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
SUPERCROSS u.s. Supercross Series 6 ANAHEIM, CA, JAN 28 . or a bri ef mom ent, maybe for as lon g as a cou ple of laps, there was so me d oubt in the minds of th e 55,417 specta to rs wh o fille d Anaheim Sta d iu m that Jeremy McG rath just might not win his third u.s. Supercross feature of the ye ar. An un-Ieremy-lik e start in the 20-lap final left the two-time Su percross Cha mp ion mired in the mid dl e o f th e 20 -rid er p ack as th e fie ld rounded the first tum . But any thou ghts of McG ra th p ossi bl y not w in ning the popu lar MTEG-hosted Anaheim Su percross were all but erased after he had climbed from 11th to fifth by the sixth lap. Two laps later he was second and, at that point, the onl y rider who stood between him and his third consecutive victory was the red hot Larry Ward and his Team No leen /Si z zler /Xt rem ebacked Yam aha - the com bi nation that had led from the get -go. By then everyone knew that it was o n ly a matter of time befo re Ward wo uld become McGrath's next and last victim of the night. On the 12th lap, the 23-year-old from nearby Murrieta, California, mad e a spectacular airborne pass for the lead and , for all intents and purp o ses, th e race was ove r. The Tea m Honda / I-BOO-Collect rider pulled away on his Skip No rfolk- tu ned CR250 and roos ted to victory. Again. But at least he had to wo rk for this on e. "At first, [ really wasn' t sure if I was going to win or not," said McGrath of his mid pack start. "Bu t [ wasn't thinking ab out losin g. [ kn ew I had the stamina so I wa sn't really worried ." Ward , who is off to a n incred ibl e start in th e '95 U.S. Supercross Se ries after finish ing third at both the Orlando and Minneap olis events, thought he had a sho t at winning. "l thou ght I could wi n it, " said Ward of his early lead. "That was until [ sa w that big number-on e pl at e coming up behi nd me. The n I go t a little nerv ou s." Des pi te ge tting passed by McGrath, Ward mai nta ined his composure for the rema inin g eight lap s to finish in second p lace over Team Ya maha's Jeff Emi g, who made a questiona ble pass on Ezra Lusk late in the race that sent the factory Suzuki rid er sprawling. The tw o rid ers had spe nt most of the race engaged in a fier ce battle ove r th ird b e fore Emi g dived und ern ea th the Geo rgian and took out his front whee l. "Yeah, I'rnade contact wi th Ezra , but I had to go underneath him to make a pass," said Emig. "I think I cut his front wh eel." Rounding out the top five wer e a pair of Team Hond a/l-800-Collect rid er s Ste ve Lamson an d Doug Henry. Lam son, wh o sat out last week 's supercross in Minneapolis with a sternum injury and was asked by his team manager not to ride a t Anaheim, ran seco nd for the first eight laps befor e slipping back to a strong fourth. Team Kawasaki's Mi ke Kied rowsk i, who fin ished sixth, had one of the worst outings o f h is SX ca reer . A se ries o f crashes fo rce d th e tit le co n te n d er to q ua lify fo r the fea ture v ia th e Las t Chance Qu alifie r, and a 12th-place start . in the mai n even t didn't help his cau se any. Roun Anah Stadium d3: eim