Ricky Carmichael, the GOAT of Motocross
Motocross is an extremely dangerous sport with a high risk of getting injured, permanently disabled, or worse, facing death. That is why being called the Greatest of all time, in this sport is a very difficult achievement. Despite of the fatal nature of
the sport, there are many great motocross riders, such as Mike Alessi and Stefan Evarts. However, there is one rider who stands out from all the rest. The truly greatest of all times Ricky Carmichael is one of the best motocross has ever seen. Born on November
27th1979 in the city of Clearwater Florida, Carmichael stands unrivalled against many other motocross riders in the world. Spoken about with pride by his fans and with fear by his competitors, Ricky Carmichael was given the prestigious nickname
of GOAT (an acronym for Greatest of All Time).
Carmichael made his debut at Professional Motocross after a prosperous amateur run in 1997 for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team. His unique, fast and unpredictable style of riding during the Super-cross won him many events. Even though he won so many events,
he lost the title to Tim Ferry, who rode for the Suzuki Team. Carmichael felt more at home, riding in the outdoor events. He went on to defeat the defending champion Steve Lamson and won first place in the event including the title, all in his rookie year.
In 1998, Carmichael wowed the world by winning all 8 events in the 125 class East Region event as well as the East West Shoot out. When he was outdoors, he easily defended his title against challenging riders such as Steve Lamson, John Dowd and Mike Brown.
In the year 1999, Carmichael decided to try out the 250cc Class, so he joined the Kawasaki Factory Team. He started the year out well, but a crash caused him to take some time off, thus finishing in 10th place. Next year in 2000, he was more consistent,
being a regular in the top 5 list (including his win in Daytona). He also decided to go 250cc class permanently. He had no trouble with the bigger bike and won the 250-National Championship in his very first try. A feat not easily achieved.
In 2001, Ricky Carmichael showed a new interest and commitment to fitness and preparation. The result was him winning 13 out of 15 events thus winning the championship that year. In 2002, the GOAT decided to switch to Honda, but suffered a horrible “endo”
(a motocross stunt) and received no points. He made a fierce come back and won 11 out of 16 races and the title over racer David Vuillemin. He also won all of the “motos” that same year in the 2002 National season. This feat was thought impossible by all the
critics. In 2003, he won both Super-cross and National titles once again, winning 7 races indoors and 9 races outdoors.
However, in the year 2004, Carmichael suffered from torn ligaments and meniscus, but came back to win 24 motos (all the ones he raced in) and all of the 12 overalls. The amazing thing is that it was his first time ever riding an event on a 4 stroke bike.
Carmichael was considered the underdog in the 2005 season due to his absence the year before. He regained his Super-cross titles with 7 wins. He went on to win 12 events in the 250cc Outdoor National Championships by winning 22 of the 24 motos along with the
US Open of Super-cross. He also led the USA team in the “Motocross De Nations” that year. 2005 was also the year when he tried his 4 stroke bike indoors for the first time and won against James “bubba” Stewart. 2006 was the last fulltime season Ricky Carmichael
ever raced in. He planned to retire the next year. He raced in the 2006 Outdoor National Championship; however he did not complete it due to another crash. He still got the Championship title due to the points he had racked up in the previous races. He was
unable to race in the Motocross of Nations that year.
He was replaced by fellow rider Ivan Tedesco who won the event. As he claimed, Ricky Carmichael stopped racing fulltime, and started to race in partial events for Makita Suzuki, at the same time pursuing his new career as a stock car racer. After 3 Super-cross
wins, 6 Outdoor Champion Events, the X-Games, and the first Motocross de Nations to be held in the United States of America since 1897, that year, Carmichael hung his helmet and retired from motocross.
If you note something while reading this article, there is one word that is not used throughout. That word is loss. Ricky Carmichael was so good that he won 140 races and only lost 38 times making a total of 250 races raced in his career. His career percentage
was 78.6%. After reading Carmichael’s statistics, it becomes clearly obvious why people call him the “Greatest of All Time” or the “GOAT of motocross racing”.
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