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/127720
Landes gave a preview of thin gs to come in the fourth heat. The tall, lanky rider too k co n trol of th e point on the first lap and was never headed . Landes enjoyed a straigh taway lead over ru nner-up Georgie Price IV. Rain delayed the start of heat five for ap proximately 20 m in u tes. Kin g ro de the low line en route to an easy sta rt-tofin ish wi n, whil e Te rry Poo vey rod e high, low and in the middle in ord er to fight up into second . "I'll be staying low in the main," said Kin g . "There's traction u p top, bu t no one's will ing to go up the re and chance ge tting passed down low." The final hea t ra ce of the evening saw wha t was arguably one of the worst cras hes ever at Municipa l Stadium. Andy Tresser led the charge off the line, but as the pack ro unded tum four for the first time, Steve Mo rehead clipped a ha y bale that lined the front straight,a nd was sen t flying th ro u gh the ai r. Mo rehead cras hed to the ground and had just come to a stop wh en Matt Wait clipped Steve Morehead: Stud N oW in his 21st yea r of Grand National Championship competition, Steve Morehead is one of the sport's most respected riders. At 39 years of age , the Findlay Flier can . sti ll mix it u p with the best of them, and on any given day, can pull yet another win out of his hat. Daytona Beach's Municipal Stadium, however, is one facility that has never been good to Morehead. Many times, Morehead ha s had the spee d to do well on the short tra ck, but it seems that just as often, mechanical failures or cras hes have kept him from turning in a good result. This year w as no d ifferent. Aft er tu rn ing in a con v incing win in h is scratch heat, Morehead wa s a heavy favorite to win the fifth h eat race of the evening. After starting poorly, he took to the high line and passed all but two of his rivals on the opening lap. Things were looking good, but as he powered out of tum four on the high line, he pushed his luck a little too far. "I went on the outside of Kevin Varnes," said Morehead . "He didn't know I was up there , and I knew he didn't know I was up there." Varnes drifted high as he entered the straigh taway, lea ving Morehead nowher e to go but into the ha y bale s. Morehead clipped the bal es and was promptly ejected from his bike, and sailed 10 feet through the air down the entire front straight. He finally landed in the entrance to tum one, but the worst was yet to come. Matt Wait was unable to avoid Morehead's downed machine and di d a sim ilar over-the-bars maneuver. Wait sailed through the air and landed squarely on Morehead - a bod y slam that would have made an y profession al wres tler jealous . An omino us silence fell over the crowd as medi cs a tten ded to Morehead and Wait. Both rider s see med to lose conscious ness , as neither moved . Wait w as d iagnosed with a separated shou lder and took a trip to the hospital later in the e vening, but Morehead sim ply shook his head, dusted himself off and returned to the pits. Dam age to Morehead's bike was extensive, and no one expected him to return in a semi, especially tho se who saw the glazed look in Morehead's eyes. But 10 and behold, when the third semi rolled to the line, Morehead sat on the outside of the back row . The veter an took to the high line right from the start and simply rode aro u nd the en tire front ro w on the first lap, taking over the lead just as lap two began. Unfortunately, another wil y veteran wa s also in the th ird semi, and upon seeing Morehead's su ccess up high, Scott Parker used the cushion to race into the lead and on to the win. Morehead held on to second : not good enough for a spo t in the main, but more than good enough for the fans . When qu estioned wh y he returned to the track, despite being very ban ged up, Morehead replied, "Hey, that's why we get paid the big bucks." (Above left) Rich King (80) held second throughout the National. He was neither a th reat t o Landes, nor threatened by third-placed Jones. (Above) Brett Landes scored the first Grand National win of his career in start-to-fi nish fashion. (Below) A hard-fou ght third place went to Ronnie Jones. After starting poorly, Jones managed to pass others on the slick track.