Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127370
GM OSS AM! Nation3l Championship 250/l25cc MX Series: Round III orDeR ~ Guy Cooper (I ) starts a 125cc moto alongside Doug Henry (31), Ryan Hughes (37), Mike Kiedrowski (4), Jeff Emig (18), Tallon Vohland (19) and Tyson Vohland (311). Jeff Stanton (I) and Jean-Michel Bayle traded moto wins in the 250cc class, with Stanton beating Bayle in moto two. Stanton, Cooper storm Gainesville By Ken Faught GAINESVILLE, FL, MAR. 3 t was a day for defending Nat ion al Cha m pions at th e en d o f th e opening rou nds of the 250 and I25cc Na tion al Ch ampion sh ip MX Series a t Ga tor back Cycle Park . T he story in the 250cc class cou ld be summed up in two syllables - I 6 Sta nton, T eam Honda's J eff Stanton 10 be specific. H eadin g into th e seco nd moto , thou gh , the number-one p late holder from Sherwood, Mich igan, played the role of the underdog after finishing second to current Cam el Supercross Series points leader, teammate JeanMichel Bayle, in the first rnoto. As he had done in the opening moto, Stanton started 0[£ in the number two po sition, but unlike his first time out, he reeled in and passed Bayle to clinch the overall victory, via a 2-1 tally, which topped Bayle's 1-2 showing. It was the 12th 250cc National win of Stanton's career. " It' s great," Stanton said . "I wish I cou ld start all series off like this. I'm happy. What else can I say?" Team Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw finished third overall after a less-thanspectac u lar 3-4 moto tally, a fair distance beh ind the leaders. T he 125cc National victory a lso went to the defending cha mp, Suzuki's Gu y Coo per , who was sporting the number one plat e for the first tim e. Cooper tra iled last year 's Gainesvill e winner, Mike Kiedroski, across the fini sh line in moto one, but like Stanton, beat his adversary in round two. "I' ve raced 14 National rnotos here at Gainesville and have never placed better than th ird before toda y," said Cooper. " I was just hoping to place in th e top three today to be up there in the points." Kiedrowski, the 1989 125cc National Champion , had mechanical problems to blam e for his sub-par finish of II th in the second moto. The problems began on the first lap and plagued the factory Kawasaki pilot throughout the entire 30-minu te-p lus-two-lap race. Sacramento, California's Tyson Vohland squeezed in between Cooper and Kiedrowski in the overall results, second marking his best-ever National fin ish. " I'm very pl eased 'with mv .performan ce tod ay," sai d Vohland. ''I'm look in g forward to the rest of the series." Cooper's victory earned him $1000 of th e $10,000 125cc purse. Stanton took home $1600 of the $15,000 up for gra bs in the 250cc class. T he riders had to contend with a diffi cult track as two days of strong winds and rain made the Gatorback sand track very tricky. The rain, however, stopped before practice but 'clo uds lingered and made the estimated 7300 spectators wonder if Mother Nature was going to release another downpour. Fortunately for .riders and spectators alike, she diOO'L 250cc National Bayle got off to a fast start in the first moto to lead Stanton from start to finish. The pair, again, gated in the same order in round two, but Stanton made a midrace charge to gain the lead before finishing five seconds ahead of Bayle. "The first moto didn 't go that good, " said Stanton who finished second overall at Gainesville last year. " I started behind Bayle and lost two seconds a lap. I rode tight and just used it as a learning experience." " I came back in the second rnoto and go t th e same kind of start," said Stanton. " I followed him (Bayle) for 'half the race and saw that he was making mistakes. About 15 minutes