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/127590
Doug Dubach (14) and John Dowd (27) were inv olved in a tigh t battle throughout much of the first 125cc mo ta. Dowd was fifth overall and Dubach finished ninth. Kiedrowski and Stanton quickly ope ned up a 30-second advantage on Lams on, who in tum held a large lead over Smail. Smail soon dropped out , leaving an even larger space be t w een Lamson and Fisher. Healey also had mecha ni ca l problems and pulled out of the race. Stan ton moved in to challenge Kiedrowski for seco nd p lace on la p seven, then took over the position three laps later when Kiedrowski experienced bike troubles. "I got some dirt stuck in my (carburetor) slide because of the water, and my throttle cable s tuck w id e open," sa id Kied rowski. "I ha d to stop for a long time while I tried to get it to work right." Lamson, Fisher and a hard-charging Pal me r all got by the struggling Kiedrow ski, but the Kawasaki rider soon go t thi ngs squared aw ay and cha rg ed after the leaders. Kiedrow ski was able to overtake Palmer, but couldn't make up any more ground and had to settle for fifth place. "I know I could 've go tt en a t least third if it hadn't been for my throttle," said Kiedrowski. Lakocco, who won the 125cc National at Spring Creek last year, motored ahead to the win, w ith Stanton a few seconds back in second. " Mike was r id ing good ," said Stanton. "I was trying to catch him, but there's not much you can do when he has about seven or eight seconds on you . There was n' t enough time." Lamson was third and Fisher a commen dable fourt h. "The track tu rn ed out rea lly good," said Lamson. "I thought it was going to be a lot muddier than it was." "I feel like I'm riding good and ge tting more confiden ce," said Fisher. "I got kind of a late start this year , but I felt comfortable ou t there." Cliff Palmer and h is 550cc KTM crossed the line sixth. "I really like the mellow power of this bike," said Palmer. "I've never ridden the 500, but the 550's perfect for this type of track." . Pal mer's KTM tea m m ate Keith Johnson wo rked up from a poo r start to finish a strong seventh, with Taylor finishing eighth. In mo to t w o, Lamson snared the holeshot with Stanton on his tail in seeond. Kiedrowski was third, ahead of . Fisher, Hea ley and Taylor . laRocco was mired back in 11th, and soon los t even more position s when he went over the bars hard on the firs t lap. He qu ickly remo unted, a nd wi th his rea r fende r flapp ing in the breeze, set out to try and salvage a top finish. Stanton moved by Lamson and into the lead on the firs t lap, bu t unlike in mot o o ne, Lamson clung to his teammate's rear fend er. The two soon began to pull awa y from Kied ro w ski, who ap peared to be struggling. "My back was really h urting, and I jus t couldn't ride like I wanted to: : said Kiedrowski. LaRocco fell twice more, but each time the gutsy Kawasak i rider remounted and continued his blazing pace. "I kept falling, bu t I kept getting up and charging because I knew I had to get as many p oints as I could," sa id laRocco. Despi te the falls, LaRocco wa s making up ground fast, and at the halfway po int sat in fift h be h in d Sta nton, Lamso n, Kiedrowski and Fisher. He shot by 'Fisher for fourth place on lap nine, th en closed on and passed the fadi ng Kie d rows ki soo n af ter. LaRocco's progress stopped there, however, as the Honda duo of Stanton and Lamson had a lead of over half a minu te. . Lamson made a final run at his teamma te in the last laps, but Stan ton held on to score the moto and overall wins. "We made some changes for the second moto and the bike worked perfect:' said Stanton. " It sure helps when you get the holeshot." "I was thinking, and I knew how the poi nts were, so I was trying everything to ge t around, said Lamson . " He wa s rid in g good , th ou g h, and I think he knew where I was. I started this year out kind of slow, but I'm doing pretty good lately. Anything can happen and I've got to try and win the last two races." LaRocco was a d istant third for seco nd overall, and Kied rowski p lace d four th. Fisher had the hard luck story of the day, as his bike came to a stop on an up hill with just two laps to go. "My shock bolt came out, an d the Jeremy McGrath (15) pursues Jeff Emig (1) early in the first 125cc class mota. Jeff Stanton topped the SOOcc class for his first National MX win of the season. 7