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/127250
Rick Johnson (1 3 ) grabbed the holeshot in the 250cc ma in, while Suzuki's M ike laRocco was left beh ind when he tangled w ith Jeff Ward (3) coming out of the gate. More than 37,300 spectators attended th is year' s event, in spite of freezing temperatures, snow and ice outside the Kingdome. AMA Camel -$upercross Series: Round 4 1 Larry Ward wins Seattle thriller By Kit Palmer Photos by Brian Barnes SEAlTLE, WA, FEB. 18 In what many people said was the most exciting 250cc su percross main they've seen in years, 19-year-old factory Suzuki rider Larry Ward pulled off his fir st-ever Camel Supercross Series win in front of 37,309 screaming fan s at th e Se~tt Ie K'mgd orne. . I took some chances and It 6 paid o ff," said Ward. ''I'm just so happy I can ' t believe it. " Ward, who grew up in Sn ohomish , Washin gton, had the 'crowd on hi s side as he reeled in Kawasaki 's J eff Matiasevich la te in the SRO / Pace p romoted Coor s Ext ra Gold Su pe r Cha lle nge 250cc main even t a nd passed him five laps from the fini sh . Despite a la te-race cha rge by Matiasevich, Ward held on for th e hardearned victor y. . " I wanted to win tonight more th an a nythi ng else in the who le world," said Ward. " All I had in front of me was Matiasevich , a nd a t a bo u t ยท th e halfw a y point I sta rted chargi ng. We were both gett ing tired, but I think he jusi got mor e tir ed than I di.d, mainl y be.c.ause I ha~. the fan s behind m.e pushi ng ';1e 0!1' . Not on ly did Ward WIn h is first su percross in th e U.S . Sat urday ni ght. he a lso ga ve Suzu ki its first 250cc su pe rcross win si nce 1983, wh en Ma rk Barnett, th e 1981 Su percross Ch ampi on , won o n a Suzuki at Kan sas Cit y, Missouri. J oining La rry Ward a nd Matiasevich o n the ros tru m was Ward's teammat e Ron T iche no r, who spe nt the last half of the race in a heat ed con test wi th 250cc MX Wor ld Cha mpion J ean -Mich el Bayle. But two laps from the finis h Bayle cras hed, giv ing T ich en o r ex tra b rea thi ng roo m to go on a nd finis h an un contes ted third. Ba yle recovered a nd fin ish ed seventh. Finishing fourth and enjoyi ng hi s best rid e o f th e year was six-time Sea tt le Su pe rcross wi n ne r Ri ck J ohnson. Th e factory Honda rider , who is still suffering from a lingerin g wris t inj ury, stole the hol eshot " bu t j us t co uld n' t mat ch the blistering pace set by Matiasevich a nd Ward. " Whe n I go t o u t in fro nt I just ten sed up too much ," sai d J ohnson. "But I felt stro ng at th e end o f th e race. and that's definitely a step in the rig h t d irect ion. " . Rou nding o u t th e top five with hi s best su pe rcross fin ish o f th e year was Suzu ki's Gu y Cooper, wh o edged o u t defend in g Cam el Su percross Champion J eff Stan to n. " I just wasn 't feeling up to par aga in , to nigh t," sa id factory Honda rider Sta n to n. T wo-time Supercro ss Champion J eff Ward , wh o wo n his first-ever su percross a t the Kin gdome in 1984, had hi s recent string o f bad lu ck co n tin ue wh en he tan g led with Suzuki 's Mike ' LaRocco just as 'the start ing ga te dropped. The factory Kaw asak i pilot , wh o is one of th e o ldes t riders on the circ ui t at age 28, spen t the en tire main event workin g hi s way up th rough traff ic 10 tak e 10th p lace. " I just co u ld n' t get go ing; I felt terrible ou t th ere," sa id Ward. Yam aha' s Dam on Brad sh aw , wh o won th e fir st two races o f th e series a t An aheim and Houston, sh ow ed up a t Sea tt le despite a sore foot that he inj u red last week a t the San Diego Su pe rcross . . " I' m here for th e points," said Brad shaw. " I'm going to tak e it ea.sy a nd do th e best I-can." - Unfort u na tely for - Brad sh aw , it was a ll in vain , for he was taken o u t over a jump during th e first lap o f th e main . Brui sed and battered, but . not serious ly hurt , Brad sh aw walked back to the pits and did not fini sh th e race. Hi s Yam ah a wa s to o tweak ed to co ntin ue. One point is all he received for h is brief effort. By takin g secon d , Mar iasevi ch moves into the series points lead by two poi nts over Larry Ward , 76-74. Sta llion, wh o had the series lead going into the Kin gdome, dropped to th ird with 70 points. In th e I25cc main even t, Ty Davis, a privat eer Honda rid er from H esperi a, California , padded hi s series points lead in th e Western Regi ona l 125cc Supercross Series by winning h is seco nd main even t in a ro w. After p a ssing Kaw a saki rid er J er em y ,