Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Stanton ponders the defense of his 250cc National title. into the mot a I pushed h im and he made even more (m istakes). I eventua lly got around him and wo n ." "The first mota was perfect," sai d former two- time World Champion Bayle, who won the Gainesvill e event in 1989. "I found good lin es a nd was just riding fast. In the second mota I had a good sta rt, bu t Stan ton trie d harder. He used m y lin es a nd passed me. I tri ed his lines, but he ro de good and won." Bradshaw, the winner of last week's Atlanta Supercross, co uld n' t keep up with the two facto ry Honda p ilot s. Alt hough he finished third o vera ll wit h a 4-3, the Yamaha rid er spe nt a good part of his time battling with priva teer La rry Brooks in mota o ne a nd was never in contention the entire day, Bradsh aw was not a vaila ble for co m men t. "I had a terr ible day ," said former two-tim e titl e-h older J eff Ward wh o claimed fourth overa ll via 3-8 mot a ' fini shes. " I went down hard in th e' second . mot a - I didn 't feel 100percent all day long. I j ust d idn 't feel co mforta ble. After I fell I trie d to ge t go ing again , but I had banners in m y wheels," Ch icopee , Ma ssa chu serts J ohn Dowd garnered the n umber five spot, the highest pl acing pri vateer. Hondamounted Dowd , whose best Na tio na l fini sh was th ird at So ut hwick in 1989, battled wi th Brooks for fifth in bot h motos bu t came out o n tap when it co unted. ' 'I' m very ha p py," said Dowd, wh o is backed by Answer, Parkway Cycles and Scott. " I wa s kin d of surprised. I actua lly got good starts even though I had lousy pi cks on the gate because I didn 't do too good in my q ua li fier. I banzied it in the first tu rn a nd made up a lot of tim e, "I got a six th place sta rt in the second mo ta bu t was passed by several riders," said Dowd, " A few riders fell and I went aft er Bradshaw , I hid a rea lly good battle with Brooks in both motos. We went back a nd forth so many times I couldn 't keep cou nt." Kawasaki's Jeff Matiasevich slipped between Dowd a nd Brooks in th e overall results, in sixth, Ma tiasevich, who was competing in hi s first-ever 250cc National, pl aced seven th and fourth , respectively, in the two motos. Damon Bradshaw (II) and La rry Brooks '(230) battled over fourth in the first 250cc mota. Bradshaw prevailed at the fin ish. "There was a pile-u p in the first turn of th e first mo ta and I was a t the bottom of it," said Matiasevich. " I started last, but I felt good a nd cha rged to th e front. T he second mota I go t a good start behind Wardy, bu t I sta rted . ha ving problems with m y wr ist - it's a n o ld inj ury. I j ust co u ld n ' t han g o n to the pace wit h m y wri sts, so I decided to pla y it safe a nd go for points. " " Bradshaw is a cut-off a rtis t," said a d isgruntled Brook s who battled wi th the Yam aha rid er in th e first mota . " I passed him twice and he just came into me and slammed me. "I think I burned up all m y energy in the first mota and on ly fin ished seven th in the second mo ta. That 's not ba d co ns ider i n g th is is m y firs t Nat iona l in two yea rs," Brook s said. Roundin g ou t the to p 10 wer e privat eer s Ph il La wr e nc e, Fred Andrews a nd Gene Naumec. KT M's Mike Fisher ra n among the ta p five fo r a brief tim e in both mo tos, bu t a cras h in mota one saw h is bike get run over by Brad sha w, lea vin g it un r id ab le. In t he seco nd moto, mechan ical pr obl em s for ced hi m to pu ll off the course o n lap o ne. 125cc National Wi th the Peak Antifreeze/ Pro Cir cuit Hon da Support team maki ng its firs t Na tio na l appearance , many were wo ndering befor e the race if the fourman crew wo u ld be the dom ina nt for ce they have been in the 125cc Eas t/West Regional Supercross Seri es. National cham pions Cooper a nd Kiedro wski were the od ds-o n ' favori tes, but time wo uld tel l. But wha t unfolded a t the start of the first mo ta co uld o n ly be descr ibed as a fami ly affair. Brothers T yson and Tallo n Vohland led the field in th e earl y stages before surrende ring th e front ru nning spots to Kiedrowski an d Cooper. Ca lifo rn ia 's Kiedrow ski held the lead to the checkered flag, but mechanical probl em s in the second mota kept him from the overa ll vic tory. The o vera ll win went to vetera n Cooper, wh o turned in a near-perfect 2-1 sco re. " In the first mota I just ' wanted to see the pace," said Cooper. "There's been a lot of talk abo ut new g uys . I made a few mi stakes, but got aro und Tallon Vohland (19) chases Bri an Swink (42) and his brother T yson in the second l25 cc mota, T he VohIands ran together in both motos, . Kawasaki's workshop on wheels r ea m Kaw a saki ' s n ew 18wheel transporter wa s the talk of the Gatorback pits. The openi ng National MX a t Gainesvill e ma rked th e maiden voyage for the 70-foot rig that J eff Ward , Mike Kiedrow ski and Jeff Ma tiasevich a nd their mec ha n ics will work o ut of for the rem ainder of the seaso n . " It 's been some th ing th at I've wanted to do for years," said Ro y Turner , Kawasaki team manager. " You ca n 't bel ieve how man y adva ntages it offers.' : " It's a tra veling billboard," said Turner pointing to the trailer whose expans ive sides offer room for sponsors ' logos . "We didn 't do th is to sa ve money. Actuall y . it will probably work out to cost the same as o perating the box vans." T he tra iler was ~anufactured by Concept Trailers, a Cal ifornia-based co mpa n y 'tha t bu ilds similar trai lers for NASCAR and NH RA car racing teams. T he trail er houses a plush lo unge, eq u ip ped with a television set, VCR , mi crowave oven, refrigerator, telephone a nd FAX machine, plus a sho wer. The rear portion of the trailer is divided into two levels. T he mech anics shop wh ere all mechanics will work side-by-side is located on the low er level. The upper level houses the bikes and larger parts, and also the Ford van that the riders will use for testing and practice sessions throughout th e week. George Ellis, fath er of former motocrosser Jim Ellis, is th e vehicle's driv er. Like the riders, the mechanics fly to and from the races. 7

• Cover