It was called, The Perfect Storm, and it pretty much turned into one of the true mud races in the history of AMA supercross championships. The 2005 season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California and the home of the most anticipated event in American motorcycle racing didn't disappoint and was the perfect intro into one of the all-time great seasons in USA.

The event was billed as the most historical Supercross race of all time - thanks to the dream line-up of past and present Superstars, however due to the heavy rain, both qualifying and the main event were condensed.

Chad Reed the defending champion, Carmichael in his first outing with Suzuki and James Stewart making his 450 debut, it had all the elements of a stunning nights racing.

Carmichael, Stewart and Reed despising each other and even getting interviews, or even comments with those three was difficult for the World’s best media. It was for me, the most toxic era I have ever had to deal with in my 40 years in the sport and to be honest, as good as the racing was and as harsh these three were to each other, it wasn't fun to cover.

As a media guy, who would fly to America from Europe for several rounds of the AMA championship (each season) and tried to make the trips worthwhile financially, it become a horrible experience and fighting jet-lag every year, and also the frustration of the riders not being open to talk to ANYONE, I made this my last ever visit to A1, some 20 years ago. The mud at A1 2005 was the final straw that made me see the light, instead just sitting back and watching it online back home in The Netherlands with some beers.

Heading into the 250cc main event, everyone expected a lot of drama and action, and as the riders struggled mightily on the treacherous Anaheim mud, the favourites for the 2005 AMA supercross championship struggled big time.

Carmichael would lead the first four laps before crashing, allowing Windham to pass for the lead, and it would be the 2004 championship runner-up who eventually took the chequered flag on a chaotic night which saw nearly every rider, including Windham, crash or stall.

As mentioned, it was Carmichael who grabbed the holeshot, and he began pulling away until about the halfway mark of the abbreviated 12-lap final. That’s when Carmichael went down in the mud and struggled to get his bike picked up. That left Windham with the lead and despite a crash of his own, Windham was able to hold on to win the race.

Despite falling a couple of more times, Carmichael eventually worked his way up to finish third behind Windham’s teammate Mike LaRocco, making it a 1-2 sweep for the Amsoil/Chaparral Honda team. Carmichael escaped another close call when he was informed that he was penalized five seconds for riding on the track backwards after his first fall, but he still managed to retain third – just a half second ahead of his teammate Sebastian Tortelli.

Fifth place went to Kawasaki’s James “Bubba” Stewart, who was making his debut in the 250cc class. After winning the first of two heat races, Stewart ended up struggling in the muddy main after crashing a couple of times.

As for defending champ Chad Reed, he too suffered a couple of crashes but was seriously slowed by a mud-packed front wheel that refused to turn after one of his crashes. He was forced to stop for repairs and ended up 16th.

The drama of the perfect storm was over, but the 2005 season would be one of the best ever, with the big three all showing why we loved this era so much. Tough to cover, but great to watch.

Results – A1 2005

250: 1. Kevin Windham (Hon); 2. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 3. Ricky Carmichael (Suz); 4. Sebastien Tortelli (Suz); 5. James Stewart (Kaw); 6. Nick Wey (Hon); 7. David Vuillemin (Yam); 8. Jeff Gibson (Hon); 9. Ernesto Fonseca (Hon); 10. Travis Pastrana (Suz); 11. Heath Voss (Yam); 12. Tyler Evans (Suz); 13. Michael Byrne (Kaw); 14. Joseph Oehlhof (Hon); 15. Damon Huffman (Hon); 16. Chad Reed (Yam); 17. Antonio Jorge Balbi Junior (Hon); 18. Kyle Lewis (Hon); 19. Robbie Reynard (Hon); 20. Jeremy McGrath (Hon).

Geoff Meyer story and gallery