Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

;MOTOCROSS AMA National Championship 125/250(( MX Series: Rounds 5/5 e I d idn't think it'd be too good to make him crash," said LaRocco. "If it had been Stanton up there, there might have been a few more sparks, but I don't know if the outcome would've been any different." . Kiedrowski crossed the finish-line jump with both arms held high in victory, and LaRocco took a close second. Stanton came through a distant third. "I'm not making any excuses," said Stanton. "Th ose guys were on the gas and they deserve it. It's probably too late (to salvage the title) at this point, so I've just got to win the 500s." Dowd moved up through the pack the entire moto, passing Cooper in the final laps for fourth place and fifth overall. The privateer still holds down third place in the point standings, but laRocco, who missed round one with a broken wrist, is closing fast. Lamson was an impressive fifth in the moto after his crash, good for fourth overall. Suzuki teamsters Cooper and Phil Lawrence were fifth and sixth, respectively, and Brooks, despite a malfunctioning clutch, was seventh. Bradshaw, affected by the heat, finished 12th. Bradshaw is the only rider other than Kied r ow ski to have WOn a 250cc National this season, but has slipped to eighth in the point standings. Jeremy McGrath (15), the nmner-up in the 125cc National, sets up Todd DeHoop (38). Red Bud Track 'N Trail's Gene Ritchie is known for his strict rule enforcement. 10 Stanton dropped off the pace of Kiedrowski and laRocco, but was stiIl well ahead of Cooper. At the midway point in the moto, Kiedrowski, slowed by lappers, was forced to double a triple jump, and laRocco closed to within one or two bike lengths of his teammate. The battle for the lead began to heat up, and as race announcer Larry Maiers called the play-by-play, the spectators ran from one side of the hillside to the other in an attempt to foIlow the action. Near the end of each lap, LaRocco would close to Kiedrowski's rear fender, but Kiedrowski would gain some breathing room in the middle section. '1 wasn't going to let him push me into making a mistake," sa id Kiedrowski. "I wanted to win, but the points were the main thing. and I was more worried about beating Stanton. If I'd of felt like I was pushing it too hard I'd have let him by." The duo completed the 10th lap just one second before the 3D-minute mark, which meant Kiedrowski would have to hold off the determined LaRocco for three more laps. The battle carried them over 40 seconds ahead of the third-place Stanton, who in turn held a large advan- _ tage on Cooper. Lamson had recovered quite weIl from his lap-one fall, and sat in fifth. On the final circuit, laRocco let it all hang out, making two serious attempts to take over the lead. At one point, he took an inside line in a rutted right-hand comer, and the two were side-by-side up the following ascent. Kiedrowski held the inside in the following left tum though, and he used it to retain the point position. "I was trying my best to pass but Mike 's got a chance at the championship, and that's good for the team, so 125cc National McGrath holeshot moto one of the 125cc class, only to be passed by Team Green privateer Scott Sheak over the ski jump. Suzuki's Ezra Lusk was third ahead of teammate Brian Swink and Emig. Henry and Team Splitfire/Hot Wheels /Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider James Dobb were sixth and seventh, re spectively. Honda of Troy's Erik Kehoe suffered an early setback when he crashed into the snow fence on lap one, remounting back in the pack with a dazed head and a broken visor. Running fifth, Emig soon dropped a position when he landed in a soft spot over an uphill jump. Emig lost momentum and a!lowed Henry to slip by, but the Yamaha pilot took back fifth place soon after. Sheak was on the gas, pulling to a lead of 15 bike lengths, but h e crashed over a triple on the second lap and McGrath motored by. "I wasn' t nervous at all," said Sheak, " But I came up short on that triple and I messed up my front brake. I got up and g rabbed my front brake and feIl down aga in. My throttle also got reaIly hard to tum and iny arms pumped up." Em ig was on the gas, moving from fifth to third On lap three of 13. He then powered by Lusk on a straight, and started closing quickly on McGrath. On lap five, he pulled up alongside the leader on a gradual uphill, then -swooped by on the ou tside in the following turn. Once in front, Emig immediately began to puIl away. Swink was fading, but Henry overtook Lu sk for third, well behind McGrath. McGrath was fading too, however, and Henry passed him in the back section on lap six. "I got kind of tired," said McGrath. "My arms pumped up, too. That happens when I get a weekend off." Lusk got by McGrath as well, taking over third place when the Honda rider slid out in a turn. Lusk moved up on Henry, and the two began to dice for second. On the 11th lap, Lusk got by in a turn, but Henry used a rough outside line on a downhill and gained enough momentum to shoot back by the Suzuki rider On the next uphill. The next circuit saw the two swap positions no less than four times, but Lusk doubled a triple jump and allowed Henry to pull ahead slightly. "I passed him (Henry) one time, but I landed hard from a jump and mud got packed under my shifter," said Lusk. "I had to upshift to clear it up, and he got back by when / lost my momentum. I caught back up to him, but then it happened again. My mechanic put foam behind the lever for moto two." The battle had carried 'the duo closer to the leader, but Emig's advantage was too much, and he scored the win approximately 10 seconds in front of Henry. "I like this track and I was confident since I won here last year," said Emig. Lusk held on to third, with McGrath fourth and Swink a distant fifth. Dobb was sixth ahead of Suzuki riders Damon Huffman and Larry Ward, and DGY's Jeff Dement was ninth. Kehoe got up from his lap-one crash and charged the entire moto to complete the top 10. . Moto two was a yawner, as Emig snared the holeshot and never looked back. Honda of Troy's Todd DeHoop 19th in moto One after a hard crash - was second ahead of Lusk, McGrath, Ward, Dement and Dobb. Kehoe was 11th and Henry was clear back in 18th place after an early crash, and the two Honda riders mounted separate charges through the pack. "My start wasn't so bad, but I feIl on the first lap," said Henry. "Damon Huffman cross-rutted, and I hit him and went down. I'm not sure how far back I was, but / just banzaied, trying to make up as many positions as I could." Lusk disappeared from the front spots after crashing in the first lap, and McGrath moved up to challenge DeHoop for second. Emig was already pulling ahead, and had established aIDsecond lead by the second lap . McGrath stole second in the back section, but Emig was already three straights ahead of the Honda rider, and continued to stretch his advantage. DeHoop began to falter, as Ward block-passed him for third, and Dobb and the charging Kehoe got by soon after. "I hurt my back in the first rnoto," said DeHoop. "I landed in some soft stuff over a jump and felt a sharp pain. I got a good start in moto two, and I think / could've gotten second or third if it wasn't for my problems in the first moto." Kehoe began stalking Dobb and the duo moved by Ward for th ird and fourth, respectively. Kehoe was on the gas, and got past Dobb for third On lap eight. Though nearly 15 seconds behind McGrath at the time of his pass, Kehoe quickly began to narrow the margin. On lap 10, however, Kehoe backed off. "I had a good pace and I was trying to catch him (McGrath), but I almost crashed twice, and / lost all my energy saving it," said Kehoe . "I slowed down because / didn't want to fall." Emig began styling for the crowd on the final lap, scoring the win nearly half a minute ahead of McGrath. Kehoe settled for third. "It was just one of those races," said Emig. "Some go better than others." "I'm definitely getting better," said McGrath. "It was humid and there were a lot of ruts, but I'm getting used to it. / ride 250s better, but I'm getting more confident. / just need to do a little more to catch Jeff." Dobb was a distant fourth, with Henry finishing fifth in the moto and taking the final spot on the podium. "Every race is new for me," said Dobb, who was fourth overall. "I had been in the heat before at Hangtown, but this was the first time in the humidity. Plus, each track is new. I'm getting used to it though." Ward was sixth for sixth overall, with DeHoop placing seventh in the moto. Swink was forced to drop out when the

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