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/127688
1994 Season in review By Ch ris Jonnum and Kit Palmer hen we published our supercross season review way back in January, we e n ti tled it "Get in the Ring." Little did we guess how apropos that headl ine would tum out to be. The '94 season unfortunately included more W -.::t< 0\ . ,...., 0\ N ,...., l-< than its fair share of fisticuffs, what with Jeff Emig drop-kicking Mike laRocco in the head, Mike Kiedrowski launching his KX250 into LaRocco and Ryan Hughes and Doug Henry holding an impromptu wrestling match on a Delmont berm. But despite the unfortunate sideshows, most of the brawling took place the way it's supposed to - on the motorcycles and during the race . The 1994 profess ional motocross season provided some of the best action in years. 125cc The 250cc class is supposed to be the prem ie r ca tegory in motocross . The purses are higher, the bikes are faster and the names are bigger. But if all that is true, then why is it that most fans see med more interested in the tiddler category this year? The answer is simple: At nearl y all 12 of the rounds on the circuit, the 125cc class had more potential winners and much closer ra cing. While th e 250cc· division saw just three differ ent winners throughout the season, no fewer than six riders earned overall victories in the 12Sec class. There were also five differentlead changes in the points standings, with Jeff Emig, Steve Lamson, Ryan Hughes and Doug Henry all taking their stints at the top. With Emig's win at round one during Daytona bike week, it appeared that the '92 champ may be back on track to another title - especially when defending-champ Henry fin ished 13th. But Emig had trouble maintaining consistency. At round two , his Yamaha quit running just before the start of the first moto, and while he rebounded with a second overall finish at Budds Creek , he would be up and down all year. Lamson, on the other hand , was extremely consistent - for the first half of the season at least. The Honda ace finished in the top five at each of the first six rounds, winning at Budds Creek and maintaining a slim poin ts lead up un til Unadilla. There, Larni's strategy of consistency turned on him, as he crashed out of moto one on the first lap. Hughes went on to score the win - his first ever and by virtu e of his consistency, he took over the points lead . Like Lam son, though, Hu gh es was not able to ma in tain that consistency , crashing hard at the followin g round in Troy, Ohio. De spite being kn ock ed momentarily unconscious, the Sp lit Fire/Hot Wheels/Kawasaki pilot bravely sold iered on to a sixth-overall finish, but Henry had assumed the series lead a lead which he would never relinquish. Henry won just three races over the season, but again, it was consistency that allowed him to retain his numberone plate. After a poor showing at. the always unpredictable opening round , the Honda /l-800-COLLECT pilot sta yed ins id e th e top four for the remaind er of the year. The only exception was a ninth-overall placing at the finale in Delmont, where Henry d id what he had to do to win the title. And while he may have won just three rounds, Henry picked good times to peak. Two of the New Englander'S wins came in front of his home fans in Southwick and Binghamton, while the other was at Mt. Morris - always a popular event, and the site .oi Fox's 20th Anniversary celebration. Besides Hughes, one other rider also earned the first win of his career this sea- (l) .g ..... U o 30 (Above left) Doug Henry shreds at Southwic k, one of the three t 25cc rou nds where the New Englander won . (Left) High above the Binghamton track, TIm Ferry airs out his Honda CR125.