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/127671
'; U E C O , Final Round: Sam Boyd Silver Dome 'S P R R SS" '" A Camel S MA upercrossseries , • Jere my McGrath ended his " dry spe ll " with a win at the final round. It was his ninth victory of the season, and the 19th 01 his career. By Ch ris J onnum Photos by Kinney Jones LAS VEGAS, CA, JUNE 11 14 s the time approached for the sweltering series finale to ge t und e rw a y in "Sin City," Jeremy MeGra th was busy starring in a 1-800COLLECT commercial in the Honda pits. While the cameras rolled, McGrath - in moto regalia and sitting astride his Skip Norfolk-tun ed Honda CR250 - held the handpiece of a makeshift payphone, The Californian seemed a natural actor, laughing comfortably and chatting away so convincingly that a casual observer would not realize there was no one on the other end of the line. But a little later, when th e ga te dropped for the long. 2D-Iap main event, McGrath's performance was even more mas terful. One take was all the cha mp needed to p ull the holeshot and lea d from start to finish, meeting the checkers well over 20 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. It was the perfect way to put an exclamation point on a stellar sophomore season for the Honda/1-8OO-COLLECT superstar, and - like his acting debut earlier in the day - was irrefutable proof that McGrath is a natural. As strange as it may sound, McGrath could actually use the shot of confidence he got in Vegas. Sure, he had clinched his second Camel Supercross crown in as many tries one week earlier, but he had finished second at that same competition, extending his losing streak to three races - the longest of his 250cccareer. "There are a couple of races I should ha ve won," said McGrath. "I 've been backing off a little, and I didn't wan t to do that this time. I'm number 15 again. That's how I need to ride and that's how I rode tonight." (McGrath's number was 15 last year, when he won a record 10 main events in his rookie year). The win was the 19th of McGrath's career and his ninth of theseason, If he can match tha t performance next year, he will tie the all-time supercross win record of 28 - held by RickJohnson. • Finishing a distant second was Team Kawasaki's Mike laRocco - the winner of last week's race in San Jose. The 500cc National MX Champion lost su bstantial time working through traffic, and continued to fall back even after he was in second . "Actually, he (McGrath) was riding a little smoother than me tonight," said Lakocco. "At first I thought I might be able to chase him down, but I had a little trouble getting through traffic. It took a lot ou t of me." Still, LaRocco's finish was good enough to secure second place in the final point standings - not exactly what he had in mind half a year ago at round one, but an impressive finish to his bestyet supercross season, nonetheless. laRocco's teammate Mike Kiedrows,ki - the defending 250cc National MX Champion - placed third on the night, matchin g his finish in the final point standings, As he has for much of the season, the "MX Kied" started poorly and had to work through traffic as the leaders pulled away. Like Lakocco, Kiedrowski had planned on a supercross title before the season go t underway. Such plans of ten undergo unscheduled changes when you're a competitor of McGrath's. "Eventually things will go my way," said Kiedrowski. "I'll get a good start and be up there running with Jerem y putting on a great show . I'll try again next ' year. You have to keep charging. or you ain 't going to get anywhere - that's my motto. It was a great year." Yamaha privateer Jeff "Chicke n" Matiasevich - w inner of the 1990 Las Vegas Supercross - finished an impressive fourth this time around, ending the series with his best finish since 1991. Team Honda/1 -800-COLLECT's Doug Henry finished fifth, one spot ahead of Factory Yamaha rider Jeff Emig. Honda/1-80D-COLLECTs Steve Lamson finished seventh desp ite a lap-one crash , that had put him in last place, while the remaining top-10 positions were filled out by Team Suzuki's newly crowned 125cc East Coast Champion Ezra Lusk, Team Noleen/Sizzler/Yamaha's Larry Ward and Las Vegas resident Jimmy Gaddis. N ot quite as lo ng at 15 la ps - bu t much more closel y fou ght - w as the 125cc West ern Reg ional se ries fina le. Ryan Hugh es gave Team SplitFire/ Hot Wheels /Kawasaki their second win in as man y weeks, pr oviding some con solation for losing the title they've held for th ree years to Team Suzuki' s Da mon Hu ffman - second in Las Vegas. Hughes a nd Huffman had collid ed and taken each other out at the prev ious round , and they fought tooth and nail through much of the Silver Bowl main event. "I wo n three races, and Damon was expected to win all of them," said Hug hes. "I had some problems earlier in the year when my dad passed away, and it took me a while to recover from that. I feel like I'm riding great right now. It was a tough race, and I knew I was in good shape, so I'm glad I got to prove that I've been training ." Hughes' teammate Ped ro Gonzalez, who one week earlier had becom e the first Mexican national ever to win a 125cc main event, finished third after lead ing momen tarily, sewing up second place in the final p oint standings . Honda of Troy's Craig Decker was fourth ahead of Suzuki rider David Pingree. 250cc Lamson and McGrath won the two heat races, Matiasevich and Team Yamaha's Mike Craig topped the semis, and to the delight of his hometown crowd Gaddis claimed the Last Chance Qualifier, McGrath holeshot the main event and immediately pulled ahead. By lap three he had put over four seconds on secondplace rider Matiasevich, and by the time laRocco arrived in seco nd on lap five, McGra th's advantage was nearly seven seconds. Kie drowski and Team