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/127680
(Ab ove) Aaro n Hill (17) overcame a penalty-llne sta rting position to finish seventh. Joe Kopp (43), Mickey Fay (13) and Rich Kin g (80) all fell victim to Hill's charge. (Right) Ben Bostrom (11) led Chris Carr (4) and Scott Parker (2) for the first 10 laps. Bost rom dropped out with a blown head gasket. (Below) And y Tresser (91) and Ronn ie Jones (16) battled over fourth. Jones prevailed. ha ve to try again. As Hill pulled into his p its, his bike's clutch main shaft broke a n d h is crew scra m b led to repair the pa rt before the National. " It jus t go t real stiff w hen [ p ulled in," said Hil l. "I also raced the last four laps wi thout a rear brake. After they fix the clutch, they'll h ave to figure out what's wrong with my brakes." "1 get bad starts on these 6OOs," said Parker. " 1 guess it's because [ don't ride them that much." Joe Kopp got the jump on the rest in heat two, but the Chris Carr Show took over on lap two. Aztec Racing's Ben Bostro m settled int o the runner-u p position and ea rned a trip to the main, but was well behind Carr when the checkered fl ew . Ca rr' s hea t w ou ld b e the fastest of the da y. Kopp held on to third, ba rely fending off an aggressive Ronnie Jones. Fay ap peared to have the best ju mp off the line in heat three, but h e was mired in the pack as they raced into tu m one. Mike Hacker led the way int o tu m one, but p ro m p tly flew off the groo ve and allow ed Winchester Ha rley-Davidso n's Rodney Farris to take control. Fay, meanwhile, strugg led to recover fro m his bot ched start and began to get on the gas. Within three laps, Fay had closed to Farris' rear wheel, and the two swapped the lead twice before Fay took over for good . "I missed a sh ift at the s tart, " said . Fay. "Then, after I got past Rodney, I drifted way out of tum two and about ran up on the wall. He got by me again jus t before the jump, but he ov ershot tum three ." Fa y scored the w in with room to spare over Farris and Team Undo's Brett Landes. Morehead holeshot the fourth and final heat, but as he raced towards the jump, his better sense of judgment took over and he backed off the throttle. Hale sail ed past and into the lead, and Tresser also took advantage of Morehead's low-flyi ng riding style. That would be as far as Morehead would slip, however, as he held a firm grip on third. Tresser pressured Hale throughout the race, nearly making the pass in tum four on several occasions. At the finish, though, it was Hale with a comfortable margin of victory. "1 was struggling through turns three an d four," said Hale. "There's a real ta ck y spo t th at catches you off guard . Andy almost go t me on the outsi de, and that showed me his line. It was better: ' SEMIS Garvis Honda's Rich King trounced the field in the first eight-lap semi, and established himself as one to watch in th e National. Kopp was second, a full straightaway behind, while "Winkin'" Will Davis fended off the advances of rookie Expert Kenny Coolbeth for third . .King, Kopp andDavis headed for the National, the res t would spectate. Like King, Loral Lake Racing 's Ronnie Jon es whipped the field in Ple second semi and enjoyed a fu ll straightaway advantage over runner-up Er ic Bostrom. Brenny's Cycle-rider Da ve y Carnlin raged through the pack to nab the third and final transfer. Morehead led Ty Howard at the start of the final semi, b u t th e red fl a g brought the race to a halt on the third lap when Howard high-sided spectacula rly in t urn fou r while in second. Howard was spit off his machine and sailed through the air six-feet above the ground, but was able to make the complete restart. Morehead duplicated his holeshot and led every lap for the win, edging out Landes and Erion Racing' s Larry Pegram. NATIONAL All eyes focus ed on the front row composed of Carr, Hill, Parker, Hale, Bostrom and Fay - and the crowd let ou t a gr oan when Hill jumped the gun and w as sent to the penalty line. Normally the series' fastest starter, Hill misjudged the light and paid the price. " I w as just too anxious," said Hill. "Th e clutch grabbed a little more after it was fixed , but I'm not gonna bla me that. It wa s my mistake. I couldn't believe it it couldn't have happened at a worse time or a worse place. " A strong TI racer, Hill had also stood a good chance of challenging Carr. With Hill on the fourth row , Bostrom nailed the holeshot and led Hale, Carr, Parker and Fa y through turn one. Thou gh a tangle of some so rt has been the norm at past Peoria TIs, the entire field filed through turn one withou t incident. Bostrom, the 1994 Rookie of the Year, looked strong as he led the other 16 riders , bu t he knew that somethi ng wasn't right. "On the warm-up lap, I heard this high-pitched noise co ming from m y engine," he said. "It starte d to get louder as the race went on , and I was thinking, 'Man, this isn't good:" Nevertheless, Bostrom held on to the lead for five laps before Hale was able to mount a charge. Regarded as having one of the fastest motorcycles on the track, Hale powered pa st Bostrom and his ailing machine on the front straight, and in to the lead . But Ha le carried too mu ch speed and slipped off th e groove, a ll ow ing not only Bostrom, but Carr as well, to sneak past. "1was just in there way too hot," said Hale. "1 knew that if I could get past Ben early, he would hold up Chris for a while a n d let me get away. I think I could have won if I didn't blow it." Instead, Hale 's stra tegy worked against him, as Carr finally ran d ow n Bostrom on the 10th lap and began his patent ed Peoria pull-away. . "My bi ke w as gettin g slower and slower," sa id Bostrom, who wa s imp ressive, regardless of his falte ring motor. "Ch ris jus t za p ped me goi ng into th e rig ht-hander after the jump." Parker , meanwh ile, was doing all he could to find a wa y past Ha le before he regained his momentu m. " 1 saw him slip off, but I couldn't get my bike turned through the apex quick enough to get by like Bostrom and Carr did ," said Parker. "Hale got back in line just in time, and after that there wasn't another chance." Hale and Parker pa ssed Bostrom on lap 12, but by then, the damage was done. Carr had opened up a 10-bikelength lea d that he would mai ntain to the finis h. Pa rke r pressured Ha le for a few laps, but a slight slip in tum two on lap 20 allowed Hal e to open a comfortable lead. Bostrom's da y came to a sad end when his bike quit on the 15th lap . "We don't know what it is yet," said a disappointed Bostrom. "We think it might be in the lower end." A post-race teardown revealed a severely blown head gasket. ATR Racing's Tresser did his best to s tay in touch with the lead pack, an d did so throughout the first three-quarters of the race . Towards th e end , though, he began to slow, and eventually fell into the clutches of Jones, who had charged th rough the fie ld like a man possessed. " 1 was trying to keep up with tho se guys," said Tresser. "1 felt pretty good, but I was holding on to the bars too tight over the jump and my arms started to pump up. By the time Ronnie caught me , my hands were numb." "1 got a terrible start, probably about