Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Winter-AMA Series and could carry the momentum to the Camel Supercross Series. That, combined with the desir e to show that he's still deservin g of a factory rid e, co uld improve h is performance and bump h im up sligh tly in th e final standings. 8. Damon Bradsha #11 Age: 18 Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina n amon Bradshaw had the cha nce to demoralize everybody after winning the first two rounds last year, but his foot injury in ro und three destroyed his shot at th e title. He recovered in fine form , how ever, and eventually won another three rounds to tie for the most series wins. Bradsh aw is a defi nite threat for this year's title, although he 's still young and wild. Joining forces with tuner Brian Lu nniss, 'who has been behi nd several champions in the past, should help him settle down, and if he can avoid injury he'll be among the top five at the end of the season . 7. Mike laRocco #6 Age: 20 Hometown: LaPorte, Indiana he only thing that's kept Mike La Rocco from winning a supercross is his co nsistently poor starts. La Rocco always charges hard, an d if he can charge- from the front he's destined to get his first win. T hat first victory is often the toughest to pull off, but when he finally gets it he should gain th e confidence to win more. La Rocco 's starts improved in the 125cc Nati on als, and provided he can consistently be near the front at th e start he will be anoth er threat for th e championship. H e shoul d at least move into th e top five. T 6. LarryWard #10 Age:20 Hometown: Snohomish,WaWugtonI Society Hill,South Carolina fter a promising start to the season that included hi s firs t supercross win in Seattle, Larry Ward dropped from a title con tender to sixth in the latter part of the series. Ward goes best when he gets himself motivated, bu t on e of his weaknesse s is maintaining that motivation as he seems to be easi ly disco uraged. His starts are also on the weak side, but when he does start well and wants to • win, there's no stopping him. Ward could win again, but he's a remote threat for th e title and is likel y to maintain his position in the final point sta ndings. A 5. chance to grab the champ ionsh ip' that could've been his last year. }effWard #3 2. Age: 29 Hometown: San Juan Capistrano, California Jean-Michel B le ay ad luck seemed to follow 1985 and '87 Supercro ss champ Jeff Ward in the Camel Supercross Series. Ward nearly crashed as he left the gate in the first round, then crashed in each of the next three events before he pulled off his first win of th e year in Atlanta. One more victory would follow, then Ward injured hi s shou lder in another cras h. Only a late-season ch arge brough t h im to fifth in the fina l standings. Although he'll tum 30 at the fina l round in L.A., Ward is still as strong and as hungry as ever. Another title would give him sole possession of the most Nationa l Championships earned in a ·career, and he wo u ld like to duplicate Bob Hannah's feat of winning three supercross titles. He 's got' a very good chance of doing it this year. B 4. . Mike Kiedrowski #4 A 22 ge: Hometown: Canyon Country, California ike Kiedrowski is an other rider who should've won a supercross race in '90 but came up short. Overshadowed by teammates Jeff Stanton and jean-Michel Bayle, Kiedrowski reached the podium on several occasions, yet received the most publicity for a ba ttle wit h Bayle in whi ch the Frenc hman crashed and was nearly eliminated from titl e contention. Kiedrowski found new life with a switch to Kawasaki in '91. He's a hard ch arger who is dedicated to winning, and this should be the year he gets the elusive first victory . Although he will probably be in conte n tion for th e ti tle, hi s chances of pulling it off are only fair. M 1. J Stanton eff # 8 #1 Age: 21 Hometown: ~anosque, France! Redondo Beach, California Age: 22 Hometown: Sherwood, Michigan fter winning th e 250cc MX World Champion sh ip in 1989, J eanMichel Bayle wanted to come to America to race with the best rid ers in th e world in order to improve his riding. The benefits have been immense. Had Bayle not injured his arm in the second round last year, he very well may have been the champ. But no points from two rounds was too much to overcome, even if he did win five rounds later in the series. The only thing Bayle hasn't learned from his American rivals is the abi lity to rid e aggressively in the heat of battle. He seems to be intimida ted by close, physical racing. Bayle wins with fin esse. He 's so smoo th and fluid he appears to expend little energy during a race. Now that he 's experienced a full year of racing in th e U.S., Bayle will only be bett er in '91. His smoo th riding, string of victories lat e in last year 's series and strong performances in postseason European races, mak es Bayle the favorite to me the 1991 Camel A Supercross Champion. Even Jeff Stanton has said that Bayle is th e number one threat to his titie. J eff Stanton is the stra tegis t on the circuit. He knew th e title would . be won with cons istent fini shes, and after he got over the number-oneplate jitters in the first two rounds, that strategy carried him to his second con secu tive title and four main event victories. Stanton rides smar t; he's content to concede a position for the sake of points if he 's not comfortable with the pace. H is only weakness is that he tends to attack the track , which is harder on his bike and body. Stanton says he 's tryi ng to alter his style so that he 's smoother, like Bayle, and he's not going to wait to the end of the season to go for .the points lead. Bu t changing style can spell trouble fo r a rider, and that co u ld hurt Stanton's chances of a three-peat. It 's tough to win two consecu tive titl es, and Stanton will have a tough tim e taking three in a ro w. Although capable of doing it , Stanton will likely relinquish his crow n to Bayle a t th e en d of the season. 250cc Class 3. Jeff Matiasevich #7 A 21 ge: Hometown: La Habra Heights, California J eff Matiasevich could've very well fini shed first instead of third in th e Camel Supercross Series, but succumbed to his major downfall, stamin a. Early in the season , Matiasevich was at the front of severa l main events but pooped out. He eventually stayed ahead to win his first 250cc supercro ss at the seventh round in Las Vegas, but after that it was all downhill. As the season wound down, Matiasevich stru ggled with the pressure of being the poi nts lead er and his riding su ffere d. The 250cc class rooki e co u ld n' t hold th e advantage ' and sli pped to third. Matiasevich has plenty of speed and st re n g th to tackle the supercross obstacles. If he improved his stamina during the off-season , he 's got a good 125cc Class- - -- - -- --" - 15

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