Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·' AMA 125125Occ.NaIionaI Championship ~octoss SerIes Round 7: Kenworthy's MX ~ark MOTOCROSS·. . recovery from another bad start and kept him down in 11th for eighth overall on the day. Pederson's fine day looked even bett~ when he outdragged everyone down the longest start straightaway for the second-moto holeshot. However, Lamson and Hughes were right behind him. Within a lap and a half, Pederson would be back in third, while Lamson and Hughes went about the business of leading the race. "I had a few problems at the beginning because those guys were tripling things that I wasn't, and it took me a few laps to get into my race," said Pederson, who's eventual fifth-place overall finish was his best ever. "After that I got the jumps down and I stayed kind of with them until about the halfway mark. Then . the heat really got me - it took its toll." Hughes kept Lamson honest for half the race but when a surprise rainstorm drenched the track halfway through the moto, Hughes lost the leader in lapped traffic. He let· Lamson go, content with second and the knowledge that he was making up points on the rest of the national field. "I was too cautious in the rain and then I fell down," said Hughes. "Lamson's riding real good and I'm just looking forward to the rest of the series. I feel leaders weren't getting away so I just made some moves and they worked. No problems. The week off helped my wrist and my strength is getting better. It's still not 100 percent but I'm almost there." 16 125cc NATIONAL Hughes and Lamson led the first lap of the opening 12Scc moto, while the Hondas of Chad Pederson and Brian Deegan and the Suzuki of New England privateer Tony Lorusso gave chase. At the very back of the pack was Kawasaki's Robbie Reynard, who spun himself into last place off the starting gate. "If I could just get some better starts I know my days would be a lot better," said Reynard, who had a good jump but spun too much before getting across the fallen gate. "After that I just had to pass and pass and pass." Suzuki's Tim Ferry rode in the top five for half the race before losing his goggles. Then the Floridian mistimed a triple jump and crashed. He then made an even bigger mistake when he tried to crawl off the track in front of F & S Suzuki's Denny Stephenson, who was trying to avoid the fallen rider. "I was trying to get out of the way, but I guess I ended up jumping out right in front of him," said Ferry, who was struck in his upper right arm by Stephenson's front wheel. "I might've been OK with a twisted thumb with the crash alone, but then I thought I broke my arm when Denny hit me." "I couldn't believe that he dove right in front of me," said Stephenson, who had his gas line ripped off in the incident and was forced out of the race. "I had committed myself to my line and was not going to hit him. I guess he just panicked or something." Stephenson would compete in the second moto but Ferry went to the hospital for x-rays that showed no broken bones. Unfortunately for Ferry and Suzuki, his high title hopes seem completely broken now. Up front, Lamson wasted no time in raiding Hughes' lead position, and by the end of the third lap he was in charge. Once the lead was secured, Lamson went about the business of slicing his way t!;rrough lapped traffic and getting himself to the finish line (Above) Todd DeHoop takes a header in front of Jeff Emlg (6) and Damon Bradshaw (114). Emili chased McGndh In both motos, but ended up third overall. (Right) Honda of Troy's Mike Brown moved Into the 125cc series points lead with another conslstsnt ride. He went 3-4 for third overall. unscathed. He ended up beating a stubborn Hughes by abouleight seconds. "I got off to a decent start and just passed' those guys and pulled away," said the red-hot Lamson, who is now back in full title contention after being as many as 61 points down earlier in the series. '1t was real, real hot out there, but I kept my head and just worried about getting everything right. Now I feel great for the second moto because my arms don't pump up the second time, only the first time. I feel great right now." "Usually this track isn't the best for me, but I felt OK that time," said Hughes. "We're having some bike troubles, so I'm trying a different cylinder for the second moto." For much of the race Pederson held on to third, having made a breakaway with the factory-backed leaders. Towards the end of the race, Brown, 10th off the start, was able to overtake Pederson, who nevertheless scored it career-high result by crossing the finish line fourth. Brown's Honda of Troy teammate Mike Craig rode at a steady pace throughout the 36-minute moto for fifth. Huffman struggled through traffic to sixth ahead of Reynard and secondbest privateer Brian Deegan. . "A lot of these straights have a path only one yard wide, so it's hard to get around anyone," said·Huffman, who could only move up from 14th on the first lap to sixth at the end. "Towards the middle of the race I was burning up, but towards the end I cooled down and felt better." Pichon's title hopes took a beating at Troy. Like fellow Kawasaki rider Reynard, Pichon had problems with his starting technique and rounded the first lap in 29th place. He would eventually recover 19 positions to finish 10th in the moto. A spectacular crash in the Dirty Dozen in the second moto slowed his

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