Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Approximately 15,000 people per day witnessed the first-ever Supercross held at Palau Sam Jordi, a 1992 Olympic stadium. European vacation," Lechien style By Ken Faught BARCELONA, SPAIN, NOV. ]0-11 n school, m y courses included German, but a lot of good that was going to do me in Spain. It didn't matter, though, exercising one's foreign social skills weren't on the agenda, instead I was joining the largest group of American motocrossers ever to venture to Europe during the off-season for one purpose - to racer The group consisted of 28 riders whose accumulative total of National, Supercross and Trophy des Nations titles exceeded that number. They were headed to Spain to take part in the Barcelona Supercross doubleheader, a non-series off-season event. Traditionally, Europe is the post-seaso n migrating grounds for American riders simply because of its potential financial rewards, rewards of a size that are generally unobtainable in the U.S at any time of the year. American riders have set the standard in the sport and their presence in other countries is in demand. To a , degree that at least one rider, Supercross champ Jeff Stanton, was offered $25,000 just to race in the two-day event. Stanton opted not to compete, and the main drawing card became multi-time champ Rick Johnson, who reportedly received $20,000 for the weekend. I 14 Unlike most American promoters, European promoters have at their disposal funds that com e from outside industry sponsors and the sale of TV rights. Start money figures for the other riders ranged from less than $1000 on up, with the majority of the riders receiving between $3000 and $5000. It's ironic that this assemblage of top-level athletes would take place in the nation that in the 15th and 16th centuries sent conquistadors to .co n quer the world. Men known to be supreme in daring, endurance, mercilessness , rapidity of movement, much like motocrossers. A nation from which Christopher Columbus set out on an expedition that led to the discovery of America. Even though Spain is no. longer considered a world power, it has a growing market for motorcycles and an unquenchable thirst for top-level motorcycle racing. , Over the years Spanish road racers received most of the public's attention and that didn't change much during the past season as Carlos Cardus finished second to American John Kockinski in the 1990 250cc title bout, a battle Spaniards followed closely. But word has spread about the American motocrossers and the grow- ing popularity of Supercross racing around the world. It was time for the Spaniards to witness it firsthand. This first-time event in Spain was conceived by Solo Moto, Spain's leading motorcycle publication. Under the direction of American expatriate Dennis Noyes , a Solo Moto editor whose main beat is the GP road race scene, 50 riders from the U.S. , Spain, France, New Zealand, Italy, Belgium and Finland competed at the Palau Sant Jordi, a state-of-the-art 17,500-seat indoor stadium constructed for the 1992 Olympic games. It would be one of the first events held at the venue, a stadium adjacent to the coliseum that will house the Olympi~s' opening and closing ceremonies. Noyes spent quite a bit of time in the U.S. during the summer, recruiting riders for the event. He also recruited the services of Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group's Jerry Stansburry, who ' designed and built the course to American standards. Noyes tailored the entire event after the famous Paris Supercross and the Solo Moto-promoted Superprestigio road race, combining some of the world's , best riders in a made-for-television show that offered Las Vegas-style pizzaz as well as racing. The American riders were flown to New York , arriving in Barcelona on Thursday, two days before the doubleheader's first event. With the return flight scheduled for Monday, the day after , the final event, most of the entourage did little more than eat , sleep and race, although a certain measure of nighttime frivolity did take place. Each rider was given a new bike and the option to have a Spanish mechanic. Several riders, however, opted to do the work themselves or bring their own mechanic from the states. The majority of the bikes were stock. Only a handful of riders brought along suspension and pipes in an attempt to simulate their race bikes without shipping over too many parts. Because both day's events were to be televised, with Sunday's race being telecast live, fireworks, light and music shows preceeded the racing action to liven up the crowd, not to mention the visiting riders. But American Ron Lechien, the overall winner of the two-day event, gave the definitely enthusiastic crowd - estimated at 15,000 each day - what they paid between $35-$55 to see. The 1985 125cc National Champion, Lechien, dominated Saturday night's action, leading all but the first four laps of the main event before easily , beating Dutchman Pedro Tragter and Bob Moore. , That momentum carried into Sunday 's competition where L echien posted a fourth place finish to emerge as the weekend's overall winner, his first such victory since the 500cc National at Washougal, Washington, last year. "I can 't tell you how good th is makes me feel," Lechien, who earned $12,000, said "I've had a tough time getting over my leg injury that happened in Steel City, Pennsylvania. It shows that I can still win . .. and you better believe that this won't be the last time." The JT Racing/Maxima Lubri-' cants/Scott/Jet Pilot/Xandri Motorsbacked Lechien, however, wasn't alone in the spotlight. Team Kawasaki's Mike Kiedrowski won Sunday's main event, but because of a fifth place finish on Saturday, he was forced to settle for the runner-up slot ahead of Dean Matson in the overall. SATURDAY. Unlike American Supercross, riders had to qualify in both a heat and a semi for a shot at a spot in the 16rider final. If a rider didn 't make the cut, they could ride the traditional Last Chance Qualifer where onl y the winner enters the program. After all the prelimary races Dean Matson got things rolling by leading Ronnie Tichenor, Ty Davis and Tragter on the first lap. That, however, changed as Tichenor went down and was forced to continue from the back of the pack. "I got a good start and wanted to get by Matson as soon as I could," Tichenor said. " I wanted to pass Dean on the first few laps so I could pick up ground on the guys chasing me. But before that happened I endoed in the whoops and fell way back." . Meanwhile, Lechien was slicing his way through the pack and had pulled into second behind Matson. Lechien dogged Matson for two laps before Matson made a critical mistake and went down. . " I tried jumping a section of whoops and 1didn't quite make it," Matson said. "My front end stuck and 1 went over the bars. After that 1 charged but 1 fell once again. I should've won. I thought 1 had it even after the first crash, but my front brake went away and there was just too much time to make up."

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