Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

"M T C O S'.;",: " ~: : OO R S ,, . '. ",' Round 7:Unadilla Valley Sports Center ,AMA 12 5125Dcc N ationalChampionship M olocroS$.5erieS ' Chad Walts gives Ryan Hughes the signal that says It all : " Loo k ahead - 14 minutes· +26." Hug hes wo n both 125cc motos. reen By Chris Jonnum Photos by Kinney Jones NEW BERLIN, NY,]ULY 17 o r the second year in a row, Kawasaki dominated the National MX round at the "Woodstock" of professional MX - the demanding Unadilla Valley Sports Center in central New York. A day that got off to a bad start for the green team - when defending champ Mike Kiedrowski broke a finger in Sunday morning's practice session - ended in triumph when Kawasaki pilots Mike LaRocco and Ryan Hughes won both motos in their respective classes. And not only did LaRocco and Hughes dominate, they took advantage of bad luck on the part of their primary rivals to improve their situations in the points races. While his teammateturned-nemesis Kiedrowski watched from the sidelines, LaRocco increased his once-narrow po ints advantage. He now leads by a commanding 61 points, with 328. Kiedrowski still sits in second with 267, but will most likely miss the remainder of the season. Team SplitFire/Hot Wheels/Kawasaki rider Hughes collected his first-ever National moto win in the first 125cc race, and proved it was no fluke when he backed it up with a convincing molo-two victory. Not only did he score the inaugural moto and overall wins of his career, but "Ryno" took over the points lead when Team Honda/1-800-COLLECT's Steve Lamson - who led coming into the event - crashed out of moto one and struggled with a sore shoulder to finish sixth in moto two. Lamson had been utilizing a consistent, steady approach to lead the series, and that's exactly what Hughes has used to overtake the Honda rider. Lamson is two points back in second, with 260; Hughes has a series-leading 262 points. P 14 Two weeks after announcing his eminent retirement, Team Honda/l-800COLLECT's Jeff Stanton turned in what may have been his best ride of the year, leading early in both 250cc class motos and finishing second overall via 2-2 placings, Suzuki's Brian Swink was third overall, with Team Noleen/Sizzler/Yamaha 's Kyle Lewis and Boyesen /Penske/Yamaha's John Dowd fourth and fifth, KTM's Cliff Palmer, Brian Austin, Honda/1-800-eOLLECT's , Jeremy McGrath, Team Noleen/Sizzler/Yamaha's Larry Ward and Yamaha rider Kohji Ohkawara rounded out the top 10. The 125cc division saw Kawasaki's Robbie Reynard come up with second overall by turning in 5-2 placings in the two motos. A set of 4-3 moto finishes earned former class champion Jeff Emig third overall. Team Honda/1-800-eOLLECT's Doug Henry wa s second in the first outing, but was again stricken by his mysterious stomach viru s in moto two , The defending champion led early but faded to a fourth-place-finish before taking a trip to the hospital. Henry was fourth overall, followed by Team Splitfire/Hot Wheels/Kawasaki's James Dobb, Suzuki support rider Denny Stephenson, Boyesen/Penske/Yamaha's Scott Sheak, RRP's Tim Ferry, Honda rider Mike Brown and Suzuki's Damon Huffman. The famous Unadilla track - which is only used once a year - is known for being extremely rough, rocky and challenging, and the natural-terrain circuit did not disappoint. Several of the riders were seen sporting hand guards and chest protectors to ward off the flying stones, and the ruts and ledges that developed throughout the day wreaked havoc with many. The '93 race was one of the dustiest in years, but moisture was more prevalent for this year's event. Temperatures were in the mid-80s, with' high humidity. As usual, the estimated 10,000 Unadilla fans provided nearly as much entertainment as the riders themselves, performing zany antics and indulging in the traditional "The other side sucks!" chanting contests. 250cc NATIONAL Team Noleen/Sizzler/Yamaha's Larry Brooks got the first 16-lap moto off to a start with a holeshot, and led for the first lap before being stuffed in a turn by Stanton . Later in the moto, Brooks swapped and went down hard, badly bruising his right forearm. LaRocco had suffered a midpack start, but was quickly advancing through the , ranks. McGrath gated third and was in that position when he crashed hard over an uphill jump on the second lap. "I bent my handlebars with my collarbone," sa id McGrath, displaying a bruise the size and pattern of a Renthal grip. "I guess that means I have strong bones. I was right behind Jeff and it wa s kind of dusty. I went outside and then inside, a nd right when the dust clea red I saw a hay bale and said, 'Oh, shit!' It hit me sideways in the air and I crashed." McGrath stumbled to his feet with his chest protector hanging in pieces, and removed it completely before rem ounting and slowly circulating the track. The Supercross champ dropped out on the next lap . LaRocco was soon up to fourth, and he passed Team Suzuki's Jimmy Button on lap five, taking over third behind Team Noleen/Sizzler /Yamaha rider Larry Ward. The duo closed the gap on Stanton, and LaRocco dispatched Ward on lap nine. Ward dropped back after sliding ou t in a turn, while LaRocco began stalking Stanton. The Hoosier tried a move for the lead coming out of Gravity Cavity on the next circuit, but he didn't make it stick until an off-earnber straight at the bottom of the valley. Stanton retaliated but soon fell off the pace, and LaRocco won by over 20 seconds . Ward was third, with Button fourth and Swink fifth. "I kind of bobbled off the start, but that gave me some time to pick some lines before I caught up to Jeff, " said LaRocco. "It's not so bad ," said Stanton. "LaRocco caught up to me and kicked my butt. I've got some work to do in the second moto. Unadilla has always been good tome." "I don't know if I'd have caught Jeff or not," said Ward. "I was catching him, but he was riding good. I didn't (catch him), so it doesn't mailer." Brooks again holes hot moto two, and Stanton again passed him soon after. Quickly into second was Lew is, with LaRocco starting much better in sixth. ., "I think I had the wrong gearing (in moto one), a n d I did bad out o f th e g a te," sai d LaRocco. "I went ba ck to what I normally use and it worked better for me." LaRocco advanced to third before completion of the first lap. He passed Lewis for second out of Gravity Cavity on lap three, and set about shrinking Stanton's five-second advantage. Ward was running fourth, with Button fifth, but on the beginning of lap five, Button clashed with teammate Swink. "Well, my good buddy teammate decided to take me out," said an angry Button afterwards, pointing to a hole in his pipe. "I moved him out a line in a tum, and he goes, 'Screw it!' and holds it wide open and T-bones me." "We made contact," said Swink. "My line was outside and I came down and we just hit." LaRocco closed to Stanton's rear fender, and made his pass going into the hidden section on lap six. Soon after, the 23-year-old LaRocco had established a comfortable advantage, which he held to the checkers. 'j "It's a good day for me," said LaRocco. "I'm sorry it wasn't a good show the whole race, but I gotta do what I golla do . I feel bad for Mike (Kiedrowski), but fortunately for me, I came out with the lead I have." "Second's nothing to be ashamed of," said Stanton. "LaRocco rode a hell of a race and pulled away. I've had some injuries, and I just didn't have the strength to hang up there with hi m." Despite riding with a banner stuck in his rear wheel, McGrath made a late charge to pass Lewis on the last lap for third . "The track's really rough out there," said McGrath. "There's a lot of ruts and a lot of rocks . In fact, I got hit by a rock in the privates on the first lap. After the pain from that went away, I felt pretty good." 125cc NATIONAL The first 16-1ap 125cc moto got off to a bad start when Lamson went down hard on lap one. "I was jumping down into whatever that thing is called Gravity Cavity," said Lamson. " I messed up and went over the bars at the bollom. I got hit by about four or five bikes." Lamson was attended to by medical personnel before being removed from the track with a very sore shoulder. Meanwhile, Emig led for a lap before being passed by Hughes out of Gravity •

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