.'MOTOCROSS
..
.
..AMA t251250CC'NationaL ChampiQnship MOtocross Series
Final round: Steel City Raceway
-tothe
(Above) Jeremy McGI'IIth proved that not only can he ride supereross but motocross as well.
He clinched his first 250cc National title In the first mota at the series finale at Steel City.
(Left) Another first: Steve Lamson went Into the flnall2Scc mota of the year tied on points
with Ryan Hughes. When It was all over, Lamson walked away with his very first National
title.
By Davey Coombs· Photos by Kinney Jones and Coombs
DELMONT, PA, SEPT. 3
eam Honda/I-800-Collect/
Fox Racing's Steve Lamson
claimed the 12Scc National
Championship by the smallest of margins at the seriesending Steel City N ationa!
in western Pennsylvania. Lamson
defeated title challenger Ryan Hughes
in a dramatic final moto that could have
gone either way at Steel City Raceway.
It was the first championship ever for
the 24-year-old resident of Pollock
Pines, California.
"This is a dream come true," said
Lamson as he was declared the champion at the awards ceremony. "I'm so
happy about this, but right away I want
to congratulate Ryan on hist!fforts. I
know we both worked hard and battled
with everyone for this. We took it to the
r
very end, the very last moto. I think we
both had a lot of things going through
our minds but we both rode really well,
anyway. It just worked out for me."
It didn't appear that way at the
beginning way back in March in
Gainesville, Florida. That's the race
where Lamson won a moto but lost a
wheel the next time out. A supercross
injury knocked him out of two more
early motos, leaving him with a 61point deficit with 10 rounds to go, but
Lamson and his mechanic Mike Gosselaar never quit charging. After winning
five of the next nine races, he came to
Steel City with a minimal lead (three
points) on fellow Californian Hughes.
Narrowly losing the first moto to his
rival, Lamson went into the last pressure-filled moto tied with Hughes, set-