nearest competition. – Steel City

Mike Alessi rode two strong, clean motos for Red Bull KTM. He finished second on the day and for the season. – Glen Helen

Villopoto powered to the front of both races and walked away with a Lites class championship. – Glen Helen

Brett Metcalfe charges down one of four downhill sections on the renovated Glen Helen circuit. – Glen Helen

Stewart led Moto 1 through the infamous Talladega first turn before getting passed a few laps later by Ricky Carmichael. Stewart won the moto thanks to a rare crash by RC. – Glen Helen

Nick Wey was the top privateer in the outdoor Nationals. That’s like winning a championship for 80% of the field. – Glen Helen

It wasn’t the storybook ending to Carmichael’s phenomenal career, but fans were happy just to know that the shoulder injury wasn’t more severe. – Glen Helen

RV51 had a cool set of riding gear himself as he debuted the Team USA Thor outfit for later this month. – Glen Helen

James Stewart races towards the of Mt. Saint Helens and Old Glory. – Glen Helen

Stewart’s Team USA gear looked great in the late afternoon sunlight. With the way he’s been riding lately it is certain that he’ll succeed in Europe. – Glen Helen

Kevin Windham finished second overall for the season. - Glen Helen

Welcome to the outdoors. – Glen Helen

James Stewart was pumped to finish the season on a winning note. Now he intends to carry that over to England for the MXdN. – Glen Helen

This could be the first of many for young Villopoto. – Glen Helen