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/127658
''''AJAA CBm~l$upefcr~ssseries , Round 7: Daytona International Speedway SPRRS U E C O S:,' By Donn Maeda Photos by Kinney Jones and Maeda DA¥rONA BEACH, FL, MAR12 s k a n y o f th e Came l Super cross Series regu,, lars which is th e most grueling sto p of the 15round series, an d most of them will agree upon th e one even t th at sepa ra tes th e me n from the boys. Daytona Internatio na l Speed way is the place, and the Daytona Supercross by Honda is the race. At Dayton a, st re ng th and endurance are the biggest assets - not even raw talent and perfect technique can overcome a lack of top physical conditioning. And who was the man of th e d ay? None other than Team Kawasaki 's Mike Kiedrowski, a rider who' many consider to be the stronges t on the circu it. Kiedrowski's riding sty le is not pretty, mind you, but when the going gets tough, that style is very, very effective. Kiedrowski's win at Daytona was his second in a row on the infield of the super speedway. The 25-year-old from Acton, California, enjoyed his first-ever Supercross win at last year's event. "When you win here at Daytona, you know that you've really earned the win," said Kiedrowski. "You have to be in top shape to win this race; the track is so rough. This kind of track really demands the most from the rider. The riders who tr ain get rewarded here - th ose who don't train pay the price." A (Above) Mike Kiedrowski (3) ran down four-time Daytona winner Jeff Stanton (5) to earn his second Daytona Supercross win In a row . (Below) Mike Craig (19), Doug Henry (8), Ryan Hughes (22), Stanton (5) and Doug Dubach (32) funnel through tum In the 250cc main. Finishing second to Kied rowski was - th e "other iron man," Team H onda/lBOO-COLLECT rider Jeff Stan ton, a fourtime Dayt ona Supercross winner. Stanton -l d the 'early stages of the race before e succumbing to the relentless pressure from Kiedrowski. Though he did his best to stay close, Stanton wa tched helplessly as Kiedrowski slipped away with a 15second margin of victory. "I'm not gonna B.S. anyone - the better rider won today," said the ever-blunt Stanton. "I had it in my head that I was going to hold on to the lead and win, bu t Mike rode a hell of a race." Completing the top three was 500cc National Champion Mike LaRocco. The Team Kawasaki pilot suffered an other poor start and methodically picked his way through the field and on to a distant third at the finish. As usual, laRocco was unhap p y with his' performance, and made it clear that winning is the only thing that could bring him satisfaction. "I came through the pack p retty good, but third isn' t satisfyi ng at a ll, " said laRocco. "You have to get a good start here. I knew it, and I didn't. I got a good jump, but the guys on the inside pushed me wide." But enough of the "men," what abou t the "boys?" Finishing fourth was the ever-popular reign ing Camel Supercross Champion , Team Honda/1-BOO-COLLECT's Jeremy McGrath. Though McGrath would beg to differ, each of the top three riders felt that the cha mp wo ul d be the least of their worri es on the mile-long, whooped-out Da ytona track. McGrath d id his bes t, however, and ran inside the top three for most of the race before falling victim to a late-race charge by LaRocco. "This is n' t even a real su per cross track ," said th e se e mi n gly ca refree McGrath. "This is a big ou tdoor track with supercross-style jumps . I was really nervous before' the start of the race - this