Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1991 05 08

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/127378

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 55

Damon Bradshaw (II) led the pack at the start of the main, th en battled with jeff Ward (3) before he claimed the win. jean-Michel Bayle (8) fell on lap one then cautiously worked his way up to finish seventh. Here he chases Dennis Hawthorne. Bradshaw rounds up Dallas win By Nate Rauba IRVING, TX. APR. 27 amon Bradshaw has no respect for his elders. At least not on the race tra ck. The 18-year-old from Mooresville, North Carolina, proved that when he o u t rode the wily veteran Jeff Ward to claim th e win in the Coor s Light Challenge main event before 36,792 specta tors in T exas Stadium. Ward, 'still looking for his first victory of the season, finished second ahead o f Kawasaki teammate Mike Kiedrowski. D Yamaha's Bradshaw, the you ngest rider on the circuit, led from the start and battled back and forth with the oldest rider on the circu it, 29-year-old Ward. Bradshaw and two-time Supercross Champion Ward exchanged th e lead several tim es in the second half of the 20-lap race, but the daring teenager used a step-up jump to gain the momentum he needed to take th e lead for good on the 16th lap. He then completed the final circuits around the difficult and slippery track - built on the Dallas Cowboys' football field . aboard his Brian Lunniss-tuned Yamaha YZ250 to score his third Camel Supercross victory of the season. " I really had to work my ass off to win tonight, " Bradshaw said as he prepared to celebrate in the winner's circle. He later added, "It was a tough race, on e of the toughest all year," The win moved Bradshaw up one pos ition in the series point standings as he overtook defending Camel Supercross Champion Jeff Stanton, who finished fifth after a fall in his first race back since he separated his shoulder three weeks ago in Pontiac, Michigan, for third. Frenchman JeanMichel Bayle, who managed to finish seventh after recovering from two crashes on the first lap, still holds a commanding lead in ' the series. Kiedrowski trails Bayle in the point standings, 193-118. Bradshaw is two points behind Kiedrowski with Stanton another five points behind Bradshaw. just as Bayle enjoys a healthy lead in the 250cc class, Peak Antifreeze/Pro Circuit Honda-backed Jeremy McGrath padded his advantage atop the 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series with his victory in .the combined 125cc Eastern/Western Regional main event. However, the 19-year-old from Sun City, California, did it the hard way . After crashing out of the firs t heat, McGrath had to qualify for the 15-lap main via a last chance qualifier, which he won. Then, after trailing Yamaha's Jeff Emig for two-thirds of the main, McGrath shot into the lead and kept his Skip Norfolk-tuned Honda CRI25 ahead to score' his fourth win of the year and his first victory in an East! West co mbined race. Emig finished second, well ahead of another Peak rider, Jeromy Buehl, who fought off a late-race challenge by Suzuki 's Tallon Vohland. Eastern Regional Series leader Brian Swink finished fifth to remain atop the East standings with a 13-point lead over Buehl. McGrath's Western Regional lead stands at 49 points, helped in part by the absence of his teammate Steve Lamson. Lamson sprained his ankle on press day two days before the event and was unable to compete, but he still hung on to second in the standings where he trails McGrath, 142-93. Emig closed in though and lies third, seven points behind Lamson. Not only did the win give McGrath a healthy points lead, he also earned $2000 in purse money and the $5000 Honda contingency for winning a I25cc main event. Bradshaw's earnings from the $45,000 purse were $5000, and he just mi ssed out on an extra $1000 in the Coors Light Showdown, which is an award given to the rider who wins the fastest heat and the main event. Bradshaw looked to be on his way . to winning the second and fastest of the two eight-lap 250cc heat races. But Bayle, who sta yed close behind Bradshaw from the start, .saw an opening in the last turn when Bradshaw was momemtarily held up by a lapped rider on the final lap. Bayle shot through to score the win with Bradshaw a close second. KTM's Mike Fisher and Ward battled for third during much of the heat with Fisher pulling away slightly at the end to claim the position at the finish. Ward finished fourth, the last transfer position to the main, while Suzuki's Mike LaRocco passed Tuf Racing's Ron Tichenor near the end to finish fifth, which was good for the best .pick on the gate in one of the two semis. Stanton had already proved his slightly-tender shoulder wo uldn't hinder his performance as he had stolen the ho leshot in the first heat. Matiasevich, however, passed him in the second turn. From then on Stanton and Kiedrowski stayed right on Matiasevich's tail, but neither could advance and Matiasevich claimed the win over Stanton with Kiedrowski a close third. Dennis Hawthorne, the local favor-

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's - Cycle News 1991 05 08