Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Fukuoka, Japan ': SUftRcuq ~&§! ' ------- ---- -----'------'---~------- ------ By Akira Yamaguchi RJKUOKA, JAPAN, OCT. 22-23 eam Kawasa ki got two breaks in th e $200,000 Golden Cup Supercross - one bad brea k followed by a good one. The bad break came when race-long lead er Mike Kiedrows ki suffered a chain derailment with less than two laps to go. The good cam e when tea mmate Mike La Rocco was pe rfectl y po sitioned to take advantage of Kiedrows ki's misfortune and keep a Kaw asak i in the winner's circle ah ead of Honda/l -8OO-COLLECT's Jerem y McGrath and Tea m Noleen/Sizzler/Yamaha's Larry Ward. "That's exactly the way I wanted it to happe n," r em a r ked La Ro cco o f h is lucky pass on Kiedrowski. When asked how he planned to spend the $50,000 p rize that came wi th the main-event victory, LaRocco said, "To be honest, I'm going to try to payoff the rest of my house!" . "It's just one of those de als," said Kied rowsk i, wh o eventually fin ishe d fifth after putting the chain back on. "I put it back on as quick as I could and still got a fifth . I guess that's not too bad. " Finishi ng four th in the Sunday afternoon 250cc feature was Steve lamson. In the 125 main event, held on Satee u rday evening, Team Suz uki's Dam on H uffm an ran away with the 12-lap main even t as the five Americans in the field swept the first five positions. The second annual event was an invi tation-only affair in which 14 American 250cc s u percross s ta rs and five 125cc rid ers went to Japan in hopes of taking home a large chu nk of the purse. Challenging th e Ame ricans were an ambitious-b ut-ovennatched group of Japan ese heroe s. To no one's su rprise, the highest-placing home rider was 1Ithplace Kohji Oh kawar a, who has sp en t most of the las t tw o years paying his dues on the U.S. circuit. The spacious Fu kuoka Dome is one of the world 's most rem arkable spo rts sta d iu ms. Th e 50,000-sea t-plus venue has a roof pieced together with aircra ftgrade titanium, hun dreds of luxury sky boxes and the world's largest television screen. Unfortu nately, the promoters could d o nothing about the quality of the d irt trucked in to build an othe rwise spectacular race track. The gro unds crew, headed by longtime track bu ilder Rich Winkler, could not get a handle on the loose dirt. The soil refu sed to pack down on the jumps and in the com ers, making for . slot-ear lines all over the track. Tons of concrete mix were then ad d ed to keep the jump faces solid. However, the concrete was poured a little thick in so me a reas, making for rock-h ard and slippery take-offs. (One overly slick do uble b rou g h t down American stars Kied rowski and Steve Lamson an d several Japanese riders.) By the time the main event got underw ay on Sunday, the track was mostly one-lined and hard to pass on. Approximately 40,000 fans attended the two nights of racing. In a bid to bols te r attendance for Saturday night's 125cc program, the promoters finan ced two special events for the top 250cc rid ers. Half were invited to com pete in a "dash for cash" race with $3000 going to the winner, $2000 for second, $1000 for third and another $1000 to the highestplacing Japanese rider. Also, a style contest utilizing both triple jumps offered cash prizes. Kiedrowski won the race over LaRocco, and McGrath was the most popular jumper ahead of Swink. "I think that the Fukuoka Dome is T LaRo~co hits apaee10 ns (Left) Mike laRocco (2) inherited the win when Mike Kiedrowski (7) suffered a derailed chain. (Below) Larry Ward finished a so lid third. one of the best places that we have ever raced a t," s a id McG rath . "This is a b ra nd-ne w 's tad iu m and the fans are really loud. This is a great place to come to." 250ccMAIN Af ter a s ys te m of heat 'races and semifinals narrowed the field down to 21 riders - including all 14 Americans on hand - Honda of Troy' s Mike Craig grabb ed the holeshot ahead of Kiedrowsk i, Lamson and Ward, while pre-race favorites McGrath an d laRocco got sixth and seventh, respectively. "I hit the bars right off the start with laRocco and almos t fell," sa id Swin k, who was making one of his last appearances aboard a Suzuki. While la Rocco wa s ab le to retai n a m ed iocre start, Swink was left near the back of the pack. He eventually worked his way up to a sixth-place finish. I C raig q uickly s tar ted to p ut so me I grou nd on the rest o f th e pa c k as Kied rowski worked himself up to second. For five laps the order he ld until Kiedrowski sta I. sure on Craig. rted to pick up the pres, I "Craig was st a rti ng to pull a little I , lead, b u t I caught up with him on the sixth or seventh lap ," said Kied rowski. " For a lap or two I wa s righ t on him, then he en ded up making a mis take and falling . From then on I was up front , and just rode my own race." " The fr ont end wa shed o ut," explained Craig. "The track was getting a little slick and before I knew it I was on the ground. I got right back up and got going again. I caught Lamson before I threw it away again." Craig eventually finished seventh. As Kiedrowski started to pull aw ay out front, laRocco picked up his pressure on McGrath. They each passed Lamson and Ward, b u t Kiedrowski seemed too far gone for anyone to catch. Even after laRocco displaced McGrath for second, the race for the win appeared to be over. "I was all over the track," admitted McGrath. "I started to gain a little on the leaders, but then my arms started to p ump up. I haven't raced in a month or so, which probably has something to do with it. After that I couldn't cha rge anymore." With less than two laps to go in the 18-lapper, Kiedrowski's chain suddenly derailed through a long whoop section. laRocco, abou t five seco nds behind at that point, was suddenly thrust into the lead, w h ich meant he'd earn $37,000 more than it had appeared seconds earlier . McGrath also scooted by seconds later, followed by Ward and Lamso n. laRocco took the win with a lead of about five seconds on McGrath, who in tum had a com fo rtable cus hion over third-place Ward. Lamson and a frustrated Kiedrowski rounded out the top five. "I feel great," said LaRocco. "I didn't get off to a good sta rt, bu t I had worked my way up and then I got handed the lead." "I was pretty nervous," confessed McGrath. "The fans here were expecting a win and Honda's over here (watching). I can honestly say I haven't been training. The season's been over for a while and I wasn't ready for this race. But I'll be ready come [anuaryl" "I just hung in there," said Ward, w ho alw ays seems to fare well in the off-season events. "Je remy and Mike (La Ro cco) both passed m e b ut they we re riding pretty good. I just kep t riding ha rd and e n ded up thi rd after Kied rows ki's bike br o ke. I shouldn't have been on th e podium but I was, and any time I'm on the podi u m I'm pretty happ y . A nd I got $8000 for thi rd!" "My arms pumped up and the bike started making noises," said Lamson. " I wasn't sure if it was going to seize or w ha t. Then I found out th at th e pipe mount had broken, and that was making it run bad." a Golden Cup Supercros s Fukuoka, Japan Results: October 22-23, 1994 250: 1. Mike laRocco (Kaw); 2. Jer emy McGrath (Hon); 3. Larry Ward (Yam); 4. Steve Lamson (Han); S. Mike Kiedrowski (l(aw) ; 6. Brian Swink (Suz); 7. Mike Craig (Hon ); 8. Jeff Emig (Yam); 9. Larry Brooks (Yam); 10. Doug Henry (Han); 11. Kahji Ohkawara (Yam); 12. Cliff Palmer (KTM); 13. Buddy Antu ne z (Kaw); 14. .. Ryuichiro Takahama (Hon) ; IS. Ken Shimoi (Suz); 16. Masanori Enomoto (Ka w ); 17. lUi Morita (Yam); 18. Shunj i Takami (l(aw); 19. Tomohiro Shibayama (Suz); 20. Kyle Lewis (Yam); 21. Denny St

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