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/127714
ยข ; .M T C O S Round 2: Glen Helen Raceway OO R S . GR Winter Series ' stuff it under, jump it over and ram .it past Mercier in every section of the tra ck, but to no ava il. "He was all over me," said Mercier. "Bu t I held my lines and wo n the race ." The second -mo to v ictory we n t to T housa n d Oaks Ya ma ha 's Me rcier, while Dubach finis hed seco nd in fron t of Cha m berlain , who ha d an eq ually impressive charge for third . Fourth went to Kadv, while Koikeda, Kohashi and Hart ro;"nd ed out the top seven. SplitFire /Pro Circuit /Kawasaki 's Casey Johnson was unbeatable in the 125cc Pro class, and s top ped Dubach from becoming a triple class winner. "He ha s had some bad luck latel y," said Tea m Green 's Ron Heben. "Bu t it looks like he ha s recovered okay." Johnson never missed a bea t in the first moto. He pulled the holeshot and raced uncontested for the wi n. "I h a ve on ly been b a ck rid in g fo r abo ut a week after my shou lder healed," Johnson sa id. " I th ink mov ing down he re to South ern California with m y mechanic was the best thin g for me." John son came back later in the da y to win the second mot o after passing early race leader Don Upton. Joh nson motored home for ano ther unc ontested moto victory wh ile Dubach, Ch amberl ain an d Mike Young rounded the top four. To the deligh t of his very d ed icat ed grand pa Zac "A ttack" Wray got his first doubl e moto victory in the 60cc Beginner cla ss aft er tw o excit ement-filled races. Giovanni Fillippone, Dane Jackson and Cas Swift mixed it up all mo to long for second, with Giovanni ge tting the nod . (Left) Doug Dubach (28) was the w inner of the Vet and 250cc Pro classes. Here , he charges past 250Cc Pros Mat Bateman (55) and Tateru Atsuta (27). (Below) Casey Johnson was the only rider t o top Dubach, winning the 125cc Pro class. By Tony Alessi 20 SAN BERNARDINO, CA, JAN. 22 e te r a n M X World Cha m p io n Dou g Dub a ch sho wed th e yo ungs te rs a th in g or tw o a t rou nd tw o of th e GFI Winte r Series, held at Glen Helen Racewa y. The 31-yea r-old Yamaha rider posted a double class sweep in the Vet and 250ce Pro classes, and in addition - turned in a ve ry st rong second-pla ce finish in th e 125cc Pro class as well . Pro-Am rid e r Casey Jo h nso n won bo th 125cc Pro motos in convincing sty le, despite bei ng barely healed up fro m a broken shoulder suffered in late November at the Gatorback Winter Olym pics. . The firs t 250cc Pro rac e was co mbined wi th the 500cc Pros, which gave a dist inct start advantage to the big-bore machin es. As expected, open class riders Willy Musgrave an d Terry Fow ler led the wa y off the line. Dubach was quick to m ove up into th ird , h owever, and towed 250cc rider .Mike Chamberl ain along in fourth. Jus t before the start of the thi rd lap, Chamberlain deci ded tha t he was finished eating Dubach's dus t and ran into h im nea r th e fin ish-lin e area. Dub ach and Chambe rlai n bot h we nt down in a heap, taking with them Billy Joe Mercier. " Ch a m b e rla in p ark ed Dub a ch , " Me rcier sa id . "Dubach fell over right into me and I fell too." The d om in o effect saw num e rou s rid ers clog the already narr ow passageway, making for one big traffic jam . . Me anwhil e , Fo wl er was up fron t e njoy ing hi s ri v al s ' mi s fortune . But Japanese rid er Tak eshi Koiked a took over the lead just past the halfway" point in the race. But just whe n it was thou ght th at the exci te men t was fini sh ed, Du bach was sp otted cha rging through the pack like Charlie Man son . Firs t, he di sposed o f rookie p ro Ty Kad y, then Musgrave an d Steve Dre w. Dubach wa s flying, and co m pleted his charge by catching and passing both Fowler and Koiked a to take the lead. Dubach darted home with the moto victory and collected a one hundred do llar bill from a tracksid e onlooker. A tip? Koi keda crossed t he li ne se co n d while Drew, Kady and Masaya Kohashi roun ded ou t the top five. The second mot o saw Mercier ou t front with Carey Ha rt, Yusak u Kubo tta and Juan Morales in tow. Both Dubach and Chamberl ain got off to poor starts and rou nd ed the first la p eig h th and 12th, respectively. Mercier was obviou sly pumped and be gan to o pen a tremend ou s lea d . At one point, he enjoyed a 20-second margin over the nearest com petitor. "I just go t ou t front and charged as hard as I could," Mer cier said . "I looked back after a while and I did n't see an yone down the who le back stra igh t." Wh ile Mer cier clicked on the cruis e contro l, Dub ach was once again on the charge and by the sixth lap of the lO-lap rnoto, he aga in found himself second . Dub a ch ro de o n th e edge fo r th e rem aining laps and closed on Mercier at a rate of two seconds per lap. "I ke pt seei ng Dubach 's mechanic's pit board sa ying pl us four, th en plu s two, the n his pit board wa s in my face," Mercier sai d. Du rin g the last lap, Dubach tried to