Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ MOTOCROSS AMA National Championship l25/25Occ MX Series: Rounds 3/3 ~ J eff S'tanton (2) and Do ug Dubach (12) rubbed elbows, while Jean- Mi ch el Ba yle (1), Larry Brooks (30) and Damon Bradshaw (4) searched for tr acti on in the slop . Ryan Hughes (68) tagged Guy Cooper's (5) rear wheel, resulting in an untimely highside at the start of the first 125cc National moto, Hughes got up and finished seventh. By Kit Palmer Photos by Davey Coombs and Palmer MT. MORRIS, PA, MAY 24 eam Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw pu lled off what many feel was perhaps the most impressive victory of the teenager 's you ng career. What at first, looked to be a J ean-M ichel Bayle runaway in the first 250cc National moto at High Point Raceway ended up being a Bradshaw I-I rou t. . Under gra y skies and miserable wet, cold, and muddy condi tions, Bradshaw, the 19-year-old rider who hails from Mooresville, North Carolina, came from r 8 behind to score the first mota victory ahead of series po ints leader Jeff Stanton, defending champ Bayle and two-time 125cc National M~ Cha mpion Mike Kiedrowski . Bradshaw ran fourth for the first ha lf of the mota and sho wed no signs of ma king a charge. But just after the ha lfway point, Bradsh aw sud denly came alive and passed Kiedrowski, reeled in and roosted by the two Team Honda riders, Bayle and Stanton, an d p ulled . away for an imp ressive win. It went much easier for Bradshaw in the second mota, as his main competitors, Stanton an d Bayle, both crashed during the first lap. This mean t clear sailing for the Yamaha rider, as he scored an unchallenged win and clinched his first outdoor Nationa l 250cc MX victory of the season and the third of his career. Bayle (3-2) ended up second overal l with Stanton (2-4) third overall. After taking the second-mota checkered nag with his fists raised high in the air, Bradshaw said, "When the condi tions are muddy like this , you jus t have to sit back and wait and choose your lines. That's what I did in the first mo to, and th ings just went my way in the second." Bradsha w was q uick to thank hi s mechanic Bria n Lunniss, team ma nager Keith McCar ty and race technician Jon Ros enstiel. " Wi th o u t th ese g uys I couldn 't have done it. Brian ha d a bu sy day today with all the mud and all." By winning both motos, Bradshaw passed both Kiedrowski and Bayle for second place in the series point standings but is still 14 points behi nd series leader Stanton, who went into the High Point Nati on al with a l -l-point lead over Kiedrowski. With three rounds remaining, Stanton has 134 poi nts to Bradsha w's 120. Kiedrowski, who fin ished fourth overall via a 4-3 tally, dropped to thi rd with 118 poi nts , just two poi nts ahead of Bayle's 11 6. In the 125cc National, Kawasaki's Mike LaRocco took full 'advan tage of two miscues by Suzuki 's Guy Cooper and scored the overa ll win with a perfect II mota score. In both outings, Cooper, who ended up second overall with 2-2 mota finishes, was leading before mak ing mistakes that effectively cost the 1990 125cc National Champion the overa ll win and a chance to gain a few valuable po ints on series points leader LaRocco. Instead, LaRocco extended his advantage over T uf Racing's,Ron Tichenor to 19 poi nts, 135-116; T ichenor finished third overall with 3-4 mota finishes. Cooper . is fifth with 99 po ints . Race day dawned cold and wet, as ligh t rain fell througho ut 'Tihe program, making track conditions marginal at best. Many of the factory riders rode u p to th e sta rting line with their tires wrap ped with plastic in order to keep the knobs from packin g with mud before the race even got underway, and some riders mounted hand guards. Some even installed makeshift tear-offs on top of their helmets and visors. • Despi te the ugly weather, an estimated 20,000 spectators had lined the hilly track by the star t of the first Nationa l moto; which didn't get under way until almost 2:00 p.rn ., an hour later than scheduled beca us e of needed ex tra track ma intenance. :> 250cc Na tional The first of two 30-m in u te p lus twolap 250cc motos quickly turned into a fou r-rider sh owdown invol ving Bayle, Stanton, Kiedr owski a nd Bradshaw.' H ow ever, it was local favorite' Mike J ones from Export, Pen ns ylvania, wh o go t it a ll sta rted wi th the hol esh ot , T he privateer Suzu ki rid e? led fo r the first la p before getting passed by defend in g cham p Bayle;! J on es would pu t u p a strong figh t with. th e front -runners before eventually; sett ling ba ck into six th , wh ere he wo uld finish out the mota. Bay le and his Cli ff White-tu ned H on da q uickly established a comfo rtable lead, wh ile his teammate Stanton foun d it tough getting around Kiedrowski, whO" was runni ng in second. On the fourth' lap, Stanton finall y found room around Kiedrowski, but saw nothing but a huge gap between himself and the leading Frenchman. Bayle, who ltas proven himself to be' one of the toughest riders to catch, let alone pass, looked well on his way to the mo ta win. But Stanton had other ideas , and he su rp rised everyone by reeling in and catching Bayle. J J ust after the ha lfway point, Stanton's momentum carried him around Bayle over a stairstep jump and into the lead. From there, Stanton began pu lling away from Bayle. . However, wh ile Stanton and Bayle battled, Bradshaw decided to open up the throttle and begin hi s assau lt on the lead ers. He immediately motored aro und Kiedrowski for th ird, reeled-in Bayle for second, then , to the crowd 's expressed dismay, closed the gap on Stanton all within thr ee laps . q H e soon passed -Stan ton and pulled away to abo ut a three-second advantage, whi ch he held for the last four laps to score the win over Stanton , Bayle and

• Cover