Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RMOTOCROSS AMA~~C ~~_12__~O_cr_M_XS_m_'~_:R_oo_~_s8_~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ J eff Stanton (2) moved in to the Nationa l Cha mpionship 500cc MX Series points lead with 1-2 moto finishes at Millville. Recentl y crowned 125cc MX World Champion, Minnesota's Donny Schmit, was the crowd favorite. H e easil y won the first moto bu t fin ished fourth in the second. the bo ttom of a downhill and he messed up and I passed him." " Going down the hill I went to the ins ide to block h im and wh en I hi t th e berm I just bounced ou t of it and he got me," said Ward. Ward tried to retaliate in the last few corners but couldn 't find an open ing as they crossed th e fini sh line just inches apa rt . Kiedrow ski fin ished all alo ne in th ird , while Schmit cruised across the finish line in fourth. Matiasevich succeeded in holding Vohland at ba y for fifth . Hughes also hung tough by defending his seven th -p lace position from Brad shaw, Antunez, Tichenor and Coo per. LaRocco 's last-lap pa ss on Ward dropped Sch m it to second in the overa ll standings . " Can 't win th em all , you kn ow ," said Schmit. "T hose guys were goin g rea lly fast, but I proved wh at I wanted to - tha t racing in Europe is no t easy. It 's not just a p lace to go wh en you 're washed up an ymore. I rea lly wanted to do well for the Bieffe team." £N Results 12 th e sand and Sch mit got by me," said Ward. Kiedro wski sett led into third ahea d of La Rocco, Mat iasevich , Vohlan d, Ant unez, Hughes and Suzu ki's Denny Stephe nso n, who late r cras hed an d d ropped to the back of th e pack. Cooper's problems con tin ued ear ly in th e mo to. " I go t a ll cro ssed up o n the uphill jump and went off the track and down th e side of the hill," said Coo per. " I was runnin g sixth a t the time, but by th e time I got going again I was nearly last." The series poin ts leader event u all y salvaged an II th o ut of the moto. Up front, Schmit again took com mand and developed a sligh t cu shion over Ward. But it wasn 't going to be Schmit's da y. Approaching the halfway point, Ward slowly reeled in Schmit and the n started looking for room to pass. Then Kiedrowski and La Rocco close d in , making it a fou r-way dogfight for the lead. ' . "I wanted to stay behind Schmit because I knew he was going to go fast," said Ward. "I knew if I could stay with him I could get him a t the end." With eigh t lap s remain ing, Ward silenced the crowd when he slipped by Sch mit for the lead. " Donny started slowing dow n and th ose guys (Kiedrowski and La Rocco) sta rted to bunch up behind me, so I had to pass him quickly." " My clutch got a lot of mud and junk in it and was really stiff (the clutch lever); I was having a hard tim e holding o n," said Schm it. Schmit also gav e way to Kiedrow ski and LaRocco, while about 15 seconds behind him chased Mat iasevich , wh ose Kawasaki lost its radiator cap. He was bein g closely pursued by Voh land, Hughes, Bradshaw and Antunez. Up front, LaRocco turned on th e a fterburners and roos ted by Kied ro wski then set hi s sights o n hi s teammate, Ward. With fo u r la p s rem aining Ward a n d L aR occo engaged in a due l for the lead and the overall victory. If Ward held back La Rocco, then Schmit would take the overa ll win , but if LaRocco could pass Ward, the n the overall victory would be his to keep. In a do-or-die move, La Rocco set Ward up on the last lap and passed him with j ust under half a lap to the chec kered flag. "I wasn 't sure I could get him ," sai d La Rocco. " I was faster than hi m in some secti ons, bu t Larry learn ed my lines. I re

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