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
~ MOTOCROSS NMA Grand National Championship_MX ~ Charley Bogard (10) won three class es and earned th e Minicycle class Grand Nati onal Cham pionsh ip. Bogard, Latham crowned kings of Ponca Ci~ Clint Latham (26), here being chased by D avid Pingree (123), scored wi ns in three of four Pro divisions and earned th e Mo torcycle class Grand National Championship. By Chris Jonnurn JJD 24 PONCA CITY, OK, AUG. 3-7 on't mess with Texas," goes the Lone Star State's official mo to, and if the res ults of the 18th Annual National Motorsport Association Grand National Championship MX are an y indication, tha t' s good ad vice to heed. Suz u ki-mounted Cha rley Bogard - and Kawasaki-mounted Clin t Latham both Texans - each saw their careers take disti nct upturns when they scored their fi rs t-ever Minicycle and Motorcycle . GNC titl es, respectively, a t the CocaCola/Del Monte/ AMBUCS-sponsored event. Earning either of the prestigious titles is a strong precursor of future talent, as pas t winners have includ e d Damon Bra d s ha w , Je rem y McGra th, Mike Kied rowski , Jeff Em ig, Don ny Schmit, Ezra Lus k, Bud dy Antunez, Robbie Reyna rd, Jeff Demen t, Tom Clowers and several other top AMA National MX con tenders. Bogard's w in in th e Minicycle class marked the first time in three years tha t a non-Kawasaki rider scored that title; Jeff Demen t earned the crown in 1990, a lso riding a Suzu ki. The Mi nicycle Grand National Champ ion is determined by adding togeth er riders' scores in the 80cc Stock and Mod ified classes. Bogard, 14, wo n all four motos in the 1416-year-old d ivision , while arch-rival Ricky Carmichael, last yea r's cham p, did likewise in the 12"13-year-old ranks. The tie-brea ke r w ent to Bog a rd, by virtue of h is bein g in the o lder age group, but he rea ffirmed his right to the crown in the Supe r Min i (0-16) class, where he wen t h ead to head wi t h Carmicha e l in th e fi nal m ot o of the weekend and cam e ou t the winner. " It feels aw esome !" sai d ' the America n Su zuki /Arlington Suzuki / An sw er / Bell/Smit h/ MW Racing /TR _ Racing /Graphics by Kent /Tsubaki/ FMF/ Silkolene-sponsored Bogard after sewing up the title. "I knew I could win the Stock and Modified classes, but I knew the Sup er Mini would be tough. But I said I could beat Ricky and I did ." The Motorcycle title is settled by ad d ing to gether moto fini s he s in th e 125 and 250cc Stock and Modified Pro classes, and Latham topped all but the 250cc Stock Pr o division. Kawasa kimounted Brian Dee gan wo n th at class a nd provided La tha m w it h the most competition throu ghout the wee k, b ut inoppor tu ne crash es proved to be his downfall. "I jus t tried to stay consistent, " said Lath am, from Austin , Texas. "Deegan was m y ma in competition and he was riding good , b u t he crashed a cou pl e times. I want to race supercross next year and I need a ride, so this will definitely help. " Kawasaki rider Kevin Wind ham was also impressive, winn ing every competition he en tered, incl uding 10 mo tos in the Intermediate ran ks and the drawing for a free bik e. Windham aced th e 125 a nd 250cc St ock and Mo difi e d Intermediate classes, then putthe finishing touches on his week wh en his name was drawn for the Team Splitfire/ Ho t Wheels Kawasaki KXl 25 that was raffled off -jointl y b y th e N MA and Pro Circuit. As an amateur, Windham wa s not eligible for the Grand National Championship. A traditional two-moto format was utilized for most classes, though seven classes' were large enough ' to re quire two d ivisions. In those classes, ea ch d ivision ran two motes, and the top 15 from each division transfe rred to a third moto . Riders' scores fro m all three motos were taken into account. The Ponca City event used to draw upwards of 2000 entries, but has since become overshadowed by the AMA Amate ur National Championships, which traditionally take place the week after at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch in Tennessee. While still no t on par wi th its glory days, entry lists for Ponca City have seen an upturn over the past few years, and tha t was again the case; there were nearly 900 entries from all over the United States. The track was iden tical to last year 's , with the exception of the addition of a short section of technical whoops. Sign-up and practice took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the first .da y of racing scheduled for Thursday. . Things took a downturn , how ev er , w hen the skies opened up Th ursday m ornin g and. im me dia tely tu rn ed the track in to a muddy qu agmire. Six motos were run before the organizers decided to postpone racin g until early Friday morni ng . The precipitation le t up overn ight, b u t the track was still so muddy on Friday that the mi nibikes could barely complete a lap around the 1.5-mile circuit. Racing was agai n postp one d fo r . two hours while pumps removed water from the track and tractors scooped the mud off. It was feared that racing would have to be extended into Sunday, but amazingly, by shortening motos and racing until nightfall on Friday, organizers were abl e to complete the event on schedule so competitors could travel home or continue on to th e AMA Na tio nal in Tennessee on Sunday. "People always tend to remember the negative and forget th e positive," said NMA Vice Presiden t Lance Moorewood after the final day. "But we're listening to the riders and making the changes to kee p th em h app y : 'We ' ve had goo d " weather the past few years, but Mother Nature kind of reached out and slapped us in the face this time. We have no con-