Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

of the firs't turn sixth I thought, 'Oh boy: " sai d Cooper. " Fro m that po int, I knew that if I didn 't crash, I would do well." While Cooper enjoyed a decent start, Team H ond a 's defending Supercross Champion j ean-Michel Bayle did not. T he French man exited the first turn in dead last , but silently sliced his wa y through the pack to finish third and stand on the lo w step of the winner's podium. "We still don 't hav e the clutch set up like I want it. It doesn 't j ump out of the ga te the way I like it to:' said Bayle, who seemed happy with third. " I didn 't get discouraged about my bad sta rt, though. I j ust tried to no t go too fast and crash; ride smooth." Dejected with hi s fourth-place finish was two-time Camel Supercross Champion , jeff Sta nton. After beginn ing the ra ce n inth, Stanton bulldogged his way into third, only to have Bayle pass him near the end of th e race. . "T he track is crap:' said Stanton, a former Astrodome wi nner . " It's too easy and there's no thing to separa te th e good guys fro m the goons." Ro undi ng out the to p five a nd fini shing o nly inches behind Stanton was th e O rl an do seaso n -o pener winner, Mike LaRocco. The 20-year ol d Team Kawasaki pi lot was also fo rced to overcome a mediocre start, and rode to a ra ther uneventful fifth place finish. La Rocco sits second in th e series point standings, two points beh in d Bradshaw. Making it two in a row in the comb ined Eastern an d Western Regional l25cc main event was Team Suzuki 's Brian Swink, the defending Eastern Regional Cham pion . Swink capitalized o n leader Doug Hen ry's lat e-race misfortun e to score his second win of the series . He nry, who was forced to slow wh en track banners becam e wrapped around the rear wheel o f hi s DG Y-backed Yamaha, he ld on to fin ish seco nd ahead of j eremy McGra th, the Western R eg ion a l Champion. . " I wasn 't too worried, I was prett y su re I was go ing to pass hi m," said Swi n k, wh o earned $2000 of th e $10,000 purse. " I'm real con fident th is year. No t to be cocky, but I feel that I'm the fastest rider o ut there ." 250cc At the start of th e first eigh t-lap heat race that offered direct transfers to the main for th e to p four fin ishers, Mat iasevich ripped off the line and rode to an un contested win. He ad ing the chase of Matia sevich for most of the race was Belgian Stefan Everts, the 125cc World Champion, wh ile Bayle and Stanton were fo rced to wo rk up from mid pa ck starts. On lap o ne, Suzuki teamsters Steve Lamson and Larry Ward cras hed in traffic over th e triple jump. Wh ile Ward remounted and fin ished 12th, Lamson was taken to the hospital wi th a broken left thigh bone. Bayle a n d Stanton rep eated ly swapped positions, an d by the fifth lap had carried their momentum to the rear wh eel of Everts. Bayle was first to displace Everts, while Stanton followed him by the Belgian a few turns later. Although he gained a little on Matiasevich, time ran out and Bayle settled for second, just ahead o f Stanton. Everts held on to fourth , and transferred directl y to the main, wh ile Kaw asaki 's j eff Ward and Coop er headed for a semi. " I' m not n ervous like I was at Orlando: ' said a happy Ma tiasevich. " I feel more co nfident, and I'm riding more like I sho uld be." "I lost concentration at th e end," said Everts. " I am happy to transfer from a heat. We will see what happens in the main." Everts, son of four -tim e Wo r ld Champion Harry Everts, plans to compete in six rounds of the Camel Supercross Series before returning to Europe to co nt est the 250cc MX G Ps aboa rd T eam Bieffe Suzukis. " I am hoping to gain some experience in America: ' said Everts, who rode with th e number Ilion his ma chine. (T he same n u mber tha t Bayle ran in his American debut in 1989.)" Yamaha's j eff Emig was fastest off the line in heat two and led 125cc National Champion Mike Kiedr owski and Doug Dubach around the track , while Bradshaw began th e first la p in 16th. Ernig 's lead lasted fo r only three laps, as he cased it on a tri p le jump and allowed Kiedr owski, Du bach and La Rocco to sneak past. Once in front, Kiedrowski . kicked up th e pa ce and pulled away for the win. LaRocco tried every trick in the boo k to get by . Dubach, but the 28-year- old vetera n wouldn't budge. Dub ach held o n to second, ahead of LaR occo and Em ig, wh o earned the last direct transfer position. Finis hi ng o ne spot ou t of a transfer was 250cc World Champio n Trampas Parker, just ahead o f a frustrated Bradsh aw. "I really wanted to win th at heat," said Kiedrowski , wh o h ail s from Acton, California. "The track is really easy to go fast on, so I wanted to stay out front and not worry about raci ng with anyone." The first six-lap semi saw a ba ttle develop between the Wards; j eff and Larry. jeff led Cooper earl y in the race, but Larry stuffed his way past Cooper on lap three and began to stalk the leader. "I n a way, it was good when Larry passed me," explained Cooper. " T hat allowed me to cal m do wn and look for some good lines." Larry shadowed jeff, but was unable to find a way past until the last lap, wh en j eff lost control and crashed in the sand p ir, "T he bike wen t in to neutral whe n I landed off th e triple," said jeff War d. " When I hit the sand ; the bike stopped and I j us t tipped over ." La rry Ward was happy to assume the lead, and went on to score the win ahead of Cooper , a recovered ' j eff Ward, two-time 125cc Natio nal Cham p ion Micky Dymon d a nd Off the Wa ll Ra cing's Mike jones, who scored th e last tra nsfer spo t. " I'm not sure wh at ha ppe ned to jeff, but it looked kinda funny," said Larry Ward. Noleen Racing'S Shaun Kalos was the un contested winner in semi two. The former facto ry Ya maha ri der nabbed the holeshot an d pulled out to an immediate lead. " That was easy:' said Kalos, who spent the past few seasons contesting th e 250cc MX GPs. "I was surprised at how easy I won, tho ugh." Bradshaw started poorly again and was forced to wor k up fro m a ninth pl ace start. By lap th ree, however, Bradshaw had sawed through the field and moved in to fifth beh ind the group of Parker, Aloe Up 's Ray Sommo and KTM factory rider Keith johnson. Within two turns and a short whoo p sectio n , Bradsh aw displ aced all three riders and took over second. Although - he closed on Kalos, Bradshaw was forced to settle for second ahead of Par ker, Sommo and johnson. Eri k Keh oe blasted to an uncontested win in the six-la p Last Chance Q ua lifier aboard his On The Li ne Ra cingbacked Honda, while local favorite, Eve rts (Ill) couldn't hold off Jean- Michel Bayle ( I) and Mike LaRocco (7). Jeff Stanton (2) worked past a ti red J eff Matiasevich (9) lat e in the main event. 7

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