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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126913
(Above) Rick Johnson showed his backside to the rest of the 250cc cia.. et High Point Ree_ay; (Below) Johnson gets the second moto holeshot. Jeff Ward (above) won the first moto. but finished second to Johnson in the final heat. Johnson reversed that order to take the overall. AlMA National Championship ,"X Series: Round 4 Johns~n, Dymond dominate Mt. Morris By Farren Williams Photos by Larry Bell and Williams MT. MORRIS, PA, MAY 25 Honda's Rick Johnson w.on an all-out, twomoto war with Kawasaki's Jeff Ward at High Point Raceway today, claiming his fourth National motocross victory in as many outings. Micky Dymond made the Pennsylvania Wise'co/Team Green National an American Honda sweep by tak- 10 ing- the 125cc class victory over U.S. Suzuki's Erik Kehoe. Johnson's win stretched his already impressive points lead in the battle for the 250cc National Championship, while Dymond took the top spot in.the 125cc points standings and became the fourth rider in four races to claim a National 125cc win. Johnson had six National moto wins in six attempts going into the race, but Ward immediately put a blight on that perfect record with a first molO holeshot that he held all the way to the finish, beating Johnson at the nag by little more than a bikelength. Johnson was forced lO slow midway through the race when his engine sucked in a cloud of dust and threatened seizure for severa I laps. He spent m~t of the last half of the molO biding time in second, and was lucky lO hold on until the finish. The American Honda ace answered Ward by being the first rider out of the gate at the start of the second molO, and went on lO lead from wireto-wire. Team Green's defending 250cc National Champ knocked on Johnson's door from the time the gate dropped until the moment the checkered flag fell, but he cou Id never get close enough to make a pass. Erik Kehoe blasted his way LO an impressive victory with a holeshotto-checkered-f1ag win in the afternoon's first 125cc moLO, but was forced LO surrender overall honors LO the more consistent Dymond (2-1). Kehoe got caught in traffic at the start of the second moto and could only manage LO work his way from 11th at the start to fourth at the flag. Dymond was' less than a bikelength behind Kehoe out of the gate in the first moLO, and folJowed up by taking the holeshot himself at the beginning of the second moto. Because of excessive dust late in the day, holeshots became very important at High Point Raceway. As the day progressed, the back section of the course became mOre and more dusty, reducing visibility and making passing all but impossible. A one-eighth-mile section of track became so dusty that officials decided at intermission lO remove it from the course when they couldn't get a water truck into the area. "[t was really LOugh," said Ward after the second 250cc moLO. "The track in back isoff-eamber. [couldn't get dose to Rick because of the dust. Out front it wasa lot easier. Through the back section, because of the powder berms, he was shooting up dust and [ couldn't see. He went 100% the whole wa y. If [' d have been in front it wou Id have been the same thing. [ think [ would have won the race." 250cc National Ward was first off the line when the gate dropped in the initial molO, leading Johnson, factory Yamaha rid- er Danny Storbeck and Honda's Johnny "O'Show" O'Mara into the tight, uphill, left-hander that constituted the first turn. By the time the pack reached turn four, Ward was setting the pace for fellow Kawasaki pilots Billy Liles (sponsored by Bullet Racing), and Alan King (backed by Tuf Racing). The O'Show was running fifth and Johnson had dropped to seventh. At the end of lap one, Ward held a 15-second lead over Liles, and Storbeck had worked his way into third place. Following the top trio on the first go-around were King, Kawasaki's Ron Lechien, Johnson, O'Mara and American Honda's David Bailey. Former National Champion Bob Hannah, who was riding his second National this year after recovering from a broken collarbone, was well back in 23rd position. Hannah, who was suffering from a severe head cold, reportedly spent the entire Saturday before the race in bed. Johnson showed his stuff on lap two, moving from sixth LO second place in only one trip around the track. By the time he began lap three, Johnson had the distant Ward in his sights. Storbeck still was running third, Lechien had moved into fourth, and Liles rounded out the top five. [n positions sixth through 10 were Bailey,. Yamaha-mounted Mark Murphy of Florida, Eric EaLOn, (sponsored by Hi-Point/YamahalArai) of Washington, Ohio's Jeff Hicks, and Prol Am rider Mike Morris of Kentucky. Ward stayed well out in front the next few laps with a lead ranging 'anywhere fTom. 12 to 14 seconds. Johnson, meanwhile, was struggling with a motorcycle on the edge of seizure after a wad of dust had been sucked into the en,gine. His nearDNF didn't cost him a position, but it did allow Ward LO stetch his lead. By lap six, Baily was riding on Liles' rear fender. pushing for third, while O'Mara followed the duo in fifth. Baily got around Liles on the next lap, O'Mara held position, and sixth-running King led Lechien, Stor-