Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

favorites coming in, as the newlycrowned 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Champion Henry was leading the points race, and McGrath, the new Camel Supercross champ, was in second. While the two couldn't keep Emig in their sights, they did have respectable performances, with Henry using 2-3 mota finishes to finish as the runner-up, and McGrath putting together a 3-4 tally for third overall. Rounding out the top five were Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes, who was involved in a huge lap-one pile-up in mota one but stormed back to a second-place finish in the second outing, and Honda of Troy privateer Erik Kehoe, who posted 4-7 mota finishes. "I didn't have any problems at all," said Emig. "T lost my head a little bit in the first mota, because I haven't run out front for a while, but the second mota went great. I'm not sure where this puts me in points. 1 came in here sixth; maybe now I'm fourth or fifth." Actually, the 22-year-old's two mota wins (25 points per win) shot him all the way up to third in the point standings, with a 101-point total. Henry maintains his position at the top of the list with 128 points, and 25 points back, McGrath holds down second with 103. The 125cc National also marked the professional debut of upstart Robbie Reynard, and a great deal of attention was focused on the Kawasaki Team Green rider. Most youngsters eagerly look forward to receiving their driver's license when they turn 16, but Reynard was content with an AMA professional racing license, which he received on his birthday just three days before the event. Reynard, who recently signed a factory contract with Kawasaki (which goes into effect at the beginning of the 1994 season), appeared a little over-anxious in his qualifier, crashing while challenging Yamaha's Doug Dubach for the lead and finishing an eventual third. In the National, however, he proved that he is indeed ready for the' pro ranks, and that he is worthy of a factory ride. Reynard was a victim of the opening lap carnage in moto one and a poor gate in mota two, but he worked his way through the pack in both outings to post a respectable 7-8 score for seventh overall. "I didn't· think I'd be that nervous, but my stomach was really bothering me before the first moto," said Reynard. "I was okay after the start; well, after the crash anyway." Bradshaw collected $1600 of the $15,000 250cc class purse for his win, while Kiedrowski took home $1500. Because he won both motos, Emig earned even more money than his teammate; his share of the $U,500 125cc division prize was $2000, and Henry earned $1050. Despite the memory of last year's wet and muddy event', an estimated 16,000 spectators turned out to watch the action, creating a traffic jam thatwas serious enough for Racer Productions' Dave Coombs to delay the start of the first moto for half an hall. Despite the delay, the Dirt Shirts/Wiseco/Dunlop/ Fox-sponsored event was smoothly run, and fans and riders alike were rewarded with warm weather and perfect track conditions. 250cc National Bradshaw bolted to the head of the pack at the start of the first of two 30minute-plus-two-lap matos, with Kiedrowski hot on his heels. Tuf Racingbacked privateer John Dowd was running in the third spot, and LaRocco, Cooper and Stanton were also near the front at the completion of the first lap. Not as fortunate were Team Suzuki's Phil Lawrence and Pennsylvania native On Memorial Day weekend, an estimated 16,000 spectators took advantage of the perfect weather at High Point. Mike Jones, both of whom went down in the slippery, hard-packed sweeping first turn. "I had a decent start, but I just came into the turn a little too hot and slipped," said Lawrence. "Then I got my chest and leg ran over. I got back up and took off, but my bike was bent, so I pulled off to straighten it. I was a long way back after that." Despite the setback, Lawrence charged hard the entire moto, working his way into the top 10 by mota's end. Jones eventually finished the race in 14th place. Kiedrowski began to hound the leading Bradshaw, while Stanton pressured Cooper for fifth. Cooper held him off, and on the third of 16 laps, Dowd bobbled in a tum and Cooper passed him for fourth on the following downhill. Meanwhile, Kiedrowski continued to challenge Bradshaw. Near the end of the fifth lap, the 500cc National champ made a bid for the lead over a jump, then powered by on an uphill just after the finish line. "I wasn't really pushing it too hard," said Kiedrowski. "He was going fast, but when I passed him, I knew I was going faster, so I just rode my own Mike Kiedrowski (3) passed Damon Bradshaw (8) and motored to the first-mota win. race." Honda's Steve Lamson was attempting to move forward before the pack became too spread out after getting off the line at midpack. Stanton had still not advanced, but on lap six, he motored by Dowd in a back section of the track to assume the fifth spot. "I crashed in practice and got a Charlie, and it (my leg) was really stiff," Dowd said. "It wasn't too bad once the race started, though, with the adrenaline and alL" Bradshaw didn't give up once passed by Kiedrowski, and the duo's battle over the top spot carried them slightly ahead of the third-place LaRocco. Bradshaw gave up some ground to the leader when he was held up by lapped traffic on lap 10, but he closed back in and actually passed Kiedrowski momentarily two laps later. "I took an inside line in a comer and got by, but he had the drive going up the hill after that," said Bradshaw. "I guess I could've moved over on him, but he was riding clean, so I did too." After the pass attempt, Bradshaw dropped back slightly from Kiedrowski, and the Kawasaki pilot was never again 11

• Cover