Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

GPREVIEW 14th AnnualU.S. 250((MX GrandPrix ! Not just another race ,......,.-I o ,......,.-I • By Nate Rauba Pho tos by Tom Strallman and Rauba he Jul y 14 U.S: 250cc MX Grand Prix at Una dill a Valley Spo rts Cen ter may be just an other sto p for the teams follo wing the Worl d Cha mpio ns hi p 250cc MX Series, but to tho usa nds of mot ocross fans it's the pr emi er even t on the U.S. motocross calendar. Perh a ps "it's the mystique of the rugged Unadilla co urse. Set in the ro ll ing co untryside of upstate New York, it's almost like a slice of Europe, except ins tead of the many cathedrals T (Above) Pull up a seat on the hillside and prepare to watch the U.S. 250cc MX GP at Un adilla. Get there early for the best spot in th e grass. 14 and castles tha t mark the Eu ro pean co u nt ryside, yo u' ll find barns and grain silos on the ro u te to Un adilla. But ask an y of the riders wh o have been lucky eno ug h to rid e a motorcycle o n the dark, loamy soi l and most will say th at U nadilla is even better than the premier European co urses. Camel Su percross Cha mp io n J ea n-Michel Bayle has competed severa l times at Unadilla, incl uding a stop there in 1989 when he won the 250cc Worl d Cha mpionship and last year when he won the Support class, a nd he says tha t Un adi lla is one of the best tracks he's ever ridden on. " It's very close to a Eu ropean track:' says Bayle. " It's a very fast trac k in the grass. It 's almost the best in th e wor ld because th e dirt is always good." and the track doesn 't tak e shape until severa l riders have turned a few lap s around the co urse. The first of two, hour-long free practice sessions get u nd erway at noon on Saturday and are foll owed by a 45minute sessio n for the 125cc Support class. If th ere are mor e than 40 en tries for the GP, there will a lso be two q ualifyin g practice sessio ns lat er in th e Spectators will have the opportunity to see the lu sh farmlan d be transforme d into the G P race course in Saturday's free practice sessio ns. Unadilla is o n ly used for raci ng twice a year, once for the GP and la ter in the year for the fin al ro und of the AMA Nationa l Ch amp ionship 125/250cc MX Series, so spectators arriving ear ly o n Sat urday may have tro uble deter mi ni ng which way the course actua lly goes . The on ly th ing ma rki ng the co urse in the tall grass is a low mark in g ribbon, da y to reduce the field. A few weeks befo re the G P, the AMA had received 40 en tries, plus one alternate entry. On th e day of the G P, the riders will get another 30-min ute practice session tha t begins a t 9 a.m. , followed by a 40-minute practice for th e 125cc class. Aft.er that, the riding begi ns to get more , senous. At all " G Ps, there is a o ne-hour, mandato ry timed practice session. This is wh ere each rid er must comp lete a minimum of five laps and each la p is tim ed. Each rider gets to pick h is pl ace on th e sta rt ing ga te for both of the two 40-mi nu te plus two-lap mot os accordi ng to his practice time, with th e fastest getting the first pi ck and so o n down the line. At Una dilla, th e timed sessions get underw ay at 10:30 Sunday morn in g. An ho ur before the firs t moto gets u nderway o peni ng cere mo ni es will World Ch ampion Alessandro Puzar 250cc Motocross World Championship Entry List Alessan dro Puzar Pekka Vehkonen J ohn Van Den Berk Mich ele Fanton Dave Strijbos Marnicq Bervoets T rampas Parker Robert Herring J ames Dobb Yannig Kervella Peter J ohansso n Gert-Ja n Van Doorn Mar cu s Hansson J err Stanton La rry Ward Mike LaRocco Yann Guedard Ray Sommo Kurt McMill en Micke Frisk Mike Fisher Italy Fin land Net herla nds Ital y Netherlands Belgium Ital y England Eng la nd France . Sweden Netherl ands Sweden USA USA USA Fra nce USA USA Swede n USA Suz Yam Suz Hon Suz Kaw H on Kaw Yam Hon Kaw Hon Suz Suz Kaw Suz Suz Yam KT M J ohn Dow d Bader Manneh Ped ro Go nzalez In go Gerstl J or gen Ni lsson Missim ilian o Gazzarata Shane Drew Gary Michael Will ie Van Wessel Teus Visser Keith Bowen Rodney Smi th Dag Boyesen J im Kapitan Dean Matson J aco Moes Micky Dymond Edwi n Evertse n Mike H ealey USA .Ital y Venezuela San Marino Sweden Ita ly Canada Ca nad a Nether la nds Netherl ands USA USA USA USA USA Neth erlands San Mar ino Net herl and s Fran ce Hon H on Yam Suz H on Su z H on Kaw Kaw Kaw Suz Su z Kaw Suz Suz Alternate Ca rlo Coe n USA Suz Yam KTM

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