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/127663
cent of several other races this season, but fea tu red a hi gher-quality so il than has been used at th e las t few rounds. Ruts were not a problem for th e m ost part, th e one excep tion being a sin gle, d eep groove throug h the lon ger of two whoop sectio ns. The s tad iu m's la rge floor allowed track build er Rich Winkler to keep the co urse fairly wi d e, w ith several corners o ffe ring mor e than one usable line. In addition, the ' stad ium's aco us tics were much better than has become the norm of late, as race announcer Larry Naston could actually be heard while th e bikes were racing. The track design's one weak point came about because race p rom ot er s SRO/Pace did not have permission to use the ou ter perimeter of the field. Th is meant that run-off ar ea between s tra igh ta way s wa s minimal, and access by photographers was thus re stricted . "This stad iu m is perfect for supercro ss, " sa id Team Suzuki's Damon Huffma n , a fte r winn in g the se co nd l 25cc heat race. "I hope we come back every year." Spea k ing o f Huffman, the l25c c Western Regional po ints lead er earned an impressive w in in the second l 25cc Eas t / Wes t showdown of the season, makin g up for his per formance at the firs t s howdo w n in H o uston three months earl ier. There, Huffman had suffered d efeat at th e hands of teammat es Ezra Lus k an d Jim my Button b oth Ea st coast rid ers - but in Minneapolis he stood atop the high est step on the w inn ers' rostrum. He di dn't get there eas ily, ho w e ve r, a ft er ga ting poorl y a nd finishi ng lap one back in fifth before charging past the leadin g Lu sk. Team SplitFire /H ot Wheel s / Kawa sak i rider Ryan Hughes finishe d th ird for the Western region, while Button s u rvived a wild, crowd-pleasin g r id e, that fo u n d him leading at o ne po in t. H e c ross ed the fin ish line in fourth position. Brit Jam ie Dobb rode well to finis h fifth for the SplitFire /Hot Whe els/Kawasaki team; it equaled the best supercross finish of his career. Finishing ou t the top 10 in the talent-laden race were Team DGY's Chad Pederson, RRP / C ycl es o f Pa lm Beach/Ka yoba cked Tim Ferry, Tuf/Team Green rider Jeff Curry, Team SplitFire/Hot Whe els /Pro Circuit's Pedro Gonzalez, and Boyesen/Yamaha/Penske's John Dowd. "Th is is my first tim e winning w ith th e Eas t a nd West both competing," sa id Huffman . " Th er e were a lo t of good ride rs, but I used my head an d in the end it pa id .off." 250cc Cra ig eme rged from turn one with the lead in the firs t of two block-passfilled hea t races, but Sw ink was rig h t behind. Sw ink closed on the third of ei ght laps, pu lled alongside o ver a whoop-covered h i ll , and sl a m m ed C raig in the Io llowing turn. Cra ig pinched him off, but Swink forced his w ay by after the next whooped-out straig h t. Swink stay ed ou t front to the finish, with Team Honda/1-800-COLLECT's Steve Lamson getting by Craig to take second. Craig was third ahead of LaRocco. Kiedrowski advanced to fifth place, after falling in turn one, and would have to race in a semi. "He (Craig) made a mistake, so I just got o n the ga s in the whoops," said Swink. "Last weekend I decided it's the end of the yea r and I'm just going to give 150% and make it or break it. I felt good and I think if I can go 20 laps like that I'll be right there:' McGrath holeshot heat two, but was soon challeng ed b y a rch- nemesis Jeff ' Emig of Team Yamah a. Emig tried to ju mp past McGrath over a triple, and after lo oking over a n d seeing h im , McGrath ha d no choice bu t to surrender the inside line when Emig blocked him in the next tum. McGrath cut back und ern eath Emig, however, and powered by over a series of small ju mps, cuttin g back across Emig 's line once he was by. Emig ma de anot her attempt a t a charge on lap six, but was not able to seriou sly threaten McGra th, who d id a nac-nac over the triples on the final lap . Henry wa s third , with Team Hond a/l800-COLLECT's Jeff Stanton a di sta nt fou rth, overcoming a non-fun ct ioning clutch to take the heat's fina l tran sfer. "Jeff (Emig) actually passed me over that triple," admitted McGrath. "I went inside and he went outside , and I knew he was going to get by. He rod e a good race. The track is really good for racing." (Top)Impending doom: Jeremy McGrath (1) had to wait until the 16th lap to do it, but he passed M Craig (19) ike and notched his eighth win of the year. (Above) While Michael Criag signs autographs. his mechanic Brian Lunnlss jokes with AMA tech Ins pector Mike Showen. Officials had Yamaha mechanics tear down Craig's VZ250 for a routine Ins pection after the main event, but found nothing wrong. Yamahas have pulled the holeshot In nearly every main event this season. (Left) Damon . Huffman (20)leads Ezra Lusk (17)and Jimmy Button (34) in the crowd-pleasing 125cc main event, which pitted riders from the East and West coasts head to head. Huffman went on to win. with Lusk finishing second.