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/127664
MX Champion. With his throttle pinned, McGrath lost control of his Honda and slammed int o the side of the Kawasaki rider. McGrath's bike got sucked into Kiedrowski's front wheel and was flicked into the air, po unding McGrath into the grou n d. At the sa me tim e, Kiedrowski ricocheted into the mechanics' area, scattering everyone. Fighting to maintain control of his bike, Kiedrowski center-punched a hay bale halfway up the face of a jump. As he struggled to untangle himself from the hay bale, LaRocco sneaked by, rounded the last two turns and scored the win. Kiedrowski regrouped to finish a frustrated second, while McGrath remounted his bent Honda to finish third just ahead of Emig, and Team Noleen's Larry Ward. "I just got into my pace too early and 1 started ma kin g m is ta kes," said McGra th. "But 1 wasn't about to just sit back and let him (Kiedrowski) have it (the w in ). 1 tried to p ass him on the ins ide, bu t 1 got out of control and my momentu m carried me into him. It was kind of dumb on my part and that's not like me. 1 apologize for running into Mike. He earned the win tonight; he put pressure on me and he rode a great race." "I just kept plugging away, trying to wear him down," said Kiedrowski . "He blew a triple jump and 1 got him. Then in the whoo ps, we both gassed it and he came into me. 1 was holdi ng my lin e, but that's racing - that's how it goes." And LaRocco saw the whole th ing take place right before his very eyes. "I could see them riding aggress ive; all 1 coul d do was wait and see wh at happened . My only qu estion was if 1 could get by Mike (Kied rowski) cleanly before he could get back on the track" Afterw ards, there was some talk in the pits of "rough riding" on the part of McGrath, but most people agreed .it was racing," including the opinion which matters most, that of AMA's Roy Janson, who quickly reviewed the altercation on video moments after the race. "Yeah, it migh t have been a little rough, bu t you gotta hand it to the guy (McG r a th); h e n ever gave up ," said Ernig, w ho also viewed the crash on videotape. Perhaps Bevo Forte, the Scott goggle rep, summed it up best "Hey, they were two guys racing, giving it their all and that's what racing is all about." "There will be other races to win," said Kiedrowski. Despite having a dent put in his armor, McGrath - with 268 points - still enjoys a huge SQ.-point lead over LaRocco with just three rounds left in the series: Seattle, San Jose and Las Vegas. By recording his second win of the season and the fourth of his career, LaRocco moves back into second place ove r H •• (Abo ve) Suzuki's Jimmy Button (34) parks teammate Ezra Lusk (17) In the com bined EastlWest 125cc main event. Button went on to win the race , bu1 Lusk sewed up the Easte rn Regional 125cc Supercross series title. (Lett) McGrath and Kledrowskl (3) bo unced off each othe r as McGrath re-passed Kledrowski duri ng the ir epic last-lap battle.