Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RSUPERCROSS AMA~IS~_ill_~_SS_~_~:_b_oo_d_12~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~ With the downtown Charlotte skyline providing a scenic backdro p, the first 250cc heat race gets underway, Over 23,000 fans nearl y 6lled the Charlotte Memorial Stadium . Bayle rainson Bradshaw's parade By Kit P almer CHARLOITE, NC, APR. 20 o t only did winner Je an-Michel Bayle rain on Damon Bradshaw's homecoming parade at Charlotte Memorial Stadium, so did Mother Nature. And in a big way. But even a torrential downpour of rain tha t began falling ju st as the 250cc Coors Light Challenge main event got underway couldn't dampen th e en th usiasm of th e near capacity' cro wd, as local hero Bradshaw blasted into the earl y lead of th e 20-lap final. After wat ching Bradshaw battle back and forth for the lead with Suzuki's Guy Cooper early in the race, though , the 23,417 spectators suddenly went quiet when leader Bradshaw and his works Yam ah a hit the dirt as he lost the front wh eel o n the rain-soa ked track, ending hi s chances of winn in g the Ch arl otte Supercross fo r the second year in a ro w. Cooper inherited the lead pos itio n , but he a lso later slid o ut, handing the lead to Bayle. Unlike th e previous two front-runners, Bayle man aged to stay upright for the remainder of the race to score the 'win. The victory was Bayle's sevent h in the 1991 Ca mel Supercross Seri es and the 12th of his career, wh ich ties him with David Bailey for fifth on the alltim e su percross win list. Rick J ohnson holds the record wi th 28 wins. More importantly for Bayle, though, is that he now enjoys a seemingl y untou ch able seri es points lead over Kawasaki's Mik e Kiedrowski , 277-198, with six rounds remaining. The two-time MX World Ch ampion is seeking hi s first U.S. titl e. "It feels really good having a big N 14 points lead ," said th e Fren chman, who earne d $5000 from th e $30,000 250cc class purse as well as ano ther $1000 in the Coors Light Showdown for winning the fastest heat and the main. "I want to keep doing as good as I can and wrap up th e tit le maybe two or three races before the end of th e series. That's what would really mak e me happy." Aft er leading ' much of the race following Bradshaw's crash , 125cc MX Nation al Champion Cooper looked to be on his way to hi s first- ever Supercross win, but hi s late race wash-out ended hi s hopes, altho ug h he recovered to finish second. " I thought it was goi ng to be my first win ," sai d an o bvious ly disappointed Cooper. " It (the cras h ) was all my fault. I wanted it (the win ) so bad ! But I think I'll get one before th is year is over." A co ns is ten t ride by m u lt i-ti me Supercross Champion J eff Ward netted him third overa ll, whi le Suzuki's Mike LaRocco. wh o fini shed second and third, respectivel y, at the Pontiac Supercro ss doubleheader the pr eviou s week, fini shed fourth. ' KTM 's Mike Fisher rounded o ut the to p five. Defending Supercro ss Cha m pion J eff Stanton, wh o crashed and sepa rated hi s shoulder at Pontiac was, as expec ted, a no-sh ow a t Charl otte. According to Stanton's mechanic, Dan Betley, Stanton is cur rent ly undergoin g th erapy . and a lread y h as full mov ement of the shoulder. Stanton, who is currently ran ked third in points' with 195, might co mpe te a t next week 's race in Dallas. In the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross main event, it looked as though Kaw asak i's Ryan Hughes was goi ng to put an end to th e Peak Antifreeze/ Pro Circui t Honda Team domination. But a rnidrace crash ended any such possibility, as Peak rider J ero my Buehl took over the reins and scored his third win of the seaso n , earning $1200 out of the $8200 125cc class purse. T he runner-up was Buehl's teammate Brian Swink, who now enjoys a slight ly smaller but sti ll comfortable 17-point lead over Buehl in the series point standings. Yamaha rider Jason Lan gford finish ed third, while Suzukimounted Barry Carsten and Hondamounted Mike Brown rounded out th e top five. T he first of two eigh t-lap 250cc heat races, which transfer th e first four riders directly to the main, was perhaps the closest of the night as Kiedrowski blaste d into the early lead ah ead of Suzuki's Denny Stephenson and Kawasaki teamm ate Jeff " C h ic ken " Mati asevich. Mat iasevich was the rider to watch as he event ually passed Stephenson for second and moved in o n leader Kiedrowski by the fourth lap. The two riders battled closely until Matiasevich motored pa st Kiedrowski in a section of wh oops. In the meantime, Cooper had slipped by Stephenson for third and had sneaked up behind Kiedrowski. The two long time rivals began a knock-down, drag-out dice that saw Kiedrowski push Cooper high up in a berm, causing the Suzuki pilot to cra sh a n d lose one position to ,Stephenson. Matiasevich crossed the fin ish line for the win just a few feet ahead of Kiedrowski , who was followed by Stephenson , Cooper and Suzuki's Larry Ward. The second heat featured the highlyfavored factory Yamaha rider Bradshaw, who lives in nearby Mooresville, No rth Carolina. However, a big questio n mark hung over Brad sha w's head before the heat race even began. Earlier in the day, he injured his th umb when he crashed during practice. Unaware ' that a rider had crashed on the other side of a triple jump, Bra dsha w lau nched off the j um p an d landed directly on top of the downed rider's motorcycle, sending Bradshaw over the handlebars. " I was committed and I didn't know he was there ," said Bradshaw after practice . " I just gassed it and lifted the front end as hard as I could and j ust cased it on the guy's bike. I hit it so hard I bent both footpegs. Luckily I didn't hurt my ankles bu t I bent my thumb back real far. It 's hurtin '; it's definitely not 100%, but I'm just going to hav e to wait and see how it feels in the heat race. " Bradshaw got off to a midpack start in the second heat race, as Pea k Antifreeze/ Pro-Circuit Honda team rider Steve Lamson' stole the holeshot ahead of Yamaha's Jeff Emig, Jeff Ward, Bayle and Fisher; A first turn pi le-up left La Rocco playing catch-up in last place. A few turns later, Emig slid ou t and dropped to the middle of the pack. Bo th riders eventually had to ride the semis. Meanwhile, Jeff War d had taken

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