Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

FIRST THE ALLIGATOR ENDURO, THEN THE NEVADA RALLY, AND NOW.•. moto, while laRocco worked up to second after a ba d start. laRocco di d, in fact , close the gap on Kiedrowski, b ut would wash out and crash in a tum before mounting a serious challenge. As a result, the points chase betwee n the two remained the same at 11. Things went from bad to worse for Kiedrowski. All the excitement at Red Bud was for naught. Two weeks later, at the next round at Unadilla, a rock thrown fro m another bike's rear tire during a morning practice sessio n, flew up and shattered a bone in Kiedrowski's finger. Kiedrowski's season was over, for all intents and purposes. As a result, LaRocco won both motos at Unadilla and wo uld leave there with a command ing l lB-point lead over his nearest competitor. Wha t promised to be one of the closest championship finishes in quite some time ended up being a runaway win for LaRocco. He ended u p clinc hing th e cha mpi onship with two rounds still left in the series. And then there was John Dowd, the priva tee r Yama ha rider who capture d the hea rts of motocross fans around the nation. He got a good jum p on the season by finishing second overall at th e open ing round in Florid a, and woul d hang on to third - behind laRocco and Kiedrowski - for most of the series until taking over seco nd, aga in, when Kiedrowsk i we n t on the d isabled lis t. His consistency and the fact that he was second in the series ea r ned h im th e chance to r ide Mi ke Craig's works Yamaha after Craig quit the team at the Una dilla, New York, Na tional. Dowd showed his app reciation by scoring the o verall and p opular wi n in dramat ic fashion in what was his second ride on the bike at the Spring Creek National in Millville, Minnesota. It was onl y the second National win of his career. A few rounds later, Dowd again won, topping both motos at Binghamton, New York. Dowd ended up finishing a remarkable second in the series standings. This yea r's 250cc series also showed that two-time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath could, in fact, be a contender on the outdoor tr acks . Despite winning only two motos all year long a t Tro y and Washougal - McGrath showed he definitely had the speed to win, but not the endurance. Many times throughout the series, McGrath led the way only to be caught and passed - usually by Kiedrowski and Lakocco - late in the motos an d usually have to settle for third, the same spot where he finished out the series. Anoth er significant ha ppening was, as men tioned earlier, the surprise walking out on Tea m Yamaha b y Mike Craig. This was Craig's first year as a factory-backed rider, a situation which came about when Damon. Bradshaw retired at the end of the '93 season. Craig showed moments of brilliance on his new ride during the first half of th e season, winning the Tam pa Supercross an d running am ong the leaders at the Nationals. But inconsistent finis hes and num er ou s inju ries came betw een h im a nd his tuner Brian Lunniss an d so me of the other Team Yamaha personnel. He ha d had enough. Craig and Yamaha a gre ed to end their one-year con tract prem aturely, and Craig went on about his business, signing with the Honda of Troy team. There we re only thr ee differen t rid e rs who sc o red overall w ins in the 250cc class in '94 : LaRocco, who won seven; Kiedrowski, who won three; and Dowd, who won two. The only rider other than these th ree to win a moto was McGrath. CI In 1994, one brand of tire has dominated the biggest off-rood ra ces in North America: Michelin. First it was Team Green's Joey Hopkins winning Florida's Alligator Enduro in March . Then Alain O livier rod e Michelin off-rood tires to a resounding win at the Nevada Rally in August. And in September, Michelin riders, led by overa ll winner Stephane Peterhansel, ann ihilated the competition at the ISDE in Tulsa. Peterhansel a lso took the ISDE's Heavyweight class, while the Ita lia n team of Mauriz io Carminati, Tullio Pellegrinelli, Giovanni Sola, Fabio Farioli, Mario Rina ldi and Arnaldo Nicoli trounced the opposition in ISDE World Trophy Team competition. Their tires? Michelin, of course . And as if Michelin hadn 't a lready made its point, Nicoli and ~inal~i dominat~ the lightweight 4-Stroke class on Mlchelm off-road tires, too. . , Winning the ISDE didn't come easy. . ! ~e c~urse was bruta l and unfar~iv109 : SIX days and hundreds of miles Mle so BECAUSE of tire-eating rocks, mud, rocks, grass, rocks, dust and more rocks. And since riders had to make all their own repairs, if they suffered a tire failure, their race was over. Nearly 40% of the riders who started failed to Finish. Go to your Michelin Preferred Tire Dealer and get the same Michelin performance and durability that dominate from the Florida swamps to ELIN® Nevada the desert . MUCH IS RIDING ON YOUR 11RES." See the MS11 (at right) and aomp/eIe line of Michelin oIf.roac:I fires at your nearest Michelin PreFerred Tire Dealer. For more information, write 10 Miebelin CydeDept. P Box 19001, Greenville; SC29602; orCDR 803/458-0053. .O. W Ad information -(310) 427-7433 ant r.S.B.USA I .- I' KIDS FREE! 15yrs. & Under Two Per Adult Center Section Only. I ASCOT SUC TRAC (714) 533-4444 Your Local Participating ~.nAVlDSON Dealer 33

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