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/127282
MickeyThompson Oil-Road Championship GP Series: Round 9 ULTRAC OSS R ~~ ~ e Lowell Thomson took the lead earl y in the 250cc U lt racross main event at Denver 's Mil e High Stadium and ran away wi th his first-ever MTEG victory. Thomson tops in Denver Michael Craig (43), who clinched th e MTEG U ltracross Series Championship prior to the Den ver event, finished second, while Jim Holley (1) ended up 12th. By Mike Larson D ENVER. CO. SEPT. 29 owell Thomson scored hi s first Mickey Thompson O ff-Road C ran Prix Ultracross main event win a t Denver's Mile Hi gh Stadi um, when he gra bbed the lead from Corey Cope ear ly in the IO-lap main and never loo ked back. Kawasaki Team Green rider Mike Craig sliced hi s way through the pack from a second-row star t to take the ru nne r-u p spot, while fellow T ea m Green rider Larry Brooks pu lled off a last-lap pass to claim third. Denver was the ninth stop in the 10race . MTG P Seri es a nd whi le coo l tempera tures a nd a steady drizzle da mpened the early pra ctice session, by race time it had cleared off and the 38,231 fans enjoyed com fortable temperatures in the 60s. The IS-rider field was staged in two rows for the first heat race an d it was Colorado rider Kip Sandell who led the pack around at the completio n of the first lap. By lap two , Yama ha -mo unted Sandell led ,a fou r-rider pack that had broken away from the rest of the field. Loca l rider Derek Brown, Mike Young and Kawasaki rider Jason Edwards filled ou t the top four and had a comfortable margin on the rest o f the pack. Sandell maintained his lead into lap three , but then YamahaiNoleen/ Cloverl Sm ith-backed Yo ung kic ked in the afterburners and passed Brown and then Sandell before the end of the lap. Once front , Young quickly established a comfortab le lead; then Brown slipped by Sandell for second on lap four . The top fo ur remained the same all the way to th e finish, with You ng taking the victory, followed by Kawasakimou nted Brown, Sandell and Edwar ds. L J in. Kawasaki rider Eric Ricke rounded ou t the top five finish ers at the checkers. Brooks jetted h is Team Green/Thor/ Pro Circuit/Shoei-backed Kawasaki int o the lead o ff the start in the seco nd heat race, bu t he had Thomson glued to his rear fender throug h the first lap . Kawasaki teammates T allon Voh lan d and Cra ig were battl ing for third, wh ile Dennis Hawthorne, Jeremy Midda ugh and And y Gri der weren 't far behind. Broo ks a nd Thomson remained close through the third lap, wh ile Crai g had man aged to sneak by Vohland to grab th ird. O n la p four the dice for the lead heated up as Thomson zeroed in on Broo ks and jammed into the lead. Broo ks q ui ckly reta liated and jumped back into the top spo t before the end of the lap. The to p five positions rem ained un changed to the end as Broo ks took the win and Thomson fou ght off a lastlap charge by Craig to claim second. Kawasaki riders Vohland and H a wthorne filled ou t the rest of the top five. Local favorite Co pe powered hi s Hon da into the lead at the start of the main a nd led Kawasaki-mounted Gri der and T homson arou nd on la p o ne. Thomson made his move on lap two as he blasted by Grider and closed in on Cope, while Craig and Vohland were battling for fourth ahead of a pack of several riders. O n lap three Yamaha /Noleenl AnswerlShoei-backed Thomson saw his pressure on Cope payoff as he quickly slip ped by the Hon da rider to take the lead. Voh land's bid for the win ended on lap three when the Kawasaki/Yokol Bieffe/ Race Tech rider got squirrel y going through tu m one and slammed into the Hydro-barrier s. This was Voh la nd 's second major crash of the day, as he also got off hard in practice. By th e halfwa y point o f th e IO-lap rac e, Thomson held a small cu sh ion over Craig , who got by Cope near th e end of lap three. Behind th e leaders th ere was a n int ense battle for third through eigh th place, with Brown holding off Brooks, Cope, Hawthorne, Young and Sa ndell. With three la ps to go T homson maintained his lead, wit h Craig running a safe second. Brown was ho lding third, but he was u nder a lot of pressure from Brooks. Craig tried to close the gap o n Thomson during the final lap, bu t the Team Green /Thor /Oak ley /Bellbacked rider and 1990 U1tracross champ came up sho rt. Thomson sailed to his first mai n event win on the MTGP circuit with Crai g taking second. Broo ks, who was charging throughou t the main event, go t by Brown on the last lap to nai l down third. H awthorne rou nded out the top five, whi le two-time U ltracross champ J im Holley was mired in mid pack throu gh out the race and could only muster a 12th place finish. C!II Results HEAT t : I. Mike You ng (Yam); 2. Derek Brown Kip Sandell (Yarn]; 1. j ason Edwards (Kaw): 5. Eric Ricke (Kaw): 6. Phi l Stevens (Yam): 7. Sha un Secrest (Kaw): 8. Pa tri ck Bourke (Kaw): 9. Gu s! Doug (Hon): 10. Bjorn Jorgensen (Yam); I I. Dan Fresh (Yam); 12. Jay Alhay (Sw) ; I~ . Daniel Walters (Yam ); 11. Cunis Caoarralla (Ho n): 15. Igna cio Rivera Jr . (Hon). H EAT 2: I. Larry Brooks (Ka w); 2. Lowell Thomson (Yamk S. Mike Craig (Kaw ); 1. Tallo n Vo hlan d (Kaw); 5. Dennis Hawthorne (K. w); 6. Andy Grider (K. w); 7. Co rey Ca pe (H on); 8. J im Ho lley (Yam); 9. Jeremy Middaugh (Kaw): 10. David C1abaul\h (Yam); II. Robert Hanrahan (Kaw); 12. Mike Ulnc h (Ho n); I ~ . J ohn Arnotl (Yam): 11. Evan Hughes (Hon] . MAIN: I. Lowell Thomson (Yam); 2. Mike Craig (Ka w ): ~. Larry Brooks (K. w); 1. Derek Brown (Ka w ): 5. Dennis Hawthorn e (Kaw ); 6. Mike Young (Yam); 7. Kip Sandell (Yam); 8. J eremy Middaugh (K. w); 9. .Co rey Cope (Ho n); 10. Jason Edwards (K. w); II. Andy Grider (K. w); 12. Ji m Holl ey (Yam); I~. Eric Ricke (K. w); 11. Ph il Stevem ( Yam~ ( K. w); ~. 21