Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Advertisement) t?ooid. LIGHT. Roar of the crowd at Big Abrings out the best in Supercross action ANAHEIM, CA. hey call it the " Big A". During the spring and summer it is home to major league baseball. In the fall months, it hosts the Los Angeles Rams pr~ssional foot ball team. But for a sin"lle night shortly after the beginn ing of each new year, southern C a lif o rn ia 's Anaheim Stadium bel o n gs to the thrilling world o f Su percross racing, and to the capacity crowd of fans who turnout to cheer their favorite riders doing battle in one of the most action-packed events of the year. On january 25, for the 16th time sin ce 1976 when Marty Smith won the first Supercross event at Anaheim - Stadium, the roar of the crowd will again sp ur th e compe tition as the Camel Supercross returns to the Big A with th e Coors Light Challenge, round th ree of the 1992 racing season , and an event gener ally regarded by most Supercross participants as one of th e prem ier races of the year, traditionally played to a capacity or near sellout crowd. Ve teran rider j ohnn y O' Mara explained it best recently, wh en he ca lled Ana heim , " the race to win." . "T he Coors Light Challenge at Anah eim is al ways special, " said the 30-year-old vetera n who won hi s very fir st Supercross main event at the Big A in 1984, on h is way to tha t year 's ch am pionship. "The facility itself is one of the finest, an d the trac k is always good. " But it 's the cro wd, I th in k, th at reall y spa rks th e co m pe tition and brings ou t th e best in the rid ers. From the tim e you arrive early iri the day , you can feel the exci tement beginning to build, know in g there will be a big crowd that night. We try to focus on what we are doing, but the element of excitement is always there," he added. Surprisingly, O 'Mara will be returning to Anaheim Stadium for a one-time only appearance in the Coors Light Challenge - su r p r isi n g because johnny '0 o££icially retired in a special ceremony at Anaheim last january. ' 'I' m still retired ," explained O 'Mara who ha s taken up mountain bike riding and won the Expert class championship this year. "This doesn't mea n that I'm making any kind of comeback. But last year, I was suppose d to ride in the Anaheim event as my final competitive appearance. But I broke -m y sho u lder three weeks earlier, and co u ld n' t ride. Th a t bothered me a lot. . "Then Roy Turner (Kawasaki factory team manager) gave me a bike to ride after I fini shed the Mountain Bike Series, and I began working out with j eff Ward and jeff Matiasevich, and T I was surprised at how good it felt. "I haven 't lost any speed and I've cont inued to work out and practice every day. I feel 100 percent prepared," he added. "Maybe I can still win." O ' Mara will be a member of the Kawasaki tea m at Anaheim, along with Ward, Mat iasevich, Mike Kiedrowski and Mike La Rocco, the latter a newcomer to Kawasaki after a stint with Suzuki. With the exception of Kiedrowski, all have scored Supercross main event wins. Ward , third on the all-time AMA career win list, captured the Anaheim main in 1987, after finishing second to Don nie H ansen in 1982 as his previous best at the Big A. The best winni ng record at Anaheim belongs to Rick johnson and Kent Howerton who each won twice in back-to-back efforts. johnson, riding for Honda, won in 1988-89 while Suzuki-mounted Howerton was victorious in 1979 and 1981. There was no race in 1980. While their back-to-back winning performances will not be in jeopardy on january 25, their two -win record cou ld be equalled by two other riders in addition to O 'Mara a nd Ward. Young Damon Bradshaw who, like O 'Mara, won his first Supercross at Anaheim when he surprised the veteran field with a clean cut win in 1990 at age 17 is back wit h Team Yam ah a and figures to be mo re competitive than ever, and two-time Camel SUPercross champ ion j eff Sta nton, the 1991 Anaheim winner , will be looking for a repea t as he returns. to the Honda team along wit h current champion j ean-Michel Bayle. T he j anuary 25, Anaheim race will afford sou thern Ca lifo rnia fans their first look a t the 1992 teams, since the series begins in Orlando , Florida , january 12, and moves to H o uston , Texas, j anuary 19, before comi ng to the Big A for ro und th ree. Since becoming part of the Ca mel Supercross Series, Anaheim Stadium has hosted some outstanding competit ion, including Bradshaw 's win ni ng ride in 1990 when he du eled with Matiasevich wh o was th en a rookie also. Bradshaw is the second younges t dri ver to win a main event, second to Marty Tripes wh o won at the Los Angel es Coliseum in 1972 at age 16. Then there was the 1986 race where David Bailey and Rick johnson, both o n H ondas, fought a fi er ce duel throughout th e ent ire 20 laps. " It was the best Supercross racing I've seen ," said O'Mara wh o had a good view of th e dog fight from hi s third p lace position. "There must have been 50 passes at least," O 'Mara added. " Peop le still talk about that one." With so many of the young riders such as Bradshaw, Matiasevich, Kiedrowski , "Bayle and others having reached full maturity, and challengi ng the established stars such as Stanton, Ward, Dubach, Cooper and others and with th e traditional road or the crowd booting them on, it figures that the january 25 Coors Light Ch all enge at the Big A will al so be one that people will talk about for seasons to com e. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS * Practice/Qual ifying Heats (Early Entry Pass & Ticket Required) 1:00 p.rn. 1:00 - 5:30 p.m . * Pit Open to Public (Pit Pass & Ticket Required) * F ree Motorsport Exp o 1:00 p.m . *Stad ium Gate Open to Public 5:30p.m. *Opening Ceremonies 7:00 ·p.m . * Racing Begins 7:30 p.m. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL: 714-254-3000 GROUP TICKET INFORMATION, CALL: 310-432-7947 . ~" MOTORSPORT EXPO Tickets as low a's $10.00 PIT Regu lar reserved seating available through AREA 77CK.ef~AdS7En . MU SIC ~\..u . I ...... ... co....... ...... I , ~" TO_EIII (213) 480-323 2 • (714) 74 0-2 000 (80S) 583-8700 • (619) 278-TlXS Tickets availabl e December 26th at Anaheim Convention Center , GAT( ANAHEIM STADIUM . . . ONE NIGHT ONlYI PROUDL Y SPONSORED BY• • • t?ooid. LIGHT. - _. ~ (Advertisement' I:~r•• ~ spon sored tor ch arity by nos Angeles ~imcs Subject to change W1tt1out oace. Produced by - - - SERIES - - - MICKEY THOMPSON ENTERTAINMENT GROUP Po. Box 25168 / Anaheim, C4 92825 Watch the pro's saturdaynight then ride"the same track SUN.-JAN.26· 7AM-4PM ~ . • 6 ~ E-il rII"'-i s. " c r , 0 " • 0 Improveyour skillsand be part of a National Points Championship for the Amateur Supercross Series For moremformatlOfl on Amareur Supercross, caJf(714) 78iJ.S853

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