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eMOTOCROSS e " NGKlCMC Golden State Nationals: Round 2 ~~ Winner Jeremy McGrath'(27) led Kelly Andris (82K), Mike Kiedrowski (82) and the rest of the pack early in a 250cc Pro moto. Jason Partridge (727) and Jason DePatto (13) diced in the 80cc Intermediate class. Partridge scored the overall class win, while DePatto cla imed fourth. McGrath, Surratt unstoppable atSunrise Cycle Park By Donn Maeda ADELANTO, CA, JAN. 5·6 ea m Horida's J erem y McG rath and T eam Giunta Honda's Willie Surratt dominated the Pro classes at round two o[ th e 15th Annual NGK/ CMC Golden State Nationals at Sunrise Cycle Park. McGrath screamed to the 125 and 250cc Pro . wins, while Surratt traded mot o wins with KTM 's Mike Healey to capture the 500cc Pro class honors. r 20 Despite nea rl y a week of steady rains, over 800 die-hard entrants showed up to compete on the cha lle ngi ng jump fill ed course. . Butch Smith had th e quickest clutch h and among the l25cc Pros and gr abbed th e hol eshot ahea d of Ri chard Saxton, Dana Wig gins and Jimmy Button. As the pack rounded the track to begin lap two, Smith held a slight advantage over Saxton, Button and a hard-charging Steve Lamson. By la p two, Lamso n had for cefully put his P ro Circuit Honda in the lead position, jsu t inches ahead of Button and McG ra th . McG ra th had su ffered a poor start, butseta blisteri ng pace as he journeyed towards th e front of the pack. McGrath hounded Button until he swooped past on a whoop-laden straigh t. Once in to the runner-up position, McGrath set . his sights o n Lamson, who had crept ou t to a three-second lead. Slowly but surely, McGrath closed on Lamson a nd by lap rive was breathing down his teammate's jersey. Meanwhile, Mike ' Young had cut through the 27-rider field and had moved into fourth behind Button. Young dove under Button and took over th ird place on lap seven of the 10 la p mot o, but cou ld do little to reel in th e two Iront-runners, McGrath ra iled the outside in a fast tum to steal the lead a way [rom Lamson and pulled ou t to a commanding lead by the moto's en d. " I [eel really good on this bikel " exclaimed McGrath. "I just tried to ride smooth and work towards the front as E as 1 co uld." ast " J eremy is riding really well, " said La mson . "So me lappers got in the way tow ards the end of the moto, but there's always next motol ' Lamso n took the ear ly lead in moto two, but once aga in McGrath was.close behind aboard his American Honda/ Peak An ti Freeze/Pro Circuit-backed CR. Lamson and McGrath circled the track at a n amazing pace and pulled out to a comfortable lead over Rodney Sm i th. Behind Smith, Young and Button argued over fourth while Derek Natvig stor med into sixth after a lackluster start. . Up front, McGrath used the same tum he used in moto one to overtake Lamson, but this time snuck past on th e inside line. Once into the lead, there was no stopping McGrath as he made th e whooped-out track look as smooth as glass. McGrath took both the moto and ov erall wins, with Lamson second overall. Rodney Smith was th ird in moto two, but lost third overall to Young's 3-5 moto finishes . McGrath carried his wi n ning way s into the 250cc Pro class as he raged to the first mo to holeshot ahead of Team Kawasaki 's ' Mi ke Kiedrows ki and Healey. McGrath continued to lead Kiedrowski and Healey as the field began lap two, while Lamson and Surratt shuffled into the 'fourth and fifth positions. Kiedrowski hounded McG rath , bu t t h e forme r 125cc National Champion couldn 't rind a way around the stocky Honda rider. While Kiedrowski and McGrath [ought over the lead, Healey had his hands lull with Lamson. The Honda rider snuck past Healey as they worked through slo wer tra ffic, but Lamson . couldn 't reduce the seven- second lead the leaders had esta blis hed, McG rath gree ted the checkers first, with Kiedro wski close behind. Lamson finished third a head of H ealey a nd Surratt. ' "I didn 't feel as good as o n my 125" said McG ra th, " bu t I guess I felt good enough, di dn ' t I?" " I fel t pretty good ," explained Kiedrow ski . " My 'bike is co mpletely stoc k, bu t it has real go od power . The lappers got in the way, but I'm only using this as a warm-u p race. " " My shock went o ut," said H ealey, "and i t doesn't look as if I' ll rid e the second moto." McG ra th grabbed yet another holeshot in the concludin g rnoto, with . Larry Bro oks a nd Lamson in hot pursuit. Close behind were Kip Sandell and Shawn Wynne, but clos in g East were Kiedrowski and Surratt. At the halfway point the running order was McGrath, Brooks, Kiedrowski and Lamson. Kiedrowski tried everyth ing to get by Brooks, but the Kawasaki rider hung tough and didn't budge an in ch . Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for McGrath as he pulled out to a co nvincing lead. Brooks, Kiedrowski and Lamson engaged in a heated battle that kept the spectators cheering, yet the running order remained the same until the moto's end. " Everyth ing went well, the bikes were running great, and 1 didn't have any bad luck," said a happy McGrath. "Jeremy was riding real smooth," commented Kiedrowski. " This gives me an idea about the competi tion [or th e u pcom ing seaso n ." Chris Young grabbed the holeshot in the opening 500cc Pro rnoto, but H ealey quickly tractored his way into the lead with Ryan Carlisle, Billy Frank and Mark Banks in tow. Surratt started 10th bui began to plug away at riders as he motored towards the front. On lap two, Healey had already established a four-second lead over Frank, who had overtaken Carlisle in the far section of th e course. Close behind Carlisle, Banks had his hands lull with l25cc Western Regional Supercross Champion Ty Davis. Davis worked past in the whoo p s, but was soon passed by Surratt and Greg Zitterkop£. Surratt m uscled his way past Carlisle and Frank, but was unable to decrease the co m mandi ng lead that Healey had built. Healey rode across the finish line ahead of a distant Surratt, Frank and Carlisle. " Every th ing went great [rom start to finish ," said Healey. " Once 1 got in the lead, 1 had no worries." " I got a bogus start," said Surratt. "By the time 1 got into second place, Mike was long gone, and 1- figured there was no use in wasting' energy trying to catch him. " . Healey led the second rnoto in its early laps, but there was no denying ... Surratt of the lead. The G i u n ta H onda/Pro Circuit/UFO-backed rider shadowed Healey [or the first lew lap!