Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126905
.-. ..... ... 0- < Johnny O'Mara (above) briefly leads Hangtown winner Ricky Johnson in the first 260cc moto. Keith Bowen (9, below left) and Micky Dymond during one of the best dices of t he day in the second 125cc mota. Erik Kehoe (8 , below right) won the 125cc class, while George Holland (1 1) took fifth. AMA National Motocross Series: RoundZ Johnson, Kehoe split Rangtown • wins By Kit Palmer SACRAMENTO. CA , MAR. 6 T ea m H o nda 's Ricky Joh n so n and Su zu ki 's Erik Kehoe each collected hard-fought wins at this year's Dir t Diggers H angtown National MX Classic in Sacramento. Johnson com10 bined a fla w less 1-1 ta lly to 'cap tu re the -250cc -win: while I• victory.we n t 2-1 for th e 125cc Keh oe Both riders worked hard for th eir wins , despite J oh nson making his doubl e-rnoto win look a lm os t easy o n the fast , two-mile-long Prairie City OHV Park tra ck. Johnson , a Honda factory rider from EI Cajon, California, admitted th e win wasn 't a s ea sy a s it looked. In both rnotos, J ohnson took ea rly leads a n d proceed ed to ra ce to victory, despite press u re from hi s teammate , J ohnn y O'Mara, who is still recuperating from a knee injury. Leading briefl y in th e fir st moto , O 'M ara spent th e rest o f the day eating J ohnson 's dust a nd ended up with secon d overall , wh ile Yamaha 's Broc G lover claimed third overa ll with a 3-5 combination , In th e 125cc cla ss, Honda 's Mi ck y Dymond, from Yorba L inda , Californ ia , clearly smoked every body in th e first rnoto , despite having a broken foot su ffered at the Daytona Supercross nearl y a month ago, while Kehoe finish ed seco nd. In th e second mot o , however, th e rol e was reversed , whi ch ga ve Kehoe th e overa ll. Kehoe an d hi s fa ctory Suzuki took over th e lead a few la ps into th e seco n d m oro and p u lled away fro m th e pack, while Dvrn ond and Ya m aha 's Keith Bow en put on a spectac u lar h owe ba ttl in g over th e seco nd spo t. An estimated 12,000 specta tors at- _ tended the Swift Dodge Truck-spon so red Hangrown motocross, where th e track h eld up well throughout th e da y with minimal dust. Local hero Danny " Magoo" Chandler, who's now para lyzed from the shoulders down following a Paris supercross accident. made h is first public appearance at Hangtown since th e cra sh. 250cc National O'Mara blasted into th e lead at the start of the first 250cc rnoto, closely followed by Johnson , Kawasaki 's Billy Liles, Yamaha 's Jim Holley, Honda rid er Kell y Andri s, Glover, Hondam ounted J eff Hi cks, Honda's David Bail ey, Yamaha 's Danny Storbeck an d Honda pilot Brian Manl ey. A few turns lat er , Liles cras hed an d dropped to l Oth, O 'Mara and John son qui ckl y p u lle d away from th e rest o f th e pack , wh ile Gl over m oved into fourth an d sta rte d ga in in g o n H oll ey. At th e same time, 250cc Nati on al Ch ampion J eff Ward was trying to overcome a n l lth -p lace start. During th e th ird lap,J oh nson mad e h is move and slip ped by O 'Mara , ta ki ng over the lead, wh ile Gl over