Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

second battle enjoyed the ir stint in third . position, bu t Stan ton eventually took control. That all ch an g ed , however, when LaRocco's charge carried him to third place on lap 10, leaving the three to fight over fourth . But tha t wo uld be 'a s far as laRocco would get, as he was a full 22 seconds down on Ward wi th less than four laps remainin g. "I just got tangled up on the start and was way back," said LaRocco . "This tra ck is nice, bu t it's hard to ma ke u p time on it" McGrath cel ebrated his firs t-ever 2S0cc Na tional moto wi n by pullin g a nac-nac over the long triple on the back straigh t, and he cro ssed th e finish line with a big grin. "Dude, I'm so stoked!" he said. "This track has a lot of jumps and some technical sections too. I'm a little hot, but we'll see how moto two goes." " H e (McGrath ) wa s riding really good," said runner-up Ward. "I tried to show him my front wh eel a couple times, but he was real smoo th. I just wanted to finis h in as good a position as I coul d . This is my best moto finish of the year." Dowd made a last-lap charge to nab Stanton for fourth, and explained, "The first few laps I wa s casing ju mps and stuff. It's kind of a su p ercross tr ack. Then I settled in and got com fortabl e, and made a little bit of a charge." Upset at having been passed by Dowd, Stanton roared out of the mototwo gate like a man possessed, snaring the holeshot and immediately establishing a lead over Button. McGrath started worse than in moto one, but was up to third by the end of lap two. LaRocco again ga ted mid-pack, completing the first go-around in 10th. McGrath went inside of Bu tt on in a turn on lap four, then powered by on the following straight, and a hard-charging LaRocco moved Button back another spot at the end of the same lap . laRocco ad vanced his Mike LaRocco Sr.-tuned KX2S0 to McGrath's rear fender, then passed in a section of trees. McGrath reclaimed second place over a double, but LaRocco took control in the next tum. LaRocco was faced with an eight-second d eficit to Stanton, a nd even if he "Airtime" at Tro N could make the pass, McGrath would have to stay in third for laRocco to take the o verall. A ware of the sc enario, laRocco came up with a bu rst of speed to pull away from the Supercross champ, and began closing on Stanton at the rate of two seconds a lap. By lap eight he wa s on Stanton's rear fend er , and he made it by on the following circuit, pulling away for the win . . "I didn 't g et a g r ea t start; I go t pushed out in the first tum. That stuff happens," said laRocco. "I wasn't too worried. After a few laps I figured I could do it. Th ey made me work hard. Jeff was ou t there riding a good race, and fortunately I caught up to him ." Desp ite b eing passed, Sta n ton refused to pla y team tactics, and he held off a last-lap charge by McGrath to finish second. "We changed my bike qu ite a bit (for moto two), and it was pretty o air show would be complete without Guy"Airtime" Cooper, and the Team Suzuki Off-Road rider made a much-appreciated guest appearance a t the Troy National. "This is one of my favorite tracks," said Co o p er , who won his first National at the ven ue in 1987. "I knew I'd get tired, so I decided to put on a show to keep my mind off it." And put on a show he did, as evidenced b y the huge cheer that fol lowed him around the jump-filled circuit. Cooper utilized the jum ps to air out his FMF-modified RM2S0 like in the days of old, even taking the time to do a nac-nac over one long triple. In another tricky section - a ju mp followed by a dog-leg tum - Cooper con. sis tently leapt over the inside of the tum , landing a full 15 feet further than . the rest of the field. On one pass over ~ the obstacle, Cooper clip ped 'a ti re with his front Drake lever as he ) eft the jump. His front w heel locked as he soared through .the air, and Cooper's right foot came off th e peg as he hinded. Team Kawasaki cons ultant Jeff Ward saw the maneu ver and shook-his head; laughing "I though t we were through with him !" Coope: ~med a 14th-overall finish with his 10-15 placings, d espite suffering a flat rear. tire m moto two . The Oklahoman is trying to arrange his schedule so tha t he ca.nnde the August 14 Washougal, Washington, Na tional MX, and will also compete in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, International Six Days Enduro, September 20-25. m uch 100% better," said Stanton, who will retire a t the end of this season. "laRocco rode great. I just keep moving up the ladder, and hopefully I'll get a win before I retire. " "Man, I'm beat-assed tired," panted McGrath. "I knew all I ha d to do was pass Jeff, but I was just too beat. I'm still happy though. Second's good . I just keep gelling better every week." Bu tton was fourth ahead of Dowd and Ward, who be nt his front brake lever out of reach on the first lap . 125cc NATIONAL Hughes led th e early going of the first 12Sec moto, with Henry, Huffman, Ezra Lusk and Lamson takin g chase . Kawasaki's Robbie Reynard got a case o f the headshakes and cra shed off the t ra ck o n the second straight, then rem o u n ted an d nearly ran down a mechanic who was crossing the course. Reyna rd hit a lapper and crashed again before fina lly dropping ou t when h is countershaft sprocket fell off. He nry got b y Hughes on lap one, while Lamson crashed and aggrav ated an a nkle he had twist ed th e previous week at Un adilla. Lus k m oved up to seco nd, bu t was also slow.ed b y a Unadilla-induced injury, his being to his back. "I could ba rely hold on," said Lusk. "I was all over the bike, so I backed off a little." Huffman moved by his Suzuki teammate, bu t was then passe d by a n inspired Emig, who was the fastest rider on the track - for a while. "I thought I might get (Henry) at the beginning, bu t then Jeff got me," sai d Hu ffman. "I went a little wide, an d I let him have it. I figu red he migh t carry me up to Henry, but it didn't work." Just as it ap peared that Emig wo uld steal the lead from Henry, the Yamaha rid er went down hard in a sectio n of do ubles that claimed many a rider during the moto, Hughes had crashed and been knocked unconscious two laps earlier, while James Dob b and Davey Yezek were other victims . Henry cruised to a lO-second win, with Huffman capitalizing on the deteriorating field to capture second ahead of Lusk. Lamson survived two cras hes for fourth. "I've been losing my fluids and getting dehydrated afte r the races , so Tom Malone - a doctor with the AMA - gave Jimmy Button (34) leads Jeff Stanton (5), Buddy Antunez (SO), Mike laRocco (7), Joh n Dowd (16) and Larry Ward (11) through tum one in the second 2SOcc moto. Moments after this photo was taken, Stanton cut underneath Button and took over the lead. me an LV . before the race, " said Hughes. "I think it helped, because I feel great! I had no p roblems at all." Lamson, Hughes and Lusk were the front-runners on the first lap of moto two, with H u ffm a n fo u rt h ahead of Henry. Lusk again began to fade with a so r e back, so Huffman took up the cha r ge . The yo u ng Californian advanced to Lamson's rear fend er, zappin g the Honda rid er on lap six, th en quickly pulling a five-s econd cus hio n. Hen ry took a long tim e to ge t b y Hughes, bu t easily sho t down Lamso n for second, then mounted a ferocio us a ttack on Hu ffm a n with just one la p remain in g. H u ffm an held on for th e win , and was congratu lated by his elated mechanic, Tony Berluti. "I think it may ha ve helped with all the jumps and every thing, plus the dirt was kind of like supercross dirt," said Hu ffman. "( Henry) came a little closer than I wanted it, but I held him off at the end." 01 Kenw orthy's Mot ocross Park Troy, Ohio Results: July 24, 1994 125 MO TO 1 (40.ridns; 30 min ut es, p lus 2l.aps): 1. Doug Henry (Hon); 2. Damon Huffman (Suz); 3. Ezra Lusk (Suz); 4. Steve Lamson (Hon); 5. David Pingree (Suz); 6. Denny Stephenson (Suz); 7. Mike Brown (Hon~ 8. James Cobb (Kaw); 9. Craig Decker (Hon); 10. Pedro Gonzalez (!

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