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/127205
Damon Bradshaw (left) chases Mike Kiedrowski (cent er) in t he f irst 125cc mota . Bradshaw won both motos and moved ahead in t he points standings. Jeff Ward (5) passed Ron Lech ien (4) to take the w in in the second 500cc mota. Lechien fell in mota one but came back to f inish second . AMA 125/500cc National Championship MX Series: Rounds 7/1 Ward, Bradshaw shine at Spring Creek MX By Nate Rauba Photos by Mike larson and Rauba MILLVILLE, MN, AUG . 20 J eff W a rd outduel ed T ea m Ka w a sa ki tea m ma te Ron Lechien and Honda 's Rick J ohnson to sweep both motos of the openin g rou n d of th e 500cc Nation al Championship MX Series, while Yamaha 's 6 Damon Brad shaw took com- I m and of th e high ly-cometitive 125cc class with a pair of firsts in 'that class in front o f 5500 spec tators at Sp ri ng Creek Mot ocross Park. Ward led the fir st half o f mot o o ne in th e 500cc class before J ohnson slipped by, but th en th e Kaw asak i rider was ri ght th ere to m ove back into firs t for good wh en J ohnson cras hed a few laps later an d dropped back 10 fifth. Lech ien , who h ad fall en a t th e sta rt, was a di stant seco nd o ver 250cc National and Supe rcross cha m p J eff Stanton and Yamaha 's Doug Dubach . The secon d moto was a Kaw asaki du el as T eam Green team m ates Le chien and Ward pulled a way from a dazed J oh nso n. Lechien held Ward off for 10 laps of th e 30-minute p lu s two -lap moto , but then Ward sq uee zed by and was gone to collect $2000 of th e $15,000 500cc class purse as Lech ien ran o u t o f e ne r gy. Lech ien was a di stant seco nd for th e same overa ll, wh ile Stanton made a last-l ap pass on J ohnson for third in th e m oto a nd th ird overall. " Sta rt in g off (the series) like this is reall y gr eat ," said Ward a fterwa rd s. "T h is isn 't m y best tra ck, so I'm reall y happy." . Bradshaw had a duel o f hi s own in the first 125cc rnoto with rival Mik e Kiedrow ski. The two riders stayed close a n d excha n ged th e lead, but it was Bradsh aw wh o mad e th e fin al pa ss as Kiedrowski slo wed with a flat rear tir e. Bradshaw led th e sh orte ned seco n d rn oto from th e first lap until th e race was red-fl agged aft er seven laps, and 15:09 minutes, had elapsed in th e 30minute p lus two-lap moto in orde r 10 remove an injured rid er from th e track, Referee Ron Denny ruled th e race co m p lete, since th ere is no provision in th e ru le book for a restart, a nd t h a t mad e Brads h aw, who had charg ed o u t to a six-seco nd lead , th e win ner a nd he look h om e $1200 of th e $ 10,000 125cc purse. H onda tearn m anager Dave Arnold immediatel y protested the ruling , say in g that ha lf th e ra ce wasn 't co m p leted since they hadn't co m p leted 15 minutes plus one lap. His riders , Guy Cooper, Kiedrowski and defending cham p George HoIland, were in th e process o f moving up from poor starts, and th e three Honda teammates were locked into a tight, four-way battle for th e points lead with Bradsh aw which saw only five points separating th e top four a t th e beginning of th e day. However , according 10 AMA Professional Motocross Manager Roy Janson , "The procedural decision of th e referee is not appealab le." Honda ca n sti ll submit th e protest , but it will be up to AMA Vice P resident of Professional Competition Ro n Zimmerman to decide whether or not th e protest wi ll go to an appeal board. According to J anson th e resul ts and points of the second rno to ar e official. Bradshaw's win moved him 17 points clear of Cooper, who finished the moto fifth . Kiedrowski was ' sev enth and s l ip ped 19 points behind, although he did move ahead o f Holland. The defending champ saw hi s hopes o f repeating as the ch a m p begin to slip away as he stru gg led to 7-13 fini sh es with a sore sho u lder. " E verybody wa s in th e p erfect position (whe n th ey threw the red )," sai d Brad shaw as h e awa ited th e referee's decision. H e lat er added, " Ha ving th e points lead makes-me feel more co n fide nt, but I'll still look a t it like I have 10 po ints 10 make up." Suzuki teammates R o n n ie Tichenor and Johnny O 'Mara, who both ca me from the 250cc class 10 ride the remaining 125cc Nationals since Suzuki doesn't produce a 500cc machine, fini shed 2-3 in th e second moto and wer e in th e sa me positions overall. 125cc When th e fir st 125cc rnoto started, Honda 's Larry Ward grabbed th e h ol esho t but was quickly passed by Bradshaw. Donny Schmi t, the loca l favorite from n earby Minneapolis who had won th e last two 125cc Nationals here, pulled in behind Ward with Kiedrowski, Kawasaki 's J eff Matiasevich, Holland, Suzuki's Jimmy Gaddis and Yamaha's Mike . La Rocco on his tail.