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/127163
were awesome. Former champions john Kitsch , jay Mann, jason Langford, Kenny Kizzar and Gen e Nau mec were joined by Sean Dukes, Ashl ey Eppes, jeff Emig, Grayson Goodman and Dennis Stephenson. H onda/Scott USAf Alum inite Bar ssponsored Dukes used a Barr Competition prepared H onda to lead Ilag-ro-flag in th e 125c( final. "I guess th at I'm used to riding on sli ck Georgia cla y," elaborated Dukes. In th e 250cc fest, Emig fended off Goodman and Stephen son a ll th e way. G oodman sa id, " I wa s aft er j eff, but Dennis push ed m e hard th e wh ol e race. I had to fight for m y second." Emig added , " I wanted to win this one and wore my pink Hallman pants for good lu ck." j ohn Kitsch , who is br eaking in a n ew pair of Suzukis, sco red 2-5 for th e T T overall. Tim Hodes o pe ned hi s ol ympic ca m pa ig n with a hard-fought 125cc B TT win over Shawn Conary and j ust in jackson. The T exan had to sli ther ba ck to third in the Stoc k class after losing a hol esho t to th e m ud. Former ch a m p ions Butch Smith and H a n k Moree squared off in 250cc B combat. Smith overcame Moree in the Modified class , but james Eichel earned a photo fini sh over Smith in the Stock division. . In th e 2S0cc C cla ss, Californian j a m ie Knox rode a Tony Smith Racing prepared Sunwest Yamaha for the win. Knox said, " I was second in the l25cc class, but m y front brake rotor got bent and jammed." Stadium MX The rainy sea son en ded befo re th e Stadium MX finals a nd th e tra ck was resh aped a nd in super-fast co nditio n. Multiple jum p co m bi na tions, gatorbacks and a m yri ad o f turns wo uld offer riders th e most techn ical cha llen ge of th e week. Donald Leedy and Greg Rand m aintained pe rfect Pee Wee a nd 6Scc cla ss records. In 8Scc (7- 11) act io n , Kaw asaki/MX Fox /Pj- l/Class Act sponsored Bobby Reynard rolled io a pai r o f wins o ver th e obje ct io ns o f Ra nd , Kevin Windham and Clint La tham. The 85cc ( 12- 13) class featured anoth er Dem ent /Lu sk sp lit. Dement' s Barr' s/Oakl ey /Sh o ei Kaw asak i topped Patri ck Slate an d T immy Ferry in th e Stoc k cla ss. Ezra Lusk so ugh t reven ge in th e Modified fin a l and took th e win. j oel Albrecht and Sha ne Lawson ' u pset th e stack in 85cc( 14-IS) acti on. Kaw asaki-mounted Albrecht cl u n g to th e Modified lead ahead o f Lawso n an d Schlag. Lawson 's Honda ripped th e Stock class h ol eshot a n d held on with Schla g a wheel behind at th e flag. David Beckington 's . H onda claimed both 12Scc (12- IS) wi ns after p ressure from Derek Yo ungbl oo d , David Evans a nd j erom y Buehl. You n gbl ood's AXO / W KR / Oa kley Honda bl itzed th e Stoc k class but fad ed to seco n d: The Florida rider said, '" was win n ing but lost m y front br ake fluid: Beckington is reall y fast and' co u ldn' t hold him off." Nebra ska 's Dennis Ste p he nso n bla sted th e 125cc A cla ss wit h a quick sta rt an d a Ilag-to- flag wi n. The Kawasaki /DMC/M a1co lm Sm ith / Scott USA/ Ans wer-sponsored rider said , '" liked th e stadium tra ck bett er thi s year. It is reversed Irorn last yea r. " Kenny ' Kizza r, wh o was ' a turn beh in d th e wi n ner, sai d, " Den n is never ma de a m ista ke a nd I couldn 't get close to h im." j eff Em ig, Stephe nson, Grayson Good ma n and Phil Lawrence ba ttl ed for th e first tu rn in th e 2S0cc A fina l. Billy Schlag (4 ) took the championship in the 85cc (14ยท15) class. Here he leads the start of the GP event. Robbie Reynard was one of the record 2400 entrants. He won the 85cc (7 -11 ) Modified MX event . Emig 's Kawasaki led over th e first set of ga torbac ks an d held on for th e fin al win. The Kaw a saki/CTI/Sco tt US A/ Bel- Ray -bac ke d rider sa id, " Den n is was o n me th e whole way . He go t a lo ngside o n one ju mp, but I was a ble to keep my momentu m." T exan T im Hode dom in at ed th e 125cc B final s. T he Honda/ AXO/ Weidler Dynamics-supported rider co m me n ted, " My dad , j ohn, di d a grea t job o f p repa ring th e bike." H ank Moree's Barr /Dunl op /Tsu baki/Bel -R a y eq u ip pe d Kaw a saki took over th e lead in th e 2S0cc B sta nd ings a nd TT class titl e wit h a one- two punch . T he 12S/ 2S0cc C co m p eti tion featured a swee p by Lance ShananBra n non, wh ich brought th e G eorgia ride r back into the points ra ce beh ind Oklahoma 's Cobie Robb. . A IS-tu rkey, four-ham Thanksgi ving feast ; pr epa red by chef Pi erre T ip ton with much hel p fro m many m oms, was handily devoured by th e m a sses. Scott U SA' s Bevo Forte ela bo ra ted with his us ua l smi le, " j ust tak e a look a t my waistli ne . This was a low ca lorie m eal." Motocross Ga tor ba c k's N at ional -calib er m ot ocro ss ci rcu it is traditionall y the hi gh point of th e Min i Ol ympics ex perien ce and th is yea r 's tr a ck conditio n , wa rm su n ny wea ther a nd q uality co mpeti tio n in sured it. Mason Will ia ms upset Pee Wee class dom in a tor D onald Leddy and closed up the point rac e. Will iams sai d , " I hav e to beat Leddy in the short track to win th at b ig trophy." Maine ri de r R yan Kaicher put th e pressure on Greg Rand in the 6Scc division wi th a Modified cla ss win and seco nd in the Stock class the onl y flaw on Ran d 's perfect series. The 8Scc (7 -II ) ra ce narrow ed to a one -point spread as Kawasa ki / GE R /MaximalTsubaki-supported Kevin Windham won th e Stoc k class and finish ed seco nd to Robbie Reynar d in the Mod ified division. The Loui siana rider said, " Robb ie had th e p o int, but the b ike s tarted swa p pi ng a nd h e landed sideways o n a jump. " Ezra Lusk hun g to h is 8Scc (1213) point le ad b y topp in g j eff Dem ent and Timmy Ferry in both Stock a nd Modified classes. Marty Vaughn a nd Bill y Schlag race d with Sean 'Thorn to n, Sha ne La wso n and joel Albrec h t before eac h won a n 8Scc ( 14- IS ) cl ass . Kawa sak i/ Sin isal o / C ycl e S/Sco tt USA -ba cked Sch lag sai d, " I wa s leading th e Stock class, too , whe n my ign iti on started to go on th e final la p." Da vid Beck in g to n a n d j er em y Bu eh l warred in th e 125cc ( 12-15) classes, each winn ing a div ision a nd Bueh l earning th e MX title. Ohio's 7