Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ SUPERCROSS Masters 01 Motocross Series: Final round ~ Rick Johmon scored his second-straight victory iu the Maastricht Congress Center Supercross, the final round of the Masters of Motocross Series. Frenchman Jean-Michel 'Bayle scored an easy, start-to-finish, win on Saturday but could finish no higher than third on Sunday. He finished second in the series. Despite not winning one race throughout the five-race Masters of Motocross Series, Jeff Stanton used consistency to wrap up the series title, and with it $20,000. lifted Johnson to third in the final standings behind Bayle. For winning the title , Stanton earned $20,000. Johnson the winner, Stanton the master in Holland By Alex Hodgkinson MAASTRICHT, HOLLAND, NOV. 24·25 or the second year in a row Rick Johnson came away the winner at the Maastricht Congress Center Supercross, while American Honda teammate Jeff Stanton used his strategy of consistently finishing near the front to wrap up the 'first Masters of Motocross title although he never won an event in the five-race series. Following last year's win at Maas- F 12 tricht, Johnson went on to dominate other supercross events held in Europe, but this year he immediately flew back 10 the U.S. to get married. Johnson finished second behind Bayle on the first da y of the doubleheader, then topped Stanton and Bayle on day two to pick up the overall win . The victory in the final round of the five-event Masters of Motocross Series Saturday Europeans John Van den Berk and Bayle split the four heat race wins with Americans Damon Bradshaw and· Larry Ward. The highlight of the heat races was a seesaw battle between Bradshaw and Stanton which was reminiscent of their fantastic struggle at the Charlotte, North Carolina, Supercross earlier this year. But to get 10 the final, they all had to qualify through one of two semi finals. A second-comer fall by Bayle in the first sem i also brought down Van den Berk, and within a couple of laps they were joined at the back of the field by Pedro Tragter and Greg Albertyn -wh en they collided while disputing second place. This let 500cc World champ Eric Geboers build up an enormous lead, but he would eventually struggle to qualify. Four laps from the end Stefan Everts closed in on his Belgian compatriot and forced his way into the lead , but the whole time Bayle was closing in on them both. Two laps later Bayle was challenging Geboers, and the World champ's efforts to resist only resulted in him colliding with a hay bale. As Geboers remounted in fifth, Bayle set off after Everts. The Frenchman caught Everts , but the 17-year-old Suzuki rider refused to be rattled and held the inside line 10 cross the finish line first. When the second semi started johnson grabbed the holeshot with Stanton, Ward and Bradshaw tucked in behind. The four circulated for several laps like an express train, then Ward and Bradshaw collided and had 10 work their way back up. Stanton eventually forced a way past Johnson to take th e win, leaving Pekka Vehkonen to split the four Americans. Tragter looked certain to win the Last Chance Qualifier, but a simple fall at half distance gave the race to Dave Strijbos, Tragter still made the final via a competition in which die crowd's applause elected one rider 'tO the main by virtue of his acrobatic skills over the main jump. . ~ The main event was effectively over soon after the start. Bayle grabbed the holeshot and immediately settled into a rhythm while the rest of the pack sorted themselves out. Bayle could even afford the luxury of a fall at the halfway point without losing the lead, although it did allow Johnson to get close for a few laps . 0 A first-lap crash in front of the pack by Albertyn had also allowed Johnson to break clear of his pursuers, especially when Ward went down alone-a few laps later while running third. ,)3 In the early traffic Everts had edged past Stanton, and the U.S. camel Supercross Champion could find no way to get past the Belgian for rnos of the race. Three laps before the end, Stanton found his opening in the whoops, but his two American Honda teammates were long gone. Stanton's third place was enough to clinch tIi~ · Masters title, for although Bayle, his -, closest pursuer in the points, wad', nothing that could happen on the next day to keep Stanton out of a top 15 overall finish which was all he needed to clinch the title. 'l) Bradshaw had started poorly i ii. spent the entire race working his way through to fifth behind Everts, while Ward held off strong challenges from Vehkonen and Edwin Evertsen. Va den Berk had led them for a time before he fell, and Geboers was never ' in contention.

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