Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 11: Memorial Stadium By Davey Coombs Photos by Kinney Jones ••1 CHARLOTIE, NC, APR. 22 t wasn't a squeaky-clean win but I'll take it!" said Team Honda/1-800-Collect's Jeremy McGrath after passing teammate Steve Lamson with just one-half lap to go at the so ld-out Charlotte Supercross in North Carolina. McGrath overcame a poor start on the extremely short Memorial Stadium track to finally get a hook into Lamson, whose 16-lap stay at the front was the longest of his supercross career. But Lamson's time as the leader ended just half a lap too early. With victory in sight Lamson made his only mistake of the night after botching a hairpin corner. The momentary lapse of concen tration ga ve McGrath, aboard his Skip Norfolk-tuned CR250, all the room he needed to take the lead and win the 27th main event of his supercross career. "That's what you have to do on a track like this - you have to make your own opportunities," said McGrath of the timely position he found himself in on the last lap after starting mid pack on the small Charlotte track. "I don't know about leading that many laps and then getting secon d ," said a frustrated but still enthusiastic Lamson. "I feel like I'm on a roll now. I had to'get out of the rut that I've been in and I'm happy just to be up on the podium." When asked about what exactly went wrong in the corner, La mso n didn't make any excuses. "I just messed up," sa id Lamso n. "I wen t through the whoops pretty fast and carried more speed than I thought. I kind of went up high wh en I got to the corner because I sort o f lost my front end and that was all Jerem y need ed . I've got to' admit, I was a littl e bit nervous, but I think I rod e well under pressure. I'm happy that Honda fini shed 1-2. I haven't led any laps this year and the whole time I was thinking, 'I'm leading laps, I'm leading laps: I just wanted to take it all the way to the end and I almost did ." Finishing a popular third on the night was South Carolina-based privateer Larry Ward, who broke out of a five-race podium slump after finishing in the top three in the first five rounds of the series. Team Yamaha's Jeff Emig, the early leader in Charlotte, finished fourth while poor-starting Ryan Hughes rounded out the top five on his SplitFire / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki-backed KX250 . "It felt good to get back up there (on th e podium) tonight," s a id Team Noleen / Si zzler / Xtreme / Yamaha's Ward . " Everyo ne kn ows that Jeremy McGrath is the best su percross rider in the world and that Steve Lamson is one h ell o f a nice gu y - one of m y best friends ou t here - so I'm real happy to ge t third behind those two guys if I have to get third at all." In tying Bob Hannah for second on the all-time supercross win list, McGrath was able to move within one race of tying Rick Johnson for the mostever victories, He also put himself in a position to clinch his third straight title and surpass his own single-season win record . "I've got four more races in the series to get the record and I have eight victories so far, so maybe I can tie my own record of 10 wins (in a series) or hopefully even get three more and set a new record. But the championship is the most important thing'." The title chase all but ended when Team Kawasaki 's LaRocco broke his arm on the 13th lap of the main. LaRocco had overtaken Ward for second-place and was closing in on Larrison for the lead when he came up half a wheel short over a triple jump. LaRocco did not crash but seeing his front wheel drive into the last jump was still painful to watch , The Indiana resident was obviously in pain and slowly circulated the track while appearing to try to shake off the injury. Then he dropped his Kawasaki against a hay bale and walked off holding his injured left arm over his helmet. LaRocco was the only rider left with a realistic shot at challenging champion McGrath for the series title. After closing the gap to 16 points following his victory in Pontiac, Michigan, LaRocco was hoping to give McGrath a run for his money. Because LaRocco immediatelyleft the stadium for a nearby hospital, the extent of the injury was not known. though Kawasaki team manager Roy Turner confirmed the break. . -u looks like he broke the left arm an inch behind the wrist," said Turner. "It looked like he hit so hard it just snapped the arm. He was in a lot of pain but a bearable amount of pain. He seemed to be taking it pretty well, which is good to know." Yet, the Kawasaki boss could take some satisfaction in the evening's proceedings, as Spli tFire / Pro Circuit / Kawasaki's Mickael Pichon wrapped up the 125cc Eastern Regional title by finishing third in the 125cc feature . The young Frenchman had a difficult night in his first visit to North Carolina, nearly breaking his own wrist when he came up short on a long triple halfway through the main event. Pichon shook off the pain after a couple of slow laps .and then went about wrapping up the championship. "I am very happy for me and Kawasaki, Pro Circuit and my sponsors who gave me this chance," said 19-yearold Pichon, who's father Allan is his mechanic. "This is my first year here and I've won my first title. Now I hope to win the outdoor title as well." The winner of the 125cc,main event in Charlotte was Team Honda of Troy's Mike Brown, who has been on a tworace hot streak since missing two races with a chest injury. Brown led every lap of the main, .while East Coast privateer favorite Davey Yezek matched his career-best finish with a second-place finish. "I had been off for a couple of weeks with an injury but I've been feeling really good since I returned," said Brown, who hails from nearby Gray, Tennessee. "I ran good in Pontiac two weeks ago and led there until my arms got a little bit tired. This time I rode all week to get ready and I wa s able to finally win another one." The Dirt Wurx-designed Charlotte track was small and tight but it did offer some terrific racing for the 25,468 fans said to be in attendance. The red clay track offered one long whoop section,

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