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/127391
eMOTOCROSS m AMA National Championship 250/125(( MX Series: Round 5/5 ~--------:--------:----------'-- Jeff Ward (3) snagged the holeshot in the first 250cc moto ahead of J ean-Michel Bayle (8), Larry Brooks (230) and Doug Dubach (15). Ward led until he cras hed. Mike Kiedro":ski (4) beat defending 125cc Nationa l Champion Guy Cooper in both 125cc class motos to extend his points lead. Stanton, Kiedrowski beat the heat at Lake Sugar Tree By Henny R a y Abrams and Henry Muller Photos by Abrams 6 AXTON, VA, jULY21 t was a dog day afternoon if ever th ere was o ne. Both th e temperature a nd humidity readi ngs a t La ke Su gar Tree hovered near th e 100 mark I and, on top of tha t, a fine, red clay mi st hun g in th e swe lter i ng a ir. > coa ting everythi ng it to uc hed wi th a pas ty film. Sens ible people stayed in th e com fort of their a ir-co nd itioned ho mes, immu ne from the in h u ma ne wea ther . And then there was th is race, the hottest a nvone cou ld rem ember. But th e su n d id n 't pla y favori tes, though it seem ed to bother the mo st fit less, a nd wh en o ne of th e longer da ys in mot ocro ss hi story ended around 6:30 p .rn ., Honda 's j effSta nt on a nd Kaw asa ki 's Mike Kied row sk i had trul y earned . their victori es in th e 250 a nd 125cc cla sses, respecti vely, a t David Ba iley's Lake Su gar Tree Motocro ss Park. Of -the two, Stanto n 's was the m ore d ifficul t, Toyed wit h by team mate j ean -Mich el Ba yle for mu ch o f the first mot o, before Bayle's lat e-race charge dropped him to a permanent seco nd, Stant o n came back to wrest co n tro l of the seco n d moto fro m loca l hero Da mo n Bradshaw -to post a 2-1 score, goo d enough for th e o vera ll win . Stan to n 's port ion of th e $15,000 250cc class p urse was $1600 a nd he earn ed every cent of iI. " It was hot , I hung in th ere," th e defending 250cc Nati ona l Cha m p io n Stan to n said. " I never q ui t. But Dam on never let go. Q ui tters never wi n a nd wi n ners never quit." Ba yle fin ished seco nd overa ll with 1-3 sco res a nd, in th e process, lost tw o poi nts to Stan ton in th e tit le chase . After five of seven rounds, Bayle leads Stanton 196-186. Yamaha's Bradsh a w, th ird today wi th a 3-2 tall y, hol ds third wit h 172 poin ts. Fourth overa ll went to Suzuki's Mike La Rocco wi th a pair o f fourth p lace fini shes and Yamaha 's Doug Dub ach earned fifth overa ll via two fifth- pl ace finishes. T he win for Kiedrowski , his second 125cc Nation al victory in a row, was a clean o ne as a pair of first-place fini shes guaranteed him the top spot • and allowed him to str etch his point sta ndi ngs lead o ver Suzuk i's Guy Cooper, second in both motos and overa ll in th e cha mp ionship chase. In both races Kiedrowski star ted bett er th an Cooper a nd forced th e defending 125cc Nati onal Champion to try to ca tch him. In both races Kiedrowski took the lead near th e halfway poin t a nd, tho ugh Cooper hung tough, he fell back cons iderably as th e races wound down. Like th e top two scorers, the third and fo urth p lace finishers, Yamaha 's Jeff Emi g a nd Pea k/ Pro Circui t Ho nda 's Steve Lamson, took those respective spots in bo th mo tos,