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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127275
eMOTOCROSS e AM! N ationalChampionship_"l2_55 / _00_cc_MX S_eri_es:_Ro_Ull_ds_8/_2 _ _ A steady rainfall turned the Spring Creek track into a mud bath. Here, the start of the second 500cc mota gets underway with Jeff Stanton jumping into the early lead. Stanton, LaRocco master Millville mud bath By Kit Palmer Photos by Mike Larson and Palmer MILLVILLE,MN,AUG.19 esp ite a miscue that cost him a sure win in th e second mota , factory Honda rider Jeff Stanton left the very wet and muddy Spring Creek MX track with th e overall victory in hand and a two-point lead in th e National Ch ampionship 500cc MX Series point standings over longtim e rival Jeff Ward. Sta nton tallied 1-2 moto finishes to seal the overa ll victory over defen ding 500cc National Champion Wa rd , who posted 3-1 fin ish es on the day for second overall. Both Stanton and Kawasaki 's Ward came in to the second round of the series tied with 47 points apiece after swa p p i ng first and second place finishes in th e 500cc series opener, but a crash which dropped Ward fro m first to th ird in the first mota a t Spring Creek now translates to a two -point gap between the two, 94-92. " I'm happy to get the overall, but the two points are what's important rig ht now ," said Stanton . " It' s on to the next round - I've j ust got to keep going." Former 500cc National MX Champion Rick Johnson had his best outing since re-injuring his wrist last spring. Johnso n rode conservatively in the mud, collectin g a 2-3 tall y for third overal l. " It feels good to be wi th the fro ntru nners aga in ," said Johnson. " I still have pa in in th e wrist and it lacks some movem ent , but I' m hap py with my riding." Fourt h overa ll went to privateer Honda rider Keith Bowen with 4-5 mo ta finishes, whi le Kaw asak i's J ohnny O 'Mara rounded out the top five overall with a 6-4 score. D 10 ยท As usual, ther e was p lenty of action in the 125cc class. Not only did the estimated 10,000-plus specta tors wit . ness Suzuki's Mike La Rocco capture his first-ever National overall win , bu t also the ret u rn of homestate hero Donn y Sch m it , who cl in ched th e Worl d Ch a mpi o n sh ip 125cc MX crown on Au gust 5 in Portuga l, becom in g th e second consecu ti ve American to win the title. Sch mit gave.the cro wd someth ing to cheer abo ut in the first mota after passin g Suzu ki 's Budd y Ant unez on the first lap then roostin g away for the mot a victory. In the second mota , Sch mit was aga in leading the way for ' the first ha lf of th e race befor e givi ng way to Suzu ki 's Larry Ward , La Rocco and Honda 's Mike Kiedrow ski. In a drama tic last-lap pass on teamma te Larry Ward , LaRocco took th e mota win and secured hi s first-ever National overall with 4-1 mota finishes. Schmit landed second overall via a 1-4 score, whi le Kiedrowski completed the top three overa ll wi th a 3-3 tall y. Larry Ward (5-2) and Kawasaki's J eff Mati asevich (2-5) filled ou t the top five. " I'm happy to win, but it's more like a relief th an a nything else," said .La Rocco. " I' ve been trying for two years an d I fin all y got it (the win) ou t of the way." Suzuki 's Guy Cooper, the series po ints leader in the 125cc class, had a da y he'd just as soo n forget. Mediocre ' starts and crashes in both motos left h im with 10-11 rnoto' fini shes. In sp ite of it all, Cooper still ma intains a comfortable 42-point lead in the series over th e defen d i ng ch am p , Kiedrowski, 372-330. Rai n througho ut the first set of motos turned most of the track into a slop py soup of mud, wit h deep grooves form ing in some of the tu rn s. A total of 119 racers tu rned ou t for the Sp ring Creek Nati on als, 56 in the I25cc class and 63 in the 500cc class. Both classes req uired two qualifiers and one consola tion mota . 500cc N ational " After two 30th -p lace starts last week at Wash ougal, I cou ldn' t beli eve I got the holeshot," said J ohnson after he blew int o th e early lead as th e first mota bega n admist a steady downfall of rain. Unfortuna tely for J oh nson , hi s lead was short- lived as both J eff Ward and teammat e Stanton breezed by. " I was about fourth rounding the firs t turn , but O'S how (O ' Mara ) crashed and I was third, then both Ward y and I passed J ohnson," said Stanton . Heading int o th e second la p, it was Ward leading the way ahead of Sta nton , J o h nso n, Colora do 's Derek Brown, Florida's Gen e Na u mec and California's Scott Brown . Ward and St anton qu ickl y o pe ne d u p some brea thing roo m over J ohnson and the . rest of the field , as the two frontrunners diced. In th e m eantime, Derek Brown dro pped back and would event ua lly finish 12th in the mota , while Naumec moved in to third, Scott Brown fourth and Bowen fifth . Five laps into the race, Ward was still trying to shake Stanton , but the H onda rider wasn 't backing off. Ins tead , Stanton pres sured Ward into makin g a mistake and th e Kawasaki rider went down in a turn. " I caught a rut comi ng out of a turn and h igh sided ,' said Ward . Ward quickly rem ou nted but immediately pulled off in to the mechani c's area for a new pair of goggles, wh ich had been dam aged in th e fall. By the tim e Ward reen tered the race, both Sta n ton and J ohnson had motored by, but Ward pu lled in ri ght beh ind J ohnson . T hat didn 't last, however: "M y new goggles were all fogged up when I got them ," said Ward. " I ha d to take th em off and then I couldn't see. My ow n roost from the front tire was blinding me. I cou ldn 't get aro u n lappers and there was no way I coul d stay with J ohnson ." This made the fro nt six rid ers Sta nton, J ohnson , Ward, Nau mec, Scott Brown and Bowen - spread out. However, Honda-m ounted Bowen and New York 's Kurt McMillen were on the gas , as they moved into th e fifth and sixth pl ace after passing Naumec an d Sco tt Brown. Na u mec's a n d Brown 's p robl em s, h owever, continued when O 'Ma ra, who was nearly dead last after falling on the first lap, was hon in g in on th e two riders. O 'Mara even tua lly passed Brow n and did the sam e to Naumec on th e last lap. 'Ai the fini sh it was Stanton way out in front with Johnson in a lonel y second. Ward crossed th e finish line a distant third over Bowen , McMillen, O 'Mara , Naumec and Brown. Western Regional 125cc Su percross Champion T y Davis fini shed ninth, while ATK four- stroke rider Greg Zitterkopf filled ou t the top 10.