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/127123
Jeff Matiasevich (2 0 1 ) and Mike Kiedrowski bang handlebars in the 125cc class. Matiasevich went 5-6 for fifth overall. AMA Bel-Ray 2S0cc/RK Chain 12Scc National Championship MX Series: Round 1 Ward, Kehoe grab Gatorback opener By Tom Mueller GA INESVILLE, FL, FEB. 28 Team Honda's Ric"k Johnson leads 250cc winner Jeff Ward at t he National MX series opener in Gainesville. Florida. Ward went 2 -1 . George Holland (3) chases Erik Kehoe (9) in the second 125cc moto. Kehoe and Holland t raded 1 -2 scores with Kehoe getting the overall. 8 Kawasaki 's j eff Ward and Suzuki's Erik Kehoe took the 250 and 125cc overall wins, respectively, in the opening rou nd of th e 1988 Bel- Ray sponsored Nationals a t Ga torback MX Park. Ward's never-l et-up attitude was th e key to his victory as ' S ' t h e 87 upercross c h a m p h ounded H on da 's Ri ck J ohnson Lhroughout ~he da y. Johnson topped moto one ~lt~ W~d second, but It was Ward In first In moto two after J ohnson's rear brake assembl y let loose. late in the mot o. K;awasak i's Lechien felt ,?oo d a bou t hIS 4-2 day , good for third overall , and new Yamaha teamster Micke y Dymond stayed clos e to th e pa ce with a 3-6 for fourth overall. Kehoe and newly-signed Honda rider George Holland were th e trendse tter s in the 12!lcc ranks. The pair ran a nd hid from the pa ck , with H olland using a last-turn stu ff in mot o one to ace Keh oe out o f the top spo t. In mo to two , Kehoe sim p ly went faster. He he ld on to a slig h t cushio n a nd racked up a 2-1 sco re for to p honor s. T h ird overall we n t to Su zuki's Donn y Sch m it, who ra n to a 3-3 score, but well o u t o f range o f th e Keh oe/Holland confrontation. The entire day went off on a happy note at Gatorback, du e to the fact that motocross proved to be a live and well in th e south. The biggest crowd in recent memory jammed th e facil ity, which is built in and around an o ld rock quarry . Su ns hine, a li ght breeze, and tem peratures in the mid60s m ad e for o p ti m u m ra cing condi tio ns. " " We had over 700 amateurs here yesterday, and th ere 's 96 250cc P ros here read y tl? race tod~y." said eve~t prl?mot er BIll West. ~otocros~ IS going through a transmon peri od, but th e elem ents ar e a ll positive here ai Gatorback. " Three 250cc qualifiers and two l2 5cc qualifi ers, with consis, were required to pare the field down for t he fina l 40- r ider moto s, As in previous years, National cham pionsh ip mot os ran 30 minutes plus two laps in len gth. . 250cc National Aussi e J eff Leisk go t th e jump on his new factory H onda and pointed the wa y through the sweeping lefthander in moto one. J ohnson, Ward and Le chien quickl y sorted out behind while Dym ond made the best o f a poor sta rt and long-jumped his way to fifth by th e end o f lap one. JoJo Kell er moved his Suzuki to sixth early o n th e first circu it, but soo n fell o ff th e front-runner 's pace. By la p two Ward had moved past Johrison a nd fell in behind Lei sk. Lechien was tight on Johnson's wh eel, bringing th e top four around in a cluster. Dymond was fifth , a nd lined out behind was Suzuki rider J eff Frisz , Yamaha 's Broc Glover, Tomm y Watts on a Kawasaki , Suzuki-mounted Dean Matson , Suzuki 's Johnny O'Mara and Mickey Kessler aboard a Kawa saki. On lap three, Ward and Johnson mo ved past Leisk to start th eir own personal battle for the point position. Johnson put a bead on an inside