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/127124
00 00 O'l - . Daytona Supercross winner Ricky Johnson (2) gets edged out by George Holland (3 ) at the start of the main . Larry Brooks (14) and Broc Glover (44) challenge for the lead. while Micky Dymond (6) goes down. AMA/Coors Supercross Series: Round 4 Johnsen dominates Daytona mudder By Tom Mueller Photos by Henny Ray Abrams DAYTONA BEACH; FL, MAR. 5 Honda's Rick Johnson had everything go his way on a dark and drizzly day a t the $60,000 Daytona Supercross. Johnson, who pocketed $5450 in purse money, .found a line that worked off the start, then circulated the Daytona International Speedway track . . WIth perfection. Second went 12 to Kawasaki's Jeff Ward, who fell twice and worked hard ·to get through traffic, and third went to Honda's Jeff Leisk. With his win, Johnson ' takes a three point lead over Ward in the Supercross standings, 92 to 89, with four of a scheduled nine rounds completed. A new face made its way to the winner's circle in the l25cc ranks when Michigan rider Todd DeHoop ran out front in the program's final. D.eHoop pushed his Suzuki supp?rt bike to the front for good after Mike LaRocco's Yamaha lost power. Finishing second was Cagiva. mounted Brian McElroy, a Florida rider who's no stranger to tough sand circuits. Thir? was Chris Coleman on a Kawasaki. Impending rain and dark skies throughout rac~ day had the reported 33,000 fans fearing a repeatof the washout at Daytona in '87, but only light sprinkles fell until halfway through the l 2-lap 250cc main. By the time the do wnfall was constant, Johnson was well on the way to the checkered flag. . Dayt0!1a, as usual, ran a special . qualifying format for the race, allowing 40 riders on the line for each main event. The Gary Bailey-designed course was brutal. Wheel -deep whoop sections, deep sand turns and numerous jumps made the course tough to ride, with or without the addition of rain. Bailey had dug drainage ditches along the straights, assuring run-off if big storms hit. The water/dirt combo that materialized produced a black silt that stuck to riders ana bikes like glue. 250cc Heats Australian Leisk got the ho leshot in heat one and took Tuf Racing's Keith Bowen Suzuki-mounted Mike Healey and Honda rider Jeff Hicks in tow. Bowen , on a Kawasaki, fell off the pace by lap two, then it was Leisk, H eal ey, Suzuki Canada's Ross Pederson, then Hicks, Kawasaki 's Jeff Matiasevich and Bowen. Matiasevich flew long and far the nextlap andjumped his way to third, while Bowen dropped in behind and moved to fourth. On the next circuit Bowen had better timing in the rough staightaway in front of the grandstands. He used a hot inside line to move in behind Leisk and Healey for third. Though already in a safe qualifier slot, Bowen hung it out and moved in on Healey. When H ealey closed the door on the inside, Bowen went outside and got around for second. Leisk took the win by a large margin, followed by Bo wen and Healey. Matiasevich retained fourth, Pedesson was fifth, and Suzuki's Keith Turpin ran a consistent sixth. Honda rider Tom Carson moved in fro nt of Hicks, and then sq ueaked in for seventh, the last direct transfer to the mai n fro m heat o ne. Yamaha's Je ff Stanton fou nd h is way through the sharp righ t-hander to lead hea t two. Suzuki rider Brian Manley went dow n off the start, but was up and regrouping instantly. Stanton an d Suzuki's Erik Kehoe broke free fro m the field in 1-2 on lap two; followed by Kawasaki pilot Larry Brooks, Scott Chesser and Andy Stacy on Suzukis, Mike Fisher on a Kawasaki, and JoJo Keller on a Suzuki. Kehoe got past Stanton, but an instant later Kehoe Willi digging himself out of the sand after crashing in the whoop section. Stanton inherited a safe lead while Chesser closed the gap on Brooks. Kehoe picked back up in sixth, but then got sideways and ran off the course near the same section that initia lly stopped his charge. It was evident this year's WinterAMA had sharpened Keller 's skills; Stacy faded, and New England's Keller picked off Fisher and Chesser, leaving only Brooks in his sights. By the time the leaders took the last lap, Keller go t the runner-up slot. Stanton won -with an eig ht-second margin, followed by Keller, Broo ks, and Man ley, who overcame his firstturn fall. Yamaha rider Bill y Fra nk, Fisher and Chesser rounded out the transfers, with Kehoe coming up one slot short. Holland led the start of heat three. H e took the inside line to stay safe and showed the way for Yamaha's Micky Dymo nd, Ward, Suzuki rider Fred Andrews, Denn is H awthorn e, on a Kawasaki, and Suzuki rider Willie Surratt. Ward went inside on th e front straight and kep t a drive going to pass Dymo nd for second. H olland had pulled a distance ahead, but the Ward/Dymond match-up drew the trio back together. Ward bridged the gap on H olland and put a series of moves together to lead in the back section on lap five. It was Ward in control to the finish; Holland was second and Dymond sewed up third. Andrews, Surratt and Hawthorne were a slightly closer 4-5-6, and Suzuki's Donny Schmit grabbed the final transfer after Suzuki rider Jeff Frisz tipped over near the end of the race. W.ardsaid, "You have to stay really hungry to win. I'm confident of my abilities. It's a long day and there are lots of chances to make mistakes." Johnson ran a fire drill for his performance later in the day when he hop ped o ut front in heat four. Yamaha's Broc Glover and Kawasaki ' s' Ro n Lechien bo th wanted second, and Lechien go t past to take ru nner-up late in the race. . It was Johnson, Lechien, Glover, and Suzuki's Ronnie Tichenor running 1-4 at the finish. - Florida's Tichenor.had a bead on Lechien, but a group of lapped riders slowed his momentum. Yamaha-mounted Shaun- Kalos got by Suzuki rider Dean Matson for fifth, and Kurt McMi llen, on a Honda, got seventh and a ticket to the main. Semis Daytona '87 Supercross winner Rick Ryan clicked his Honda out front of the first semi. Suzuki's Johnny O 'Mara knew he had to move fast, and out-jumped Ryan for the lead down the front straight during lap two. O'Mara and Ryan then pulled away from Suzuki mounted Ray Sommo and Kawasaki riders Kenny Keylon an d Tommy · Watts. ' Keylon moved by Sommo for third, but Sommo regained the posi tion in the back section. Wat ts also found a way by Keylon on an insid e li ne through the front straight. O 'Mara too k the win, bu t everything else shuffled on th e last lap. Sommo rammed past R ya n for second o n the finish line jump, but Watts came through and passed Sommo for second. Keylo n also got by for fourth, bumping R yan out of a transfer. Kehoe didn't play games and led semi two from start to finish. Stacy started second, and Suzuki rider Mark Doud was third, but the pair . switched positions by the finish. The fourth and final transfer went to Suzuki pilot Rich Taylor, who was ready to inherit the spot when Kawasaki-mounted Mike Spear went down. It was Frisz passing Hicks for the consolation win. Frisz used an outside line on the front straight, and Hicks settled into second. Holley worked past Kawasaki rider Gary Bronikowski for third, and then Ryan went bar-to-bar with Bronikowski and passed for the final transfer to the main. Main In order 'to allevia te first turn congestion, the AMA gridded the top 30 riders o n th e gate, with the remaining 10 riders behi nd the li ne. At the drop of the gate, H olla nd, Glover and Broo ks found the fast . way through the front straight to lead , whi le Keller, R yan and Dymo nd got untangled after a pi leup. Turpin was left on the line with bike trouble, 'a nd got started a halflap down.