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/127589
eMorDeROSS . AMA National Championship 125/5llOcc MX Series: Rounds 9/1 I ~ Mike LaRocco (5), competing in his firs t-ever 500cc National, opened the '93 series at Washougal MX Park with a sweep, winning b oth motos with relative ease. LaRocco, Emi erect at Washou al By Kit Palmer WASHOUGAL, WA, AUG. 8 ne word can perhaps best describe the type of da y bo th Mike LaRocco and Jeff Emig h ad a t the Washougal MX Park track in sou thern Washington - flawl ess. It seemed as though neither rider could do no wrong as they swept both motos of their respective classes at the opening round of the short four-round 500cc National series and the continuation of the long 13-round 125cc series. LaR occo, a Team Kawasaki rider, looked more like a 500cc class seasoned veteran tha n a first-timer in the big-bore class, as he led from start to finish in the first 30-minute plus two-lap mo to and then came from behind to win the second moto after pa ss ing Mike Healey, defending champ Mike Kiedrowski and Steve Lamson. "Mike (Kiedrowski) won the 250cc champ ion ship, I guess it's m y turn now," LaRocco said . Team Honda 's Jeff Stanton, who recorded 2-2 moto finishes, finished second to LaRocco. Stanton' s teammate O 16 Lamson tallied 3-3 m o to finishes for third overall Kiedrowski rode in pain bu t still salvaged a respectable four th overall. " I' m still hurt in g from last week," sa id Kiedrowski, the recently crowned 250cc champ and defendi ng 500cc National champ. Kiedrow sk i pulled muscles and ligaments in his back in a practice session crash at the final 250cc National round the previous wee k. "I'm pretty beat up . My back is sore and you just can't win like this; I don't care who you are. You can 't race wh en your back is hurt." LaRocco ' s d ouble mo to wi n gi ves him a perfect 50 points on the da y and a six-po int lead in the series over Stanton. . Lamson is third with 40 poin ts. Capturing the hear ts of the esti mated 12,000 spectators wa s jus t-turned-1B year-old local favorite Jason McCormick from nearby Van couver, Washington. McCormick, who normally competes on a 125, ran as high as second in the first moto before dropping back and running th ir d for mos t of the moto . It w asn't until the seco nd- to-las t lap when he wa s p assed by Lamson and dropped to fourth where he would finish . In the second moto, McCormick wa s involved in a first-tu m p ile-up but still worked his way up to 12th for eighth overall. " It was a rush , a real rush, and I liked it," said McCorm ick of h is first-mote perfo rm ance. "I just hope the rest of the season goes like that." In the 125cc class, Emig, the defend ing cha mp, worked hard for h is moto wins, no tha nks to Team Suzuki's Ezra Lusk. Emig nailed the holeshots in both motos o n h is Steve Butler-tuned Yamaha YZl25 and spent the rest of the races tr ying to sha ke the pe sky Lusk . The two were never separated by more than a few secon ds throughout the da y on the fas t Washougal track, but both tim es ou t Emig prevailed, crossing the finish line just a few bike lengths ahead of Lus k. Thir d ov er a ll was Team Hond a ' s Jeremy McGra th, the recently crowned AMA Camel Supercross Champi on. McGrath turned in two consi st ent fourth- and third-pla ce finish es but could never really mount a serious challenge on either Emig or Lusk. By winn ing both motes, Emig moved ba ck into the National Championsh ip 125cc Series poi nts lead after losing it to H enry at the previous round in Ca lifornia when his bike d eveloped mechanical problems. Mediocre st arts relegated Henry to fourth overall via 5-4 moto finishes and he now trails Emig by five points, 366-361. McGrath is th ird with 334 po ints . Racin g conditions were all-but perfect a t th e Washougal track, which is n estled in the mounta ins just a few miles north of the Washington/Oregon border near the Col umbia River. Cool temperatures gave the compet itors a welcomed break from the heat and hu m id ity exp erienced at many of the previous eve nts . "This is great," said Team Suzuki's Brian Swink, who finished fifth overall