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/127132
Leisk (7 1 chases Jeff Sta nton in the first moto. Leisk ended up f ourth overall , hi s 6 -3 score edging Stanton 's 5 -5 tally, around Suzuki rider Dea n Matson for eight h. · . Fou r laps into th e mo to j ohnson drove hard to a n inside line a nd passed Ward on a n uphill to ta ke th e lead. After th e back sectio n it was Ward o nce again leading, but j ohnson held it o n longer down the front whoop . stra ight a n d entered th e finish line turn in first. Wa rd repassed again, but j ohnson used th e same front stra igh t to take the point position. The du o was whee l-towheel wh en Yamaha rider Robbie Taylor fell hard on th e front stra ig ht, directl y in front of th e leaders. Lu ckil y, bo th Ward a nd johnson found a line by th e downed lapper. just wh en the volley was at its fin est, Ward ca me over th e bi g. specta tor double jump alo ne. He had 25 seconds on second-place Glover, who had passed Leisk earlier in the race. Lechien was now in fourth, wit h Stanton in range in fifth . From there it was a ha lf-lap to Fisher and O 'Mara. . "The water ran out of my bike, right at th e elbow where the flu id goes into the cylinder," said j oh nson . "Tt seized." Wardy kicked a leg hi~h the final time 0(( the spectator Jump, then idled in way ahead of Glover, Leisk, Lechien , Stanton and O'Mara, who had out-powered Fisher down the rough front straight. " j ohnson' s bike broke, but it felt great anyway," said Ward. " Rick was looking at hi s bike, lik e so meth ing was dragging, and I went by. This series will probably go down to the last race, and you have to take 'em when you can get 'em. I'm thankful for today, but I know I have to keep winning mo tos to stay ou t front. " " Ricky really cam e blowing by Leisk and me, maybe that's why his bike tied up," said Glover, who came into the winner's circl e with a roar of approval from the crowd. " I had really good starts, and it sure feels good to make it to the winner 's circle. It's been II years since I was at Sugartree; I 'rode a Trans-Am race here on a 250. The track was perfect, tacky all day lo ng." 12See -Ho lland, nursing a sore shoulder from .the Tampa Supercross, stuck his Honda in th e lead in moto one. Kawasak i rider Larry Brooks, who had been living and tra ining with Gary Bail ey, moved into seco nd. Suzuki 's Donnie Schmit, returning after a back injury at the' Dallas Supercross, was third, with Cooper fo urth a nd Kawasaki 's je(( Matiasevich in fifth. Sch mit, then Cooper, moved by Brooks and got in sight of Holland. In fifth was Yamaha-support rider Mike LaRocco , but Matias evi ch was n't giving up th e spot easily. Yam ah a -supported Larry Ward made th e trip all th e way from Sno hom ish , Washington, a nd was running a tight seven th . On the next lap Coo per a lmo st dumped the front end in a muddy section before an uphill, but he learned a lesson from the muck and used th e same spot to pass Schmit on the next circuit, Cooper soo n had a bead on Holland and used an o uts ide line in th e muddy sectio n to grab the lead, but it was short-lived since Holland got back by almost immediately. By the haHway point it was HoIland, Cooper and Schmit under a blanket, with Brooks 10 seconds back. Ward, Kehoe (who was riding with an inj ured hand from Tampa) and Bowen were .5-6-7. Then Matiasevich went out of the race. " It was crazy. I must have pulled the radiator hose 0(( on the parade lap, because the bike was steaming from the start and eventually froze up," explained Matiasevich. Holland pulled a slight cushion, but then Cooper closed the gap and passed down the front straight. Schmit also found the route by for second, but Holland maintained third to the finish. La Rocco was fourth , a nd both Ward and Bowen snuck by Brooks on the last lap for the 5-6 spots. " This cast o n my leg ma kes me m iss th e rear brakes now and the n , but I'm still going pr etty fast, " said . Cooper. " I' ve wo n the first moto at Sugartree three years in a row, and now I just have to put two of 'em . together." Cooper had the holesho t but Ward took it away in rnoto two. Holland, Schmit and Broo ks were a tight 34-5, with Kehoe in sixth. Broo ks went dow n hard over a big do uble-jump Glover (4 4) got his best finish of the season at second overall and Lechien was third overall after working up from a poor start in moto two. Erik Kehoe (91 won the ' second 125cc moto, but a first-moto eighth dropped him to fourth overall ahead of Larry Ward (971 I, and DN F, which left Kehoe with a clear shot at Schmit, He took it to pass for third o n the next lap. Cooper got the best of Ward and retook the lead, and then bo th H olland and Kehoe moved past for second-third. Kehoe ham mered past Holland in th e whoops for second, and overtook Cooper in th e same spot on the next la p. The top four in this race were all riding injured. Kehoe's hand, Cooper 's leg, Holland's shoulder and Schmit's back were all factors, bu t all were putting pain asi de in ho pes of wi nni ng. Kehoe maintained his pa ce to win , and H olland slipped by Cooper for second right at the white flag. Schmit held fou rth , Ward was fifth and Suzuki 's Ro nnier Tichenor took'sixth after setting up Kawasaki rider Chris Coleman and La Rocco, then passing the m bo th in the sam e move. " I choked for two years, and I finally put it together!" said Cooper as he celebra ted with his wife/ mechanic j ayni . "That youngster on a Yamaha (Ward) did well. He was blastin' it tryi ng to stay out front, and I was thinking about 30 minutes. I knew George would take me, even if he had 'to get rough, but I didn' t want an y less than th ird. " " Man , you had some good lines. I can 't believe you can co me back fro m a broken leg and ride lik e that," said Holland to Cooper. • Results 250 : 1. Je ffWard (Kaw ) 1-1; 2. Broc Glover(Yaml 3-2; 3. Ron Lechien (Kaw ) 4-4; 4. Jeff Leislt .(Honl 6-3; 5. Jeff Sten ton (Yam) 5-5; 6. Johnny 0 Mara (Suz) 7-6: 7. Mike Fisher (Kaw) B-7; B. Brian Ma nley (Suz) 11·8; 9. Rick Jo hn son (Han) 2-DNF: 10 . Fred Andrews (Suz) 13· 9; 11. Ross Pederson (SuzI1 210; 12. Doug Dubach (Yam) 9-15 ; 13. Billy Frank (Yam) 14- 14; 14. Dean Matson (Suz) 17· 12; 15 . M icky Dymond (Yam) lD-DNF; 16. Dennis Hawthor ne (Kaw l 33 -1 1: 17. Jo Jo Kelle r (Suz) 16- 16; 18. M ickey Kessler (Kaw) 15- 18: 19. Shoun Kalas (Vam) 22 - 13; 20. Tom Carson (Ho n ~ lB· 17. 125: 1. Gu y Cooper (Han) 1-3 ; 2 . Geo rge Holl and (Han) 3·2; 3. Donny Schmit (Suz) 2-4 ; 4. Er ik Kehoe IlSuz) 8· 1; 5. Larry Ward (Yam) 5·5 ; 6. M ike laRocco (Yam) 4-8; 7. Ronnie Tichenor (Suzl 9-6; 8. Keith Bowen (Kaw ) 6-9; 9. Chris • Coleman (Kaw) 10·7; 10. Todd DeHoop (Suz) 11· 10; 11. Dale Spang ler (Kaw ) 14- 12; 12. Larry Brocks (Kaw) 7-DNF; 13 . Bar ry Carsten (Vam) 12· 17 ; 14 . St ac ey Cook (Han ) 18 ·1 3; 15. Jeff Matiasevich (Kaw ) DNF-ll ; 16 . Mark lachOWICZ (Kaw) 19-15 ; 17. John Grewe (Yam) 16 -18 ; lB. Mark Crozier (HonI 13·DNF; 19. Robert Hayes (Suz) DNF-14 ; 20 . Jerry J ackson (Suz) 15-DNF. POINT STANDINGS 250: 1. Ward (141 ): 2. Johnson (117~ 3. Glover (109); 4 . Lochien (107); 5. Leisk (97); 6. Stanton (B3 ~ 7. O'Mara ( 72~ 8. Fisher (61); 9. Kalas (60); 10. Pederson (57). 125 : 1. Holland (136); 2. Kehoe (132 1; 3. Schmit (1 1 8~ 5. Brooks (741 6 . M8Iiasevich (72) ; 7. Bow en ; (69); B. DeHoop (50); 9. laRocco (5 3~ 10. Cooper (51). 7