Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·. _ SUPERCROSS - Round 2:Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome . ._,s, Supercrass series . u (Left) An indoor pit area was provided, but some work had to be done outside by the trucks. Gas heaters helped the Yamaha mecha nics keep from freezing. (Right) For the s eco nd week in a row, Mike Larocco finished third. The NoleenlSizzler privateer is in a three-way tie for second in the points. (Below) Mike Kiedrowski (7) prepares to overtake Jeff Emig (6) in the main. The two finished fourth and fifth, respectively. rev" signaled Lafcocco's mistimin g of a trip le, and though the Kaw as aki rider rem ained uprigh t thro ug h bo th slip-u ps, McGrath was nac-na cing his w ay to an effortless victory. "I guess I mi ght as well s tart in the back," said Lalcocco, "I go t ou t there in front and didn't rid e like I sho u ld have. Lappers we re one of the main problem s, bu t that' s raci ng . Jeremy had to deal with the same gu ys." Meanwhile, the other 18 rid ers we re having thei r own race fa r behind the leaders. Emig was initially third, but lost the spot to Wa rd in a 180-d egree tu m about ha lfway through . Kied rowski put a ragged ride behind him to snare Emig a few laps before the finish, salvagi ng fourth place after a midpack start. Emig wa s fifth, an d everyone else finished a lap d ow n on McGrath. · • " It (finishing we ll) feels good -iesped ally righ t off the bat," said Ward, after s p e n d in g m uc h of t he ra ce ha lf a m in ut e, a n d half th e t ra ck , behi nd LaRocco . " It took me a co uple laps to ge t arou n d th o s e g uys . Ki ed row sk i cra s he d in tho se wh o op s a n d I g o t caugh t up in h is bike for a little bit." Lawrence, Hond a o f Troy ' s Brian Swink, Dow d, Bolley an d Lusk rounded out the top 10. 125cc I.I) 0\ 0\ ...... 6 Hu ffman started his heat race a few riders back, but was the only rider clearing th e ea st tr iple. He trip led h is way into th e le a d wit h a lap a n d a h alf rema in in g, fini sh ing in front of Tea m SplitFire / Pro Circu it / Ka w asa ki aces Da vid Pingree and Pichon . Fer ry led all bu t the first lap of his heat, and headed Hu gh e s a n d Honda o f T roy ' s Mik e Brown across the line. Pedro Gon zal ez pu t h is Te a m NCY / Pri m al Impu lse Yamaha to the top of the LCQ resul ts. Windham was the surprise leader at the start of the main, but when the pack hit the east triple, it was clear that things would soon chan ge. Windham was dou bling the obstacle, while Huffman regularly went for all three, and th at moved the Suzuki rid er qu ickly forward from his fou rth-place sta rt. Windham mad e a sligh t surge, but then Huffman leapt by on lap five a nd mov ed sa fely ahea d . Windham con tinued his controlled ride to m ain t ain s ec o n d , a n d Pich on ad van ced from a mid pack sta rt to take third. "I reall y liked it her e a lot last yea r, and I liked it this year too," said Hu ffman . "I did (the triple) a couple of times in practice. Every time, I'd barely make it, but it helped me make up a lot of time. In the first part of the race Kevin Having fund ~et? I pulled me a little bit, bu t I smoo the d ou t and caug ht up." "I'm still so exci ted - two weeks on this podium," sa id a humb le Windha m. "My heart 's ticking up here. I think it's going to be a good seri es. I d on 't want to se t m y goa ls to o h igh beca use it can crush yo u if yo u don 't do good." Pich on wa s also exci ted , but did n' t agree with Larry Maiers that he m ay be following in the steps of another French man . "I'm not Jean-Michel Bayle," sa id Pichon. "I'm myself." De ck er cla im ed the fou rt h s po t, while Hu gh es sa lvaged fifth after a lapone crash. "Windham landed on him," sa id Hu gh es' mech an ic, Cha d Watts. "He sp azzed and lan ded on his arm." "I saw him crash," sai d Windham. " It looked like he got sideways in a rut and crashed ." Pingree .finished next, with Gonza lez seventh and Ferry eighth - minus his left sid e pan el . Brown and Ch ad Pederso n took ninth an d 10th, respectively. l~ - - - - - --- Hubert H. Humphrey M etrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota Res ults: January 22, 1995 (Round 2 of 15) 125e( H EAT 1 (6 la ps, top I) tran sf r d : 1. Dam on H uffm an (Suz ); 2. Da vid Pin g ree (Kaw); 3. Mickeel Pichon (Kaw); 4. Craig Decker (Suz ); 5. Tom Clowers msey (Suz~ 8. (Hon); 6. Davey Yczek (Suz ~ 7. Nathan Ra Ryan Hu ffm.:m (Ho n); 9. James Dobb (Hon); 10. Doug Dehaa n (Su z); 11. Greg Schnell (Suz); 12. J. Oe hlhof ( Hon~ 13. Brian Deegan (Hon ~ 14. Anthony Poro robba t is arguably the most popu lar form of motorcyde racing with the fans, an~ yet two rounds into the 1995 Ll.S, Supercross Series , It appears hkely that there will be no points fund for the riders. The problem started with last year's pull-out of series title sponsor R.J. Reynolds, which traditionally provided the $100,000 fund through their Camel brand. No new sponsor was located for '95, perhaps partly due to the infighting between the p.rometers and the AMA. Still, American/Intemational Racing (AIR), the promotmg grou p th a t attempted a breakaway from the AMA during the off-season, had p lanned to an te up the money itself, claiming that it would meet or beat the fund provided in the past. That plan was shelved when the two sides "made up: ' and the promo ters on ce again had to pay expensive sanctioning fees to the AMA. "We had hoped to hav e so me thing read y by now, but nothing ~as co?",e about ye t:' said AIR execu tive director Roy Jan son . "Bu t we're still taIkm g With a few com pa nies, an d we hope to h ave something to announce soon for '96 and ' 97. There's a possibility that such an agreement might include so me sort of a fund for '95." In other are as of the spo rt, the AMA has taken the task upon themselves, providing money for points funds through their newly created for-profi~ Parad~ma subsidiarv. The National Championship Road Race and Grand National Dirt Track Serieseach received $100,000 for their funds, prompting many to ask why no such mon ey was supplied for the U.S. Supercross Series. . "Throughou t our discussions with the promoters this year, tJ.1ey ~ade .t clear that one of the things they wanted was more control of marketmg and sponsorshi p:' said AMA pro racing president, Tom Mueller. uWe feel that a points fund would fall under that area, although the write-up we have doesn't specify either of us as being entirely responsible. Still, it's clear that the promoters control television and marketing." In the absence of a series sponsor, race sponsors are occasionally being used, and the various promoters are also paying race purses at each round. No one put their name on the Minneapolis race, but Axo Sportswear took over the Orlando opener, and will also bac k the Charlotte and AtIanta·Supercrosses. In addition, SplitFire spark plugs sponsored the last two 125cc rounds of 1994. Some wonder if such compa nies are "testi ng the waters" for being a futu re series sponsor, but whatever the case, it doesn't appear likely that anyone will be able to add their name to the '95 series title. "You mean we still don't have one (a points fund)?" said defending champion Jeremy McGrath, when asked of his feelings on the lack of money. "I was afraid of that. Honda pays me my money, though, and I'll do my job no matter what. Still, it would be nice to have that extra money to shoot for. It makes it seem more important."

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