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/127657
Round 1: Gatorback Cycle Park it! §hine in flurida (Left ) Kawasaki's Mike laRocco (7) chases down flrst-moto win ner Brian Swink (10) In the second 250cc Nationa l moto. laRocco eventua lly passed the Team Suzuki rider to win the moto and sc ore the overa ll victory with 2-1 moto fi nishes. Swink ended up third overall. (Below) Winner Jeff Emig (left) and runn er-up Steve Lamson spray each other wi th champagne on the 125cc victory stand . By Donn Maeda Photos by Kinney Jones and Maeda GAINESVILLE, FL, MAR 6 hat a difference an off-season can make. To a competitive spirit, second place is not much different than last and qui te often the agony of defeat only makes the hunger for the victory grow stronger. Las t year, Team Kawasaki's Mike laRocco and Team Yamaha's Jeff Ernig found themselves close - but with no cigar - in their respective class es when all was said and done. Instead, it wa s Kawasaki 's Mike Kiedrowski and Honda's Doug Henry who emerged the title-w inners in the 250 and 125cc National Championship Series. Though i t is qu ite unlikel y that Kiedrowski and Henry spent the offseason basking in their glory, it is quite probable that laRocco and Ernig spent their winter months tr ain in g harder than ever, intent on improving their 1993 positions by one. When the dust settled after the season-opening Gainesville Natio nal MX at Gatorback Cycle Park, it was none other than LaRocco and Emig who emerged the victors in the 250 and 125cc classes, respectively. After being bested by Suzuki teamster Brian Swink in the first 250cc moto, LaRo cco stormed through the pack to secure the overall victory with a win in the all-important second moto. "I'm not happy if I'm not winning; it's just no fun ," said laRocco. "Maybe W now I can ease up on myself for a week or so ." Fir st-moto winner Swink " hit the wall" in moto tw o - after leading the early stages of the second race, he faded to a distant eighth. No matter, Swink's popular win in the first moto was good enough to secure third overall. Team Yamaha/Boyesen/Penske rider John Dowd snuck into second overall with consistent 5-2 moto finishes. As for Emig, he topped h is peers with a convincing win in the first moto and a steady third in moto two. "I usually start the series off slowly, but I'm ready this yea r," sai d Emig, wh o las t year lost his crown to Henry. "I started trainin g harder, earlier, this winter." Easily besting the field in the final 12Sec moto was teenage sensation Robbie Reynard, but a first-moto ninth held the Kaw asaki rider to fourth overall. Honda's Steve Lamson and Suzuki's Ezra Lusk rounded out the podium. But what about the two new champions? Both Kiedrowski and Henry turned in less-tha n-stellar performances in their inaugural rides wit h their number one plates. . In the 250cc class, Kiedrowski ended the d ay a solid fourth, de sp ite being well off the leaders' pace. For Henry, the day was one tha t he'd rather forget . After finishing a distant sixth in the first go- round, Henry steadily faded back into the pack in moto two before pulling