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Rick Johnson (left) chases Eric Geboers (center) and Kurt Nicoll in the second moto, Johnson got by when Nicoll and Geboers tangled, then went on to win the moto.
Johnny O'Mara (69) chased Geboers (3) throughout the first moto , yet after nearly
40 minutes he crossed the finish line a few bike lengths behind the World Champion.
Geboers goes out a '
winner at Glen Helen
By Nate Rauba
Photos by Brian Catterson, Ken Faught and Rauba
SAN BERNARDINO, CA, AUG. 26
ric Geboers capped off an illustrio us career by taking the overall
victory at the Motlll500cc Uni ted
States Gra nd Prix of Motocross before
an estimated 17,000 spectators a t Gle n
Helen O HV Par k.
The final G P of the seaso n was a
fitting end to the Belgian 's GP career.
Geboers clinched h is second 500cc
Worl d Cha mpions hip in Belgium, two
rou nds prior to the U.S. event, and
annou nced he would retire from G P
raci ng at the end of the season , op ting
instead to participate on ly in selected
races in the fut ure. He was ou t to sho w
that he is the tru e World Cha mpion,
and that's exactly what he did . Geboers
had to fight off attacks fro m Kawasaki's Johnny O'Mara to win the first
moto, then came from behind to ta ke
second place beh ind H on da 's Ri ck
J ohnson in mot o two, Geboers poc keted ap pro xi ma te ly $ 1800 o f the
E
6
$16,554 purse, whi ch was paid in Swiss
Francs.
" I feel lik e I'm uncon scious, 1 don 't
rea lly real ize what 's happening," an
exhausted G eb oers so le m n ly sa id
afterwards, referrin g to the fact that it
was h is last regu lar-season GP.
J ohnson nearl y spo iled Gebo ers '
story boo k ending. After a third pla ce
fin ish in the ope ni ng rnoto, Johnson
foug ht his way to the front of moto
two and wat ched helplessly' as hi s
chances for a seco nd U,S. 500cc MX
GP overall win faded with Kawasaki 's
J eff Matiasevich. J ohnson had taken
the lead from Matiasevich in the latter
stages of the second rnoto, bu t he
needed Mat iasevich to stay ahead of
Geboe rs to cli nch the overall win. But
Mat iasevich , wh o was compet ing on
a 500cc ma chine for the first time, was
ex ha us te d a n d co u ld n't h old o ff,
Geboers nor England's Kurt Nicoll.
