Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

clashed on lap 11 (see sidebar), Hu ghes pulled ahead to a comfortab le win . Gonzalez was third and Decker fourth. "At first we were all up there," said Hughes. "I made a bobble, but regained my composure. We were all racing really hard, but there wasn 't any di rty rid ing out there. It was a good race:' "I rode my heart out," said Huffman. "It was a pretty amazing race. I wish I'd won, but tha t's how it goes sometimes. It's going to be a little tougher now. It's the outdoor season, and I just need to concentrate on that: ' Gonzalez' third-place finish put him in a 134-point tie with Decker for second place in the fina l p oint s ta nd in g s. Because he had won a ma in event an d Decker hadn't, Gonzal ez was awarded the runner-up spot. "I got second in the standings, so I'm happy," said Gonzalez. "It was tough, and [ think it's going to be tou gher next year. We have to go home and train and come back again." VI' Sam Boyd Silver Dome Las Vegas, California Results: June 11, 1994 (Round 15 of 15) 125 HEAT 1 (6 laps; 20 riders, top 9 triiln s f~r) : 1. Crai g Decker (Han); 2. Pedro Gonzalez (K.>w); 3. David Ho nda / 1-800-COLLECT's Jeff Stanton ha d both suffered poor starts, while Lamson went down in the wh oops on lap one and was working his way forward. The long track put lap times around the one-minu te, 20-second range, an d traffic q u ickly began to sp rea d out. McGrath's advantage was over 10 seconds at the midway point, by which time many of the fans had begun to leave the stad iu m. McGra th la p ped 12th -p lace rid er Stan ton five laps later, an d went on to win by over 20 seconds. He p ulled two nac-na cs on the final circuit, b u t was clea rl y ex hausted when the race was over. "Well, I'm really tired, I know tha t," pan ted McGrath. "I'm glad to win again. It was a lot toughe r this yea r, that's for sure. Those guys were prepa red, and it wasn' t easy. I hope it's easier next year ." laRocco recovered from a fifth-place s ta rt to finish a d istant .sec on d, while Kied rowski recovered from a mid pack s tart to tak e the sho w po sition. "There were a coupl e slick spots out there," said Kied rowski. "Th ey mad e it a little tight in spots , and it was kind of hard to pass, but it was nice and long. It was probably one of the better Las Vegas tracks we've ha d over the years." Matiase vich rod e his best race of the yea r, slipping only two positions from his second-place start, while Henry rode a steady race for fifth . 125cc Decker won the first heat after a tough battle with Gonzalez. Hughes easily won heat two, and Suzuki rider Greg Schnell topped the Last Chance QuaIifier. H ughes p ulle d the holesh ot in the main, with Gonza lez close behind. Huffman was third, and the trio immediately began to wag e war for the lead . Huffm an trip led by Gonzalez on lap three, but the Mexican then utilized a comer to snea k by both Huffm an and Hughes. Huffman 'responded with an aggressive move that p ut him in the lead . As the riders left the stadium on the next circuit, Hughes reclaimed the top spo t, which he held until lap nine. Huffman passed him at tha t point, and the two over-leap t a jump before the "SuperJump," slamming into the uphill face . Hughes regained the lead, and when Huffman and lapper Sh a ne Trittler (Above) Ryan Hug hes (22) came out on top of a hardfought battle with 125cc Western Regional Champio n Damon Huffman (20). (Right) Mike laRocco (7) prepares to overta ke Jeff Matia sevich (21). laRocco fin ished second, while Matia sevl ch was an impressive fourt h. New Vegas track asuccess A Daytime temperatures reached a high of 108 degrees, and the evening remained quite warm. Track worker s combatted the heat by watering the track liberally whenever possible. In the l2Sec main event, the "SuperJump" provided a scene that was almost too fantastic to believe. On the 11th circrowd of 20,058 filled the small Sam Boyd Silver Bowl- home of the University of Las cuit, second-placed rider Damon HuffVegas , Nevada, Ru nnin ' Rebels. Tho se man singled the double jump that sent riders back into the stadium. Suzuki prifans were treated to a course tha t many riders vateer Shane Trittler - who had just been described as the best of the year, thanks in part to an obstacle that was tried ou t for the first time lapped - doubled the jump, hit H uffman's Suzuki and was thrown from his by the promoting Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. Reminiscent of the Los An geles bike. Trittler turned a complete flip in the Coliseum's peristyl e ju mp, the " KOMP 92.3 air before corning down. .. on the back of Huffman's motorcycle! Huffman continSuperjump" took riders ou t of the s tadium momentarily - via a double over the facility's ued all the way to th e bottom of the heavily reinforced locker room - befor e launchdownhill before stopping to let Trittler off - then continued on to finish second. ing them back into sight of the appreciative fans. "I wasn't sure exa ctly w ha t hapThe section left more room on the stadium floor, an d provided the longest track of the year. pened," said Huffman. "All of a sudden there was something on my back . That With the high lap times and the high mercury levels, conditioning played a major factor in the These steel relnforcementa were tooka lot ou t of me - two guys comrace - and we're not talkirig about air condition- used to bra ce the locker room which pressing (the suspension) at the bottom ' of the hill. I'm good friend s with Shane. ing. At the completion of t he 26-and-a-ha lf- the · SuperJump· went over. There la We go riding a lot and I'm just glad he minute-long 250cc main event (nearly seven talk of using the obstllcle In next didn't have to land on the hard ground:' minutes longer than last year's race), McGrath, October' s truck race. laRocco an d Kiedrowski all we re completely all happened so fast, I can't really soaked in sweat. "When Mike Kiedrowski is sitting down on the remember it," sai d Tri ttler. "The next thing I knew I was on podium," joked race announcer Larry Naston, "you know it was Damon's bike with my arms around his waist. When he stopped, I jumped off and slapped him on the back, and yelled, 'Go, go, gol'" a tough race:' :It 15

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