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/127583
~ DIRT TRACK AMA Grand National Champ_io_ns_i,"-----S_eh-·es_:R _n_d7 h _ou ~ Mike Hale (32) got the jump on Graham (3), Don Estep (14), Jason Fletcher (65), Jay Springsteen (9) and Steve Champine (94) in the 883 race. Th ough he wasn't sure, Parker's m ech an ic Bill Werner guessed th a t it was the cranks haft that wen t. Sp rin gsteen ' s race also came to an early end when he ran into Beattie's rear wheel an d crashed in tum four on lap three. "I caugh t him too darn fast and hit his rear wheel," said Springsteen. " It lifted my front end up in the air and it just went do wn. Nothing hurt but my pride." Meanwhile, Morehea d an d Graham con tinued their battle for the lead, with Grah am sticking a w heel in here and there. "There were a lot of times w hen ' Ricky could have push ed me out, but he didn't," said Morehead. "Ricky is a gentleme n's racer and it's great to dice with hi m." While Grah am shadowed More head, Farris held a firm grip on third, a few b ike leng ths ah ead of Ather to n and Carr. After suffering a mid-pack star t, Carr had ridd en th e high line th at he used in the se mi and quickly m oved into the top fiv e. Carr improved his position another spo t w hen he passed Atherton on lap six, but he found him self 20-bike le ng ths down o n thirdplaced Far ris. Much to Morehead 's d ismay, the red flag came out o n lap 10 w he n Beyer cras hed unhurt in tum one. "I pushed the front end big time," said Beyer, wh o was running II tl'l wh en he crashed. Morehea d sat at the front of the single-file resta rt wi th Gr ah am , Farris, -'-Carr, Athe rto n, Beattie, Es tep, Roeder, Davis, Fletcher, Co lson, Hill, Sumner, Buchan and Beyer lined up behind him. At the flash of the green light, Morehead he ld onto his lead, but something was wrong. "The clutch wasn't engaging all th e way, it was frie d," sai d a heartb rok en Morehead. "All of the restarts that I was in tonight just wo re it ou t." Graham dove to the low line in turns three and fou r and cut under Morehead for the lead . Morehead held on to seco nd for a no the r half lap be fore hi s clutch let go for good and the crowd let ou t a collective sigh of d isappointment as he coas ted to a stop. "This is a real heartbreaker ," sa id Moreh ead . "Nowa d avs I d on' t h ave man y cha nces to wi n 'a Na tional, an d when I'm finally in position to do so, my bike quits. " • With Morehead 's demise, Farris took over second wit h Carr hot on his heels. Beattie held a firm grip on fourth a few se conds back, while Roeder held off Fletcher, Est ep a n d Davis for fift h . At herton s lo w ly fad ed off the p ace , showing the effects of his earlier p ractice crash. On lap 11, Carr passed Farris an d se t his sigh ts on Graham. By this time the three rid ers had pulled well away from the field, and displ ayed three di fferen t styles in their ba ttle for the point positio n. Gr ah am rod e low into the turns before d rifting high , squaring it , and exiting low, while Carr rode the cushion in all fo ur tu rn s. Farris, on the othe r hand , combine d a litt le of both styles and stayed mos tly in the middle of the corne rs. "Whe Iride, unlo S~C>FlEBC>A.FlD"'$ $ Manufacturer Paid' % Paid Dunlop $13,225 71% Bridgestone $5,300 29% 'Source: 1993 Offic ial AMAl Came! Supercross contingency reports tor the series . AI Dunl op , we feel that irs not just what you post - it's what you pay . Dunlop is truly ded icated to developing motorcycle tire performa nce through off-road involvement deve lopment that's proven in our face results. 8