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/127766
~"'.:',llj,4 ~." ;'" '" ~... ,-8 ~ 'tr ill ' .r~.~ ~ .'I~ ·'.~· '" ,'" ~'.'iiJ';., iY lJ ,S P R R S 1996 AMA Supercross S UE C OS eriesPredictions - RPICIS'nr ) , 1 [j; ,(j ...................................................................... ed to do for years, H ugh es ha s the determin at ion and the speed to win. Once he nails down consistency, he'll be a force to be reckoned with. Palmer's picks: 1. Jeremy McGrath I tho ugh t I'd go ou t on a limb for my number-one pick. A real big, mo nster of a limb. Of course, you'd have to be craz y not to bet on McGrath to win the series, after all he pre tty mu ch sm oked eve ryone in Europe during the off-season and shows no sig ns of letting up. #4 Steve Lamson Honda 2. Jeff Emig Jeff Emig has championship speed but has a ha rd time pu ttin g a whole season together. But this year, things Will,be different. Emig is comi ng off asu ecessful 250cc National MX Series where he finished seco nd , and th at mom entum shou ld carry into the '96 su percross series . His confidence is up , he's on a new team and with a little bit of luck he'll be a title contende r. He' ll be the re read y to pounce sh ould McGrath stu mble. 7. Larry W a rd The re probabl y isn't anybody who wants to win more than Larry Ward . He finished second last year and, as a resu lt, had hoped his reward would be a factory ride for '96. Tha t didn't happen, so he wants to prove the factories wrong for n ot scooping him up . The swi tch from Yama has to Ho n das sh ou ld come easily for Ward. Still, I pick him seven th this year. #23 Brian Swink Honda 3. M ike La R occo During McGrath's reign in supercross, LaRocco has been the only rider to consisten tly give the cha mp something to worry about, but injurie s ha ve slow ed his progress. It'll take LaRocco a few race s to get used to his n e w Suzu ki r id e, w hi ch will g ive McGrath and Emig a head start in the points race. If LaRocco wins in Orla ndo, thou gh, McGrath cou ld be in for a long season. # 38 Kevin Windham Yamaha 4. S tev e La m son . Steve Lamson is gett ing stro nger an d stronger in supe rcross . He'll win his first SX th is year and will mi x it up w ith McGrath, Emig and LaRocco all year. Ev e n th ou gh I pi ck e d h im t o fi n ish fo urt h, I wo u ld n' t be surpris ed if h e finished ou t the year nipping at McGrath's heels. 8. Greg Albertyn The form er World Champion is no longer a rooki e when it come to supercross. He showed he had the speed to win bu t consistency eluded him. This year, he' ll only get better, but he'll ha ve to keep it on two wh eel s. If he do es th at, he can finis h high er th an eighth. 9. D amon Bra d sha w If Dam on Brad shaw h as the desire, which he says he does, then he'll break into the top 10, if not the top five, with ease. But for now, I'll give him ninth. If he h as some top fin ishes early in th e season th ou gh , then I'll be wa y off. #9 Mike Brown Honda 10. Doug Hen ry I feel ob liga ted to p u t Dou g H enr y inthe top 10; after all, he was u nbelievably fast before he go t hu rt la te last yea r . Si nce hi s b ig cra s h, H enry h as switched tea ms - from Honda to Yama h a - so not only is he coming back from an injury,'he has to get used to a new bike, on which he's had little time to practice. The cards are stacked agai nst him, bu t he is Doug Henry . / 5. D am on Huffman Dam on Huffman is ha rd to figure out. He's obviously one o f th e fas test 125cc supercross racers arou nd , but can h e ride a 250? The few times he rod e in th e 250cc class h is resu lts w ere less th an spe ctacular, but then agai n, he wa sn 't comfortable on the bigger Su zukis. He'll und oubted ly do better in the 250cc class on the Kawasaki, bu t some of the more seasoned veterans w ill get the best of him, at least th is yea r. A 250cc SX cham pio nship, though, is definitely in his future. # 34 Ezra Lus k Suzuki 6. Ryan Hughes Ryan Hughes ha s come a long wa y in the past year, and now he' ll be rid ing a 250, something he's wa nt- 125 East Coast 1. Tim Ferry This one 's tough between defe nding cha mp Mickael Pichon and Tim Ferry. But, since I have to chose just one, I'm goi ng w ith Ferry . Ferry was in titl e conten tion last year un til he bro ke his jaw, an d' he'll be more determined than ever to win the title. 125 West Coast #10 Damo n Huffma n Kawas aki 1. D avid Pingree Davi d Pingree has'another year of expe rience under his belt which shoul d be just enough to give him his first title. Pingree is a natural ju mpe r and definitely has champ ionship speed . #5 8 #7 Ryan Hughes Kawasak i #1 5 John Dowd Yamaha Doug Henry Yamaha