Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

TIME REMEMBERED American motocross pride appeared at the annual Motocross des Nations in Vimmerby, Sweden. Held in deep, whooped-out sand, the American team of Jeff Ward, Jeff Stanton and Damon Bradshaw went into the race admittedly unprepared. When the day was over, the team barely escaped with a one-point victory over a strong Belgian squad of youngster Stefan Everts (who was just beginning to 'make his mark on the International scene), Marniqc Bervoets and Dirk Guekens. In fact, if not for the brilliant, heroic performance of 250cc-mounted Jeff Stanton, all would have been lost. After a horrendous start in the £inal moto of the day, Stanton charged through the field like a man possessed, parking J;lelgian Dirk Guekens in the process, and eventually finished just a few seconds behind moto winner Italian Alessandro Puzar. Stanton's extraordinary ride was just enough to keep the America win streak from being snapped. The handwriting was now on the wall. The Americans could be beaten. The next dent in U.S. pride would appear the very next weekend in Maggiora, Italy, at round one of the new Masters of Motocross Championship Series which woUld pit the best American and European racers against each other in a "war of the worlds" series. Puzar, coming into his own as a serious threat on the world motocross scene, beat Stanton and the rest of the American wrecking crew on the sweeping, picturesque Italian circuit. There were no excuses. Puzar won going away. The next weekend, Jean-Michel Bayle (who was now competing full-time in the U.s.) surfaced at round two of the Masters series in Villars Sous Ecot, France (the first two rounds were held on tracks that had hosted Motocross des Nations events in recent years), and walked away with the overaU win. The Americans had been defeated again! The series then moved on to the Tokyo Supercross, where American Kawasaki rider Jeff Matiasevich took the win over Jeff Stanton. It was then on to Congress Hall in Maastricht, HoUand, for the series £inale, where Stanton, who had been extremely consistent throughout the entire series, scored solid results to win the first Masters of Motocross title. Stanton had upheld American honor with his championship victory in the Masters, but it was becoming very apparent that America's days of complete international motocross domination were over. This point was further hammered home in November when the Americans were nearly-shut out'at the prestigious Paris Supercross. Bayle won three of the four nights in Bercy Stadium and Stefan Everts captured the highly competitive 125cc class over new GP sensation Greg Albertyn. On a brighter note, U.s. rider Donny Schmit, now an exile living and competing in Europe, won the '90 125cc World Championship for Bieffe Suzuki. Bayle, who had come so very close to winning the AMA 1990 250cc Supercross Championship and 125cc National Championship (a broken arm ended this charge), was not about to be denied in 1991. Bayle completely dominated the American circuit by winning the '91 AMA Supercross Championship and both the 500cc and 250cc National Championship. No rider in AMA history had ever won all three championships in a given year. The Frenchman Bayle was now considered to be the best motocross rider on the planet. Later that summer, the Americans did save face by winning the Motocross des Nations in Valkenswaard, Holland. The U.S. team of Mike Kiedrowski, Damon Bradshaw and Jeff Stanton put in a gaUant effort to snatch the victory away from a strong Belgian team who were competing in the deepsand conditions in which they were known to excel. Af a terrible start in the final moto, Stanton, aboard his big 500cc Honda, again saved the day for America with another of his patented beroic rides. On another positive note that summer, Trampas Parker won (Left) Rick Johnson WllS not only successful here In the United States but on the International front as well. He was simply adored In Japan. (Above) Johnny O'Mara turned In what was arguably the greatest ride ever on a 125cc at the MX des Nations In Magglora, Italy, In 1986, when, starting from the second row In the combined S00I125cc mota, he passed all but one rider· teammate David Bailey. the 250cc World Championship for Honda, clinching the title at the final GP round in Suzuka, Japan (the Suzuka GP was a combined 125/250cc round, where Stanton and Mike Kiedrowski won the 25Oc<: and 125cc classes, respectively). Jeff Stanton would also win both the Unadilla 250cc U.S. GP and the prestigious Tokyo Supercross in '91. While the European riders, led by Bayle (who also won the 500cc U.S. GP in late August), were able to defeat the Americans on any given day, as a group the U.S. contingent was still in complete control of the sport. In 1992, America proved to the world that it was still on top of international motocross. In the faU of '92, after several failed attempts to choose a team for the Motocross des Nations (due to the fact that a number of the American stars such as Stanton and Bradshaw refused to go, claiming that they wanted to give other riders a chance to represent their country), the AMA sent a young, unproven team of American 125cc star Jeff Emig, 250cc talent Mike LaRocco and longtime American GP contender Billy Liles. The team was flown to the end of the western world in Manjimup, Australia to defend America's win streak at the prestigious event. The American so-called "B team" shined brightly that afternoon finishing no moto worse than second and bringing the title back to America for the 12th year in a row. This particular win stung the European riders more than ever because the three young and talen ted racers were not even America's best (at least not yet). In a bizarre twist to the '92 season, Jean-Michel Bayle was beginning to lose interest in motocross. After years of success, Bayle let it be known that his next goal was to move on to the world of Grand Prix road racing. In doing so, it was becoming quite clear that Bayle did not have the burning desire to win as he did in recent years past. By the time the summer of '92 was over, Bayle would end up losing all three of his American National number-one plates (although he did manage to win the 500cc U.s. GP in San Bernardino with a dominating II-I performance). Jeff Stanton was able to regain his 250cc Supercross title with a shocking, last-gasp win over a faltering Damon Bradshaw at the series finaJ round in the riot-battered Los Angeles Coliseum. Stanton would also go on to win the AMA 250cc National Championship, the Unadilla 250cc U.S. GP and the King of Bercy title at the Paris Supercross (going 1-1-3 over the three nights of racing). For Bayle, it was all over but the shouting. He left America directly after the LA Supercross, never to return again. Also that summer, Donny Schmit clinched the 250cc World Championship aboard a Chesterfield Yamaha for Team Rinaldi and a young South African rider named Greg Albertyn, who would later play a .big role in American motocross, won his first World Championship aboard a 125cc Honda. In the early winter of '92, 125cc American supercross sensation Jeremy McGrath would show up at the new Paris Pare du Prince Supercross and captivate the 32,000 fans in attendance with a breathtaking 250cc victory over Jeff Stanton and Jean-Michel Bayle. It was McGrath's first major victory aboard a 250cc motorcycle, and put birr in the elite company of Rick Johnsor and Damon Bradshaw, who had alsc won their first major supercross at inter· national venues. In 1993, the American Motocross de~ Nations team of Mike Kiedrowski, Jere· my McGrath and Jeff Emig were sent over to Schwanenstadt, Austria, with the responsibility of defending Ameri· ca's 12-year win streak. When the dust had cleared, the U.S. team escaped with the event victory by one point over 2 fast and aggressive Belgian team con· sisting of Werner DeWit, Stefan Evert~ and Mamicq Bervoets. It was now very apparent that the pressure of defending the American win streak was beginning to get to the U.S. riders. McGrath, who was visibly very nervous, never came to terms with the pressure and anxiety he had to face that Sunday in Austria. For ·the Americans, the des Nations was now a double-edged sword. The riders wanted to represent their country and be part of a World Championship effort, but the pressure they had to face in order to do so had become unbearable. Everybody knew, but didn't want to admit the fact that it was just a matter of time before the streak would be broken. .For the first time in history, the U.S. GP was moved from Unadilla, New York (due to steep financial demands made by the FIM) to Budds Creek, Maryland. The '93 edition would prove to be a very memorable one for America. Belgian motocross hero Stefan Everts, son of four-time World Champion Harry Everts, stunned the motocross world by defeating the Americans at their home Grand Prix for the first time in over a decade (last won by Dutchman Kees van der Yen in '82). The victory bewildered the American racing community, which was not prepared to accept a loss at the hands of the young Belgian. But America should have seen it coming. After years of domination, which resulted in the Japanese manufacturers placing the majority of their race

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