Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eMorDeROSS ! AMA National Championship 125/250cc MX Series: Rounds 515 Jeff Matiasevich (12) pulled the holeshot in both 250cc class motos, but faded. Larry Brooks (17), Steve Lamson (21), Mike Kiedrowski (3) an d David Gaylord (76) take chase. By Chris Jonnum Photos by Kinney Jones BUCHANAN,M1,JULY 4 or Mike Kiedrowski and Jeff Emig, Fourth of July weekend at Red Bud Track 'N Trail has proven to be a very rewarding combina tion over the past few years, and things were no different this Independ ence Day. Kiedrowski and Emig roosted to perfect 1-1 overall wins in the 250 and 125cc classes, respectively, at the 20th anniversary running of th e Malcolm Smith Racing-sponsored National. Twelve months ago, Team Kawasaki's Kiedrowski posted his firstever 250cc National win at Red Bud, but this year's victory was far less of a surprise. Kiedrowski has completely dominated the eight-round series, and leaves Red Bud with wins in four of the first fiverounds and eight of the first 10 motes. While he hasn't clinched the championship mathematically, the reigning 500cc National champ and twotime 12Scc title-winner is well on his way to his first-ever crown in the quarter-liter division. "Things definitely look good at this point, but I'll be hammering ' til it's over," said Kiedrowski, who won the 125cc Nation al at Red Bud in 1991. "I have no plans of backing off." Kiedrowski now lead s secon d-place Jeff Stanton by a substan tial 41-point margin, 242-201. Second and third overall went respectivel y to Mike LaRocco and Stanton. Both were competing close to F 6 home; LaRocco lives in nearby LaPorte, Indiana, and Michiganite Stanton in Sherwood. Kawasaki's LaRocco came ever-so-close to sco ring his first-ever 250cc National win. He worked his way up tosecond place beh ind Kiedrowski in moto one and battled for the lead with his teammate for much of the second race, but couldn't pull off the winning pass. Team Honda's Stanton, the defending series champ, struggled with a still-sore back and crossed the line a distant third in both motos. Things went mu ch eas ier for Emig, whose first-career overall win in the 125cc class came last yea r at Red Bud. (He earned his first-ever moto win here the year before). Th e likable Yamaha rider completely ruled both motes, winning each by a large marg in . Second overall went to newly crowned Camel Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath, who faded to fourth after leading moto one, but came back to finish second in the second mo to . McGra th ' s Honda teammate Doug Henry posted 2-5 scores for third overall. Th e moto w in s moved defen d ing champ Emig into a tie with McGrath for secon d pla ce in th e po int standi n gs . Henry still leads the 12-event series with 208 points, 18 more t han Em ig and McGrath's 190. "When you 're behind (in the points), you shouldn't even care," sai d Emig. "It's just fun to win races ." The theory mus t wo rk; last year, Emig was a whoppi ng 58 points behind LaRocco in the sta ndings when he left Red Bud, yet he still managed to pull off the series title. Michigan is well-known for its hardcore motocross fans, and 11,400 of them were on hand for the action at Red Bud. They were greeted by sunny skies and stifling h umidity. The last few rounds on the circuit have been held on hardpacked tracks, and the soft dirt of the popular south western Michigan facility was a welcome change for many racers. There were concerns that the jump-filled track would become a mud bog when rains soaked the area during the week, but track owner Gene Ritchie's crew did a n ad m irab le job of preparing the course. Still, ruts formed early on in several spo ts. The 250cc class purse totaled $15,000, while the 12Sec division's was $12,500. Kiedrows ki and Emig each earned $2000 for their day's work. 250cc National Suzuki's Jeff Matiasevich got things off to a good start in the first of two 3Dminute, pl us-tw o-la p motos, grabbing the holeshot and leading the 40-rider pack over the first leap, a ski jump-style fall-away . On hi s tail were Honda ' s Steve La m so n , Kiedrowski, Team Noleen's Larry Brooks and Stanton. The no rma lly slow-starting LaRocco sat a respectable sixth . Kiedrowski immediately began pressuring Lamson, making contact in a turn in a bid to take over second. On the second of 14 laps, Kiedrowski moved up beside Lamson in a tum, then motored by the Honda rider on the following downhill. Kiedrowski wasted no time once in second, quickly moving up behind the lead ing Matiasevich. Kiedrowski actually got by the Suzuki rider at one point, but slid out in a turn and lost his momentum. Lamson took the opportunity to move back into second. "I had him in that tum, but when I gassed it the back end slid around," said Kiedrowski. "Then I went to gas it again and it slid back around the other way ." On lap four, Lamson powered by Matiasevich on a straight, and Kiedrowski zapped the Suzuki rider later on the same lap. "I was riding kind of stiff, and I was worrying too much about what was going on behind me," said Matiasevich. "It' s been a long time since I ran up front and I decided it would be better to back off with the way I was riding." LaRocco had gotten by Stanton on the second lap, and the two soon mo ved by Brooks and Matiasevich for third and fourth, respectively. To the delight of his many fans , LaRocco was on the mov e, and it wasn't long before he was pressuring Lamson. LaRocco cut to the insid e of Lamson exiting a turn near the

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