Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eSpPERCROS S e 1991 predictions 18. Erik Kehoe #33 Age: 26 Hometown: Granada Hills, California rik Kehoe's supercross speed has never ma tched his speed on outdoor tracks , and after sufferi ng a back injury whi le in contention for the 1988 125cc Nati onal title, Kehoe never seemed to completely rebo und. After being dropped from the Suzuki squad , Kehoe competed in selected su percross events last year with backing from Pro Circu it. H is best rid e came at th e final round in Lo s Angeles where he held off Jeff Ward to finish second in a heat race, but in th e main he crashed and injured his sho u lder. Kehoe will once again only compete in selected races, and with th e curren t influx of new talent he'll likely slide out of the top 20. E 17. Dean Matson #21 Age: 21 Hometown: Santa Cruz, California ean Matson is one of the tru e pri vateers as his backin g comes from a mo torcycle dealership. H is strength is his starts and he's often at the fro nt of the pac k early in the race. He's a tou gh co mpeti tor who p uts up a figh t when challenged, and he's been known not to move over even when being lapped. On e of Mat son 's supercro ss h ighli ghts occ urred la st November at the Barcelona Supercross in Sp ain , wh ere he fin ished third overall behind Ron Lech ien and Mike Kiedrowski after two nights of racing. Ma tson will contest the entire series as a privateer once again, although he'll miss th e first two rounds du e to a broken finger su ffered in a postseason race. If he can rebo und quickl y an d consistentl y make the main events, Matson sho uld adva nce a few posi tions in th e fin al sta ndings. D 16. Keith Bowen #16 Age: 23 Hometown: Auburn Hills, Michigan her h e wa s dropped from Yamaha, Keith Bowen refused to quit and received the support of Tuf Racing, wh ich fields on e of the top aftermar ket support teams. Bowen was involved in many close sem i and LCQ battles last year, and his success thi s year will be determined on how many of tho se battles he can win . Bowen is known as a very aggr essive rider, and he isn 't afraid of making handlebar-to-handlebar contact with another rider on th e track. He rarely backs off no matter who he's dicing with. Bowen has yet to win a supercross overall, but he cam e close when he was a facto ry Yamaha rider. He's A 14 finished second a number of times, bu t tha t first p lace trophy has always eluded him . 15. Rick Johnson #13 Age: 26 Hometown: Carlsbad, California he past two years haven ' t been good for the winningest supe rcross rider, and he hopes to turn th ings around in hi s final year of competition. Just when it look ed lik e Ri ck Johnson wa s ba ck o n form foll owing his disastrous 1989 season, he broke his hand a t th e Daytona Supercross and was out for the season. Johnson is determined to win again th is year, and it would be surprising if he doesn 't. He knows his wrist is as good as it will ever be, and if anything holds him back it will th e po u n d ing the join t ta kes o n th e demanding supercross tracks. Even if he doesn 't win a supe rcross round agai n thi s year, Johnson is sure to advance in the final standi ngs , barring an other inj ury. Nonetheless, Johnso n is a seasoned racer who knows how to win and his experience alone sho u ld carry h im in to the winner's circle at least on ce or twice. T 14. Fred Andrews #17 Age: 25 Hometown: Salem, Ohio t' s no surprise that Fred And rews was the top privateer in 1990; he's been a persistent privateer for several years and a tou gh competitor .on the track. It became a familiar sight to see Andrews battlin g with Bowen , Sommo or Matson in the semis a nd LCQs. He'll p robab ly be doing the same again th is year as he'll once agai n hit the Circuit wit h backi ng from h is paren ts' motorcycle shop in Ohio, but he'll have a tou gh tim e repeatin g as th e top pri vateer. I 13. Doug Dubach #15 Age: 27 Hometown: Costa Mesa, California o th ing went righ t for Dou g Dubach in 1990. The perennial hol eshot king didn't get his usual good star ts, then his determ ination to advance was often brok en by crashes. Dubach 's determination and starting ability are his strengths, bu t even when he gets a good start he often drops into th e middle of the pack. Dubach should have more confidence th is year after st rong po st-season Europea n supercross perform an ces, which included winni ng the Geneva, Swi tzerland, doubleheader, but he will onl y compete in selected rounds since his con tract with Yamaha will see him N efen d in g Camel Supercross Champion Jeff Stanton says hi s goal for 1991 is to be the only rider to mat ch Bob Hannah 's record by winning a th ird straight supercross title. Stanton knows it will be diffi cult sin ce on ly he and Hannah have been abl e to even win two titl es in a row. . " I know it is not going to be easy," says Stant on. "In fact, it is going to be extremely difficult, But I have high hopes that I can accomplish my goal. " " I'm not goi ng to worry about the D concentrate on the Ultracross Cham pionshi p in th e Micky Thompson OffRoad Championship Gran Prix Series. 12. Mike Fisher #14 Age: 20 Hometown: . Santee, California points race until May at the earliest, Starting with Orlando (the opening round), I am going to concentra te on trying to win each race and being as consistent as I can, " said the 22-yearold from Sherwood, Michigan. "I think the rider who wins the title is going to have to be real consistent - as usual ," added Stanton. " But I think the real key is winning races. J US! fin ishing in the top five or six each week won 't do it. You are going to have to win four or five races as well as fin ish in the top five." . 10. GuyCooper #5 Age: 28 Hometown: Stillwater, Oklaboma fter spendi ng severa l year s 'as a research and development rider for Kawasaki , Mike Fish er landed a full -time facto ry ride with KTM . Last year, KTM 's Keith Johnson had trouble putting the all-new 250 int o a supercros s ma in before he was injured, but wit h Fish er's R&D experience KT M sho u ld have all the bugs work ed out. Fisher's streng th is his consistency and his forte is in th e 500cc class at th e ou tdoo r Nat ional s, but if he is to advance in the points thi s year in supercross, he will have to find some more supercross speed and consi stently finis h hi gh er in the top 10. uy Cooper seemed to have a little bit of trouble adapting to Suzuki last year , and several crashes pr evented him from finishing higher in the final standings. Crashing has been on e of Cooper's weak points, but wh en he's on two wheels he's one of th e most determ in ed a n d . hardcharging riders on the track. . Winnin g the 125cc National Championship should give Cooper more confidence to pull off his first supercross win. But he'll have to wait one round to go after h is goal since the hand he broke in a post- season European su percr oss event will keep him ou t of action until th e second round at Houston. With a very remote shot at the titl e, he'll ha ve nothing to lose and a goal to accomplish , thus moving up th e ladd er. II. 9. JohnnyO'M ara #9 Ron Tichenor A G #12 Age: 29 Hometown: Simi Valley, California Age: 21 Hometown: Palm Harbor, Florida ast year turned out to be the last for the 1984 Supercross champ. Johnny O'Mara had a few good rid es, but not enough to earn him another factory ride for 1991. O 'Mara had no desire to race on his ow n and planned to mak e th e third round a t Anaheim his farew ell race. H is plan was spoiled, however, when he broke his colla rbone in a pr e-season race and was forced to retire a month ear lier than expected. ike Cooper, Tichenor had a lot of problems with crashes last year. He'd look strong in the heats, but several crashes forced him to compete in the sem is or LCQ to earn a spot iii th e ma in . That often left him poor picks on the ga te, and he often ran into more trouble trying to make up for bad • starts. Tichenor was dropped from th e Suzuki sq uad and is now a pan of Tuf Racing. He's done well in the Florida L L

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