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/127396
GM OSS 4th Annual Commotion by the Ocean OTOCR e Jeremy McGrath (125) led Brian Manley (39) and Bill y Frank in the first Pro moto, Mich ael Cra ig (88) pa ssed Manley (39) in the second P ro moto to win the overa ll . Ron Lechi en posted consistent 4-3 finishes to sco re th ird in th e P ro class. one-da y race and part y, but gre w th is' year int o a three -day extravaganza thai dr ew over 400 racers. Wi th the help of spo nsors Bridgestone and Powerbar, a $1500 125cc Pro purse and a $5000 Pro purse brought o u t many topcal iber riders . T he Commotion track was desig ned by Racing Enterprises Pr esident Frank T ho mason and hi s longtime friend, mu lti-time Supercros s and National Cha mpion Ri ck J ohnson. It featured ma ny of th e traditional Carl sbad obstacles p lu s some new technical sectio ns tha t' ga ve even the pro riders tro ubl e all day lo ng . , T he event spanned three days, with an open practice for all en tran ts on Fri day, then Beginner and Junior cla ss racin g o n Saturday followed by Intermedi at e and Pr o class a ction on Sunday . There was also a two -day expo featuring all the 1992 Honda, Yamaha and KT M dirt bikes. The Commotion race form at was sim ilar to a Nationa l MX event , featuring two 30-minute plus one-lap motos for the pros. The Pro class was open to any size bi ke, and there was also a separate 125cc Pro race. At the start of the first 125cc Pro rnoto, Bubba Erickso n grabbed the holeshot with T iger Garcia second and Scott Myers runn ing third. Holding fourth was th e 125cc Western Regional Supercross Champion, McGrath. McG rath, a boa rd hi s Pea k/Pro Circuit-backed Honda seem ed a little too anxio us to , get to the front as a mi scue on the downhill sent h im to the ground . Myers stuffed Erickson at the 'bo tto m of the hi ll to take the lead, and at the comp letion of o ne lap , it was Myers first over Erickson , Craig Canoy an d Shane Trittler. McG rath remounted in 10th but moved up rapidly and was soon u p to fourth. Eric kson retook the lead over Myers, as McGrath sh ot into third ahead of Trittler, but in o ne swoop McGrath was around Myers and Erickson for th e lead which he would never relinqu ish. As McGrath began to pu ll away, a battle for second raged between Craig, McG cau rath sea commotion a tCarlsbd a \ By Dave Burgess CARLSBAD, CA, AUG, 17-18 ichael Craig p ulled off the Pro class o vera ll wi n at Raci n g Enterprises' Commotion by th e Ocean IV at Carlsbad Raceway. - Kawasaki Team Green 's Craig fin ished third in the first moto then go t ' a bi t of a break in moto two when J eremy McGrath , winner of race one, M 28 failed to make the start du e to an eye injury from a £lying rock. .Craig won th e moto, which put him at the top of the overall sta nding s. McGrath did all the roos ting in th e 125cc Pro class as he swep t bo th rnotos. The Commotion by the Ocea n event started out four years ago as a sma ll Eri ckson, Myers and Dan a Wiggins. , T he inte nse battle took its toll o n Myers, as he slow ly began dro p ping back to an even tual seventh-place finis h. McGra th held it on to the finis h lin e over Erickso n, Wi gg in s a nd Canoy. Erickson aga in got th e hol eshot i n mo to two, but this time had McGrath on his rear fende r. McGrath wasted little time with Erickson a nd stormed by for first. McGrath was soon o n cru ise control o ut in front whil e an intense battl e to ok place between Eri ckson a nd Du an e Benner for second. Eri ckson held Benner at bay, until th e white £lag lap wh en Benner rai led aro und for second. With that, the pos itions were set. McGrath took th e easy win over Benner, with Erickson, Pat Gomm and Wiggins ro unding out the top five. In the Pr o main motos, all dis p lacement bik es were allowed and after switc hi ng to a 250cc machine McGrath grabbed the holeshot in ,the first race. McG rat h was chased by Craig and AT K-mo unted Brian Man ley. Craig lost hi s front end in a slippery turn and gave second to Man ley, bu t he was up and running in third just ahead of Billy Frank. On the move from a last-p lace start was Tuf Racing -backedRon Lechien. The 1985 125cc Na tional Champion quickl y made up for his bad start and was pi cking off riders left and right, and by the halfway point had worked his way around Fra nk for fo u rth . McGrath was, once again , on cruise co n trol, as he went on to the easy win ahea d of Man ley, Craig, Lechien and Frank. Right near the end of the mot o, a roc k sla mmed into McG ra th 's goggles wh ile he was pass ing a lap ped ri der. T he im pact ha mpered his vision , and the eye was still bo thering hi m righ t before th e start of the second mota , so McGrath decided for safety reaso ns not to ride the fina l Pro mo to. Man ley led th e way at th e start of mo to two , barely ahead of Craig. A sho rt distance back was Frank an d