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/127568
250ccMain There was plenty of drama on the starting line moments before the 250cc feature. While taking the parade. lap, Guy Cooper's suzuki suddenly came to a stop and he had to push his bike back to the mechanics area. While the rest of the riders lined upon the gate, Cooper's mechanic, Pete Steinbrecher, frantically pushed the bike to the pits. "It sucked a reed," said Coopar. "I didn't want to believe it - I mean, on the parade lap!" In a situation like this, there is no set time in the AMA rule book that a rider is allotted and the time permitted is totally at the discretion of the event's referee. Just when the signal was given to the riders to start their engines, Cooper emerged from the pits and took his place on the line, moments before the gate dropped. Ironically, a similar situation occurred at Daytona when Stanton suffered a broken rear suspension bolt just prior to the start. McGrath wasted no time taking the lead at the start of the feature. He timed the gate perfectly and had about a full bike length lead on the rest of the pack halfway down the starting chute. "I don't know why, but the starts have been my specialty lately," McGrath said. But his holeshot almost led to disaster in the first left-hand turn that led into a tight, 18D-degree right-hander and where Craig made a bid for the lead that failed. "I could've parked him (McGrath):' Craig said. "But I decided not to; Jeremy's a good guy and 1 didn't want to take him out." By the end of the first lap, McGrath already established a sizeable lead over Craig, Matiasevich, Stanton, Lamson, Kiedrowski, Cooper and Bradshaw. On the second lap, Cooper's problems continued when he crashed and dropped to eighth. "Kiedrowski and me hit in midair over the start/ finish jump:' said Cooper. "It was real scary. We both saved it, but 1 had too much momentum going into the next lefthand turn and 1 ran into the back of Doug Henry (16) recorded hi~ third win of the season in the 12Scc feature, while Jimmy Gaddis (69) finished a close second. More than 37,700 spectators turned out for round nine of the Camel Supercross Series at Texas Stadium in Irving. Lamson." By lap three, McGrath already enjoyed a three-second lead over Craig, while Matiasevich began dropping back and would eventually finish 10th. Stanton settled into third, ahead of Kiedrowski and Bradshaw. For more than 10 laps, the race among the top 10 was uneventful, as the majority of them were spread out. During this period, Bradshaw was, perhaps, the center of attention. Many were expecting to see the Yamaha rider mount a come-from-behind charge, but it would never happen. Bradshaw just couldn't close the gap on anyone. "I was riding, riding, riding, but I wasn't getting anywhere:' said Bradshaw. "Then Chicken (Matiasevich) got in my way and I cased it hard over a triple jump, and that kind of shook me up." When Bradshaw failed to clear the triples, this allowed both Lamson and Larry Ward to pass the shaken Yamaha rider. About the same time, Kiedrowski began putting pressure on Stanton and eventually passed him in a sweeping turn, nearly putting the champ from Michigan into the hay bales. With five laps to go, Kiedrowski set his sights on his teammate Craig, and on the last lap, Kiedrowski passed him. However, Craig gave Kiedrowski little opposition, knowing good and well that his teammate is in a heated points battle for the title. Kiedrowski didn't see it that way: "He (Craig) bobbled through the whoops and 1got him." In the la te stages of the race, both Craig and Kiedrowski closed the gap considerably on the leader, McGrath. "I just relaxed and took it easy towards the end, " said McGrath. "That's when they got close to me. If 1 had to, 1could've turned it up a notch or two." Kiedrowski was quite pleased with second. "In the first turn 1 was about 10th, but 1 used a couple of good lines and passed a bunch of guys all at once. The last seven laps I just started pouring it on. I'm happy with second, but I've got to win more races to win the championship." Craig was, perhaps, the happiest rider after having made the rostrum for the first time in his career. "I'm so excited:' said Craig. "I've picked up my confidence and 1 just kept pushing. There were lappers everywhere, but 1 kept talking to myself; 'Just ride like practice.'" Stanton was anything but pleased with fourth. "I just wasn't riding good; 1 made a lot of mistakes:' said the champ. "I also had a lot of problems with lappers, but everyone had the same problem. I've got a nasty bruise on my ·side from a lapper's handlebars. I've just got to keep trying.:' McGrath, Kiedrowski, Craig and Stanton were the only riders to finish on the lead lap, while Lamson, who finished fifth, was the last rider to get lapped by McGrath. Sixth went to Ward, and seventh to Bradshaw. "I'm just not getting the starts:' said Bradshaw. "I've been having trouble keeping the front wheel on the ground. I just need some luck. I simply have to go back to myoid ways and just go for it." Cliff Palmer finished a season-high eighth, while Ward and Matiasevich rounded out the top·1O. Two factory riders who finished near the back of the pack were Yamaha's Emig and Suzuki's Cooper. Emig was slowed by crashes, as was Cooper. Cooper was running sixth with two laps to go when he crashed while trying to pass Lamson. "I had just passed Lamson when I endoed over a whoop:' said Cooper. 11