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/127528
eSUPERCROSS e 1992 predictions He gained enough points in those five events to remain in the top 20 throughout the series. Johnson will still race in the stadiums thi s year, on ly thi s tim e he' ll be behind the wheel of an off-road truck out of the Chevrolet factory stab le in the Mickey Thompson Off-Road Championship Gran Prix Series. 1 8. Keith Johnson #29 Hometown: Pembroke, Massachusetts nl989,Keith Joh nson,now20,was . a promising you ng privateer who turned a lot of heads on the East Coast. He joined KTM in 1990, but du ring that first year J ohnson was plagued by mechanical troubles an d injuries. J ohnson fared better last year and q ua lified for eno ug h mains to enter the top 20, bu t he still seems to struggle in the supercross events . J ohnson will once again be suppo rted by KT M, and if he's going to move up in the standings he's going to have to consistently make the mains. With the intense competition, and several 125cc class riders making their first ventures into the 250cc class, Johnson will likely find that even more difficult. I 18. Mike Jones #38 Hometown: Export, Pennsylvania ike J on es won the FIM 's Rodil Worl d Supercross Championship in 1989, but his success in the U.S. has been limited. The on etim e factory Yamaha backed rider is an intense compe titor and doesn 't back down when ch all enged by the factory stars. J on es is a curren tly a tru e privateer with limited backing, and with a family to support he's not likel y to travel far from home. When he does com pe te, though, his ch ances for qualifying for th e ma ins is always good, but with a limited schedule he won 't climb much higher in the point standings. M 1 7. RaySommo # 21 two positions In th e fi na l point standings. Sommo could climb slightly again this year, but he will need better lu ck and to recapture the aggressiveness he exhibited a few years ago. -1 6. Jeff Emig # 8 Hometown: Highland , California eff Emig, 21, con centrated on the 125cc Western Region al Supe rcross Series and on ly competed in a handful of 250ccevents and still made the top 20. He's young, is one of the most aggressive riders on the track, and he's taking lesson s from his Yamaha teammate Damon Bradshaw. Besides finishing as runner-up to J eremy McGrath in the 125cc Western Regional Series, Emig will best be remembered from last year for his questiona ble tactics at th e Pontiac Supercross. When he was being passed at that event , Emig drifted wide to take hi s pursuer's lin e. His rival s didn ' t like the moves, and Mike LaRocco showed his displeasure when he str uck Emig after the two crashed togeth er. Emig later said he was asserting himself so that he would be taken seriously this year sin ce he'll be a full time 250cc rider. But Emig sho u ldn' t have to resort to questi on abl e tactics , as evidenced by his winning both the final round of th e Western Regional 125cc Supercross Series and the East! West Coast Shootout a t th e Los Angeles Coliseum, Obviously, his riding. impro ved co ns iderab ly throughout 1991 and he sho u ld continue to do so thi s year as well. Look for Emig to fini sh in the top 10. J 15. Todd DeHoop #25 Hometown: Hudsonville, Michigan ยท his form er factory Suzuki rider is another privateer wh o managed to fight his way in to the mains and finish well. The 1988 I25cc Eastern Region al Supercross Champion is tough and determined to regain factory support. DeHoop, 23, cou ld easil y move up a few positions in the point standings, provided he consisten tly qualifies for the main event s. T Hometown: Capistrano Beach, California 14. Keith Bowen #18 few years ago, Ray Sommo was one of the toughest privateers in supercross. He's still tough to pass and draws the ire of many of th e factory stars when he puts up a fight. Bu t last year Sommo seemed to have lost some of his aggression, and he was hampered by mechanical problems on several occasions. Yet he still climbed Hometown: Auburn Hills, Michigan A 20 eith Bowen never let losing a Team Yamaha factory ride after the 1987season get him down and K has been one of the top privateer s ever since. Bowen is kn o wn for being aggressi ve, too , but his lack of stam ina o n the tra ck has always been his anchor. Bowen's fortune is. that he's backed by on e of the top priva teer tea ms in th e busi ness , Tuf Racing. Alt ho ug h he advanced two positi ons in the sta ndin gs from 1990, Bow en wi ll spe nd th e ea rly part of the yea r recover in g from a broken arm suffered in a European su pe rcross race. If he co mes ba ck stro ng, he may make the top 20. 13. Doug Dubach #12 Hometown: Costa Mesa, California h is likeab le 28-year-old so uth ern Ca li fornian sho u ld've ma de the top 10, but inj uries force d Dubach to sit o u t several ro u nds. Dubach proved h e's still fast whe n he won his first-ever su percross in San J ose, Ca lifornia. On ce known for his consistent holesh ots , Dubach didn't sta rt as well la st year as he had in th e past. Spee d-wise, Du bach has always been just a tick under the top co ntenders, so he relie s on those fast getaways a n d without them he'll finish betw een fifth and 10th . He's still a hard ch arger on the track, one way or an other , and is one of the toughest ri ders to pa ss. H is performances last year were go od enou gh to bump him up from a sem i- to full-factory Yamaha support rid e in 1992, and if he ca n avoid being injured he will most likel y reappear in th e top 10 at the end of th e seri es. Dubach was al so on e of three top . con tenders who got married during the off-season. T 12. D ennyStephenson #11 Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska fter domi nating th e 1990 125cc Ea stern R eg io na l Supercross Series, Denny Stephenson found moving up to the 250cc class in 1991 to be much more difficu lt. Stephen so n strugg led throughout the year and never looked as good as he did on a 125. Many people feel that Stephenson 's downfa ll is his lac k of desire a nd unwi llingness to train, a nd feel that he relies on his natural tal en t. This co uld prove to hurt the 21-year-old rider in the lon g ru n as he gets older. Stephenson was bu m ped down a notch a t Suzuki when he was relega ted to their support team for 1992. H e ' ll be looking to regain fu llfactory sta tu s, but to do that he ' ll have to improve his finishes in the mains. If he found some more sp eed , sta mi na and discipline in the o ffseaso n, he cou ld do it. He's got th e tal ent, he just needs to hone it. A 11. Ron Tichenor #23 Hometown: Palm Harbor, Florida he beginning of last year looked promisin g for Ron Tichenor. He started the year with a fourth. place finish in Orlando, and followed tha t up with severa l ot her stro ng performan ces. But just when it looked like he would make Suzuki feel sorry that they had dropped him from their factory team, Tichenor injured his wrist and struggled with the injury for the rest of the series. Then, late in the year at a Japa nese su pe rcross, Tiche nor crashed again and was la id up with back and sho ulder inj uries. Nonetheless , Tiche nor , 22, is the top rider at T uf, and he' d like to earn another full-factory ride before he's through raci ng. H e's go t the speed , and if he's full y recovered his stamin a and confidence he could be a thr eat at an y race. Tichenor is fast and is willing to take ris ks to win races. The chances are good that he'll reent er the top 10. T 10. Larry Ward #10 Hometown: Society Hill, South Carolina eit much went right for Larry Ward, 21, last year. He finished as high as fourth p lace in the first five rounds of th e Camel Supercross Series , then inj ured his ankle at round six in Atl anta. Ward sat out four rounds, and an eighth-place finish upon hi s return was his best for the rest of the series. Bad Iuck followed Ward and after the Camel Supercross S.eries he was hospitalized when a cut on his leg became infected. Ward's poor resu lts got him demoted to Suzuki's sup port team for 1992, but he ended last year with many strong performances on the post-season Europea n supercross circuit. Ward will be out to prove that he's better than last year's results indicate, an d if he can carry the moment um of hi s Euro pean success he should move up slig htly in the final standings. N 9. Mike laRocco #7 Hometown: South Bend, Indiana ast year we predicted that Mike La Rocco , 20, woul d win a supercross if he cou ld overcome his notoriou sly poor starts. And he proved us right when he grabbed a rare ho leshot in Las Vegas and stayed ahead to score his first and only supercross victory . La Rocco, a very quiet person who is completely dedicated to his sport, L