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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127773
Fu rthe r back, Suzuki privateer Davey
Yezek and factory pilot Ferry were trying
to ove rcome. early spills. Pennsylvania's
Yezek made it to fourth and was closing
in on Neese when the checkered flag fell.
Ferry could only make it-back to eighth
after endoing over a step-up jump on the
fourth lap.
Rounding ou t the top five was
Xtremel Atomic 22/PJI-backed Yamaha
pilot Cory Keeney of Minnesota. He was
d irectly followed by Suzuki privatee rs
Jeff Cu rry an d Na than Ram sey, the n
Ferry, Chaparral's Brian Deegan, an d
Tommy Oowers.
f:I"
Georg ia Do me
Atlanta, Georgia
Results: February 24
USee H EAT 1 (6 la ps, top 9 lr an sf rr): 1. John
Do wd (Ya m) ; 2. T im Ferry (S uz); 3 . An t hony
P oco robba (Suz): 4 . Mik e Katin (Hon ): 5. Sha ne
Lawson (Kaw) : 6. Jim N~ (Hon ); 7. Jdf Curtv (Suz);
8. Kenny Bertram (Suz); 9. Adam Humphrey (Su z ); to.
Na th an Ram se y (Suz ): 11. Cory Kee n e y (Yam ); 12.
Sha un Pec u lia (Ka w); 13. Mi k e Mo rr is (Ya m) : 14.
Travis Kobush (H on); 15. Shane Sla th e r (Ya m); 16.
Bria.n Th ornbu rg (H on ); 17. Heath Vos s (Hon); 18.
ja cob Dombrosky (Suz); 19. Ch ad Shepard (Sua): 20.
Doug Stone (K aw).
Ti me: 5 min; 21.57 !i«.
USee HEAT 2 (6 bps, top 9 tr.ansfer): 1. Mickael
Pichon (](aw~ 2. Scott Sheak (Suz~ 3. Davey 'rezek (Suz~
4. Charley Bogard (Suz~ S. Brian Deegan (Hon ~ 6. Tony
Lorusso (Hon); 7. To mmy Clowers (5u.1); 8. Robbie
Skag gs (Kaw); 9. Barry Carsten (Suz ); 10 Jeff Hed den
.
(Suz); 11. Scott Carter (Hon); 12. David Kratz (Suz); 13.
Matt Shue (Yam); 14. Brian Stont" (Kaw): 15. Iason Dodds
(Yam~ 16. Troy Brewer (Hon~ 17. Tom w elch (Yam~ 18.
Chuck Shirley (Yam); 19. William w ilson (Hon); 20. Joel
Dengler (Suz~
Tim e: 5 min, 2252 sec,
125« J\IAIN EVENT (IS lap>l, I. john Dowd (Yam);
2. Charley Bogard (Suz); 3. Jim Neese (Hon); 4. Dave v
Ye zek (5uz); 5. Cory Keeney (Yam); 6. Jeff Curry (Suz); 7.
Nathan Ram sey (5 uz); 8. Tim Ferry (5 u.1); 9 . Bria n
Deegan (Hon); 10. Tommy Clow er s (5u .1l: 11. Ba rry
Ca rsten (Suz); 12. Ton y Lorusso (Hon); 13. Dav id Kratz
.
(Suz); 14 Robbie Skaggs (l:aw); IS. Mike Katin (Hon); 16.
Kenny Ba rtram (5u.1); 17. Ada m H umphrey (5uz ); 18.
Sh an e La wson (Ka w) ; 19. Shaun Pe roho {Kaw): 20.
Mickael Pich on (Ka w ); 21. An thony Pocoro bba (Suz); 22 .
Scott Sheak (Suz).
Time: 14 min .• 5.82 sec.
US ee EA STERN R EG IO NA L SER IES P OI NT
STAN D L"lGS tA fter 3 of 12 ev ents): 1. John Dowd (65/ 1
win); 2. Tun Ferry (53); 3. Mickcel Pichon (49/1); 4. Jim
Neese (38); 5. Brian Deegan (36); 6. Da vey Yezek (35); i .
Nathan Ramsey (32); 8. Corey Keeney (29); 9. leff Curry
(28); 10 Barry Cars ten (26 ); I I. Cha rley Bogard (22); 12.
.
Scott Sh eek (20); 13. Tommy Clo.....ers (20); 14. Robbie
Skaggs (12); I S. David Kratz (12); 16. An thony Pocorobba
(11); 17. Shaun Perolio (9); 18. Tony Lorusso (9); 19. Mike
Treadwell (7); 20. Adam Humphrey (6).
2S0cc H EAT 1 (8 laps. top 4 tr~ n5fer) : 1. M ik e
Lakocco (Suz~ 2. Brian Swink (Hon); 3. Dam on Hu ffman
(Ka ..... ); 4. Rya n Hugh es (Kaw); 5. Ezra Lusk (Su z); 6.
Larry Brooks (Yam ); i. Mike Bro .....n (H o n ); 8. Bu ddy
Antunn (Ka w ); 9. Jeff Dement (Hon); 10. Stpve Lamson
(Han); 11. Kevin Crine (lCl).1 ); 12. ~ Na ulT\E'C (Yam);
13. Denny Stephenson (Ka w ); 14. Jeff Bla ke (Ka w); 15.
Travis H od ges (Suz) ; 16. Travis Kobush (Han); 17. Jon
Hedden (Hon); 18. Ieff Yagloski (Yam~ 19. Joel Den gler
(Suz~ 20. Barr) Carsten (Suz~
.
Time: 7 min.. 3.J2.sec.
2S0cc HEAT 2 (8 laps. top 4 transfn): 1. Jeremy
McGrath (Hon); 2. jeff Emig (KAw), 3. Mike Craig (Hon~
4. Damon Bradsha w (Yam); 5. Do ug Henry (yam); 6.
Jimmy Butt on (yam); 7. Phil Law ren ce (Kaw); 8. Larry
Wa rd (Han); 9. Kyle Lewis (Yam); 10. Ryan H uffman
(Han); 11. Josh Stee l (Suz); 12. Travis Blackburn (Kaw) ;
13. Scott Ca rter (Hon); 14. Mar ro Dube (Suz); 15. Rich
Tayl or (Hon); 16. Mike Treadw ell (Suz); 17. Dou g Stone
(Ka w) ; 18. Da vey Castillo (Kaw); 19. Heath Voss (Hon);
20. jeff Hed den (Suz~
TIme: 7 min .. 1.20 sec.
25Oc:c SEM I 1 (6 laps, top 5 tran sfli!'d : 1. Ezra Lusk
(Suz); 2. Steve Lamson (Hon); 3. Mike Brown (Hon); 4.
Buddy Antu nez (Kaw): 5. Je ff Dem ent (Ho n); 6. Larrv
Broo ks (Ya m) ; 7. Ba rry C arste n (Suz); 8. D e nn y
S tephenson (Ka w) ; 9. Kevi n Crine (KTM) ; 10. Ge ne
N aumec (Yam); 11. Travis Hodges (Suz); 12. Joe l Dengler
(Suz); 13. leff Blak e (Kaw); 1~. Jon H edden (H a n ); I S.
Travis Kobush (Hon); 16. Jeff Yaglos ki (Yam).
Tim e: 5 min.• 15.20 sec.
250cc SE M I 2 (6 b ps. to p 5 tr an 8ft'r ): 1. Jimm y
Button (Y.1 m) ; 2. Larry Ward (H o n); 3. D ou g Henry
(Yam ); 4. Kyle Lewis (Yam); 5. Phil Lawrence (Ka w); 6.
jeff Hedden (Suz~ 7. Ryan Huffman (Hon) 8. Scott Carter
(Hon); 9. Tra\i.o; Blackburn (Kaw ); 10. Heath Voss (Hem);
11. Mik e Tread we ll (Suz); 12. josh St",,1 (Suz); 13. Rich
tillo (Kaw); 15. Doug Stone
Taylor CHon); 14. Davey
(](aw); 16. Marco Dube (Suz~
ea... .
Ti me: 5 m in., 20.25 sec.
250« LCQ (6 lop>. to p 2 transfer!: 1. Larry Broo k>
(Yam) ; 2. Barry Carsten (Suz); 3. Jeff Hedden (Suz); 3.
Ryan Huffman (Han); 5. Kevin Crine (KTM) ; 6. Gen<
N aumec (Ya m ); 7. Scott Car ter (Hon); 8. D e n n v
Ste phenson (Ka w ): 9 . Ric h Ta yl o r (Hon); 10. M ik e
Treadwell (Suz~ 11. Josh Stee1 (Suz~ 12. Travis Blackburn
(Kaw); 13. Davey Castillo (Kaw); 14. Travis Hodges (Suz);
15. Marco Dube (Suz~ 16. Joel Den gler (Suz~ 17. Travis
Kob ush (Hon); 18. Doug Stone (Kaw); 19. jon Hedden
( Hon~ 20. Jeff Blake (](aw~ 21. Heath Voss (Hon ~ 22. jeff
Yagloski(Yam),
Time: 5 min ., 27.41 sec.
250ccM AIN (2lJ u p'I ' 1. jeremv McGrath (Hon~ 2. Jeff
Em tg (Kaw); 3. Mike La Rocco (S uz); 4. Steve Lam son
(Han); 5. Ezra Lus k (Suz); 6. Damon Huffman (KAw); 7.
Mi ke Brown (Hon ); 8. Dam on Brad shaw (Yam); 9. Lam'
Ward (Ho n); 10. Rya n H ughe (Kaw); 11. Kyle Lewi"s
s
(Yam); 12. Brian Swink (lion); 13. Phil Lawrence (Kaw ); 14.
Dou g Henry (Yam); 15. Bud d)' Antunez (Kaw); J6. Larry
Brooks (Yam); 17. Jimmy Button (Yam); 18. Jeff Dem en t
(Hon ); 19. BarryCarsten (Suz~ 20. Mike Cra ig (Hon).
Tim e: 17 min.• 33.48 sec.
AMA SUPERCROSS POIl'o'TS ST ANDlSGS IAfter 6
of 15 roun d s ): 1. Jeremy McG ra th (150 /6 w in s ); 2.
Dam on H uffma n (104); 3. J("{f Emig (95); 4. Mike laRocco
(92); 5. Ryan Hu ghes (90); 6. Steve Lamson (88); 7. Damon
Brad shaw (81); 8. Mike Craig (79); 9. Phil Lawrence (76);
10. Ezra Lusk (68); 11. Brian Swin k (60); 12. Kyle' Lew is
(52); 13 . Mi ke Brown (43) ; 14 . Lerrv Ward (38) ; 15.
Michel Pich on (30); 16. Jim my Butt on (30); 17. Larry
Brook> (30); 18. Greg Albe rtyn (27); 19. Jeff o.,m""t (22 ~
20. Buddy Antunez ( 18~
·Brieflv...
waiting ior them to ask· me.- As for annual Team USA star JeH
W hil e . G r e g A lb e r t y n has be·e n preparing· for the 2 50cc
Emig , who has Switched to l ( awasaki lhi s year, .he·s willing to vol- · motocross title chase ..sev",ral ot hertop rider s have b.een splitunteer his services injust about any .c1ass . -Let's put it this way - I
ting their time betWeen traini ng on their 250cc superc ross bikes
don·f want to ride the 500 1Let's leave Ihat 10 Ryno. - ·The dutiful
and the ir 125cc outdoor Nat io nal. bikes . D efendin g 12 5cc
Emig has won his class· in three of the last four years of M X des. National Champion S teve Lamso n says thaI his efforts at the
The 1996 At lanta Supercross ,mjoyed the bes t· rider attenNations service and has never finished a moto worse than secAtla nta SX may have bee n hindered .by ail lhe cross -training in
dance of the series so far as· 102 · 125cc riders and 67 250cc
pilots signed up for the event. ' I can·t ·remember having more lhan · and. And he taler confirmed thaI he would ride any class he was : recent. weeks. - M y .125 is in M ike Gossaleer's hotel room ,.just
asked to compete in. - rve gal it all worked out. - said Damon
off-key
waiting for nexl week. ' said Lamson. wh.o· finished
100 riders in a supercross class or having to run live altemoon
Huffman in.the .Kawasaki truck _ -The 125 (points to himself) , 250
fourth in lhe 250cc main on Sunday. Ano ther 125cc tit le favorite
.qualifiers ·10 narrow ·the field: said AMA Pro Racing Manager
(looks to teammate Emigl and 500 (teammate Hughesl. It
be · is Kawasaki"s Damon BuHman. wh.o is currently ranked secDuke Anch . ' That' s a Daytona·sized entry . I guess that everyone
a
ond in the 250c c supercross class , - I've been spending a day or
is on their way to bike week. - The Allanta SX kicks off the 14·daY . ll green l ' .
two testing the 12.5. so it hasn·t .bothered my 250 efforts very
flurry of So ul heastem supercross and mot ocross even ts that
There's a new 1-900 number in the racing world for fans to get. much ,"
·includes Ihe series:opening 12 5cc/2 50cc outdoor Nat ional in
mot ocross and supercross information. Jeremy McGrath's
Gainesville, Rorida and culminates with tlie Dayt ona Supen;ross
on March g.
.
..
.
..
..
Showtime Racing company is introducing Jeremy"s own info
Wh en the 125cc main event left the starting gate, pnvatee r Suzu: ·
ki rid er Scott Shea k . second .10 Pichon in the second heat
· hotline this week . Fans can call.1-900'336-2020; ext. M X2. to hear
Jeremy discuss each·weekend·s event. -This is Ihe first weekend
race. .was left behind after founnga spark plug prior to the 30- .
Amo ng t he huge rider turnout were .severa' ·pilots attel11pl ing to
second card goin g .up. Sheak' s mechanic Kenny W atson proiestqualify for the main eventin both the 125cc and 250cc p ro-. · that it's on . and we ·re . tryi ng it out to see how it works.- said
McG rath . ·who wilt updale the ·line ·everY Saturday night . : It wiW ed to AMA officials that he was signaling for them to hold the
grams. Privateers Scott Carter. Jeff .Hedden. Joel Dengler. Doug
Stone. Travis Kobush, He~th Voss and BarrY Carsten we re among · basically be a thing on me; rm doing it myself. r n lei the fans know · gate while they"changed the plug and that the officials-on the line
how the results Went and also tell them about my day " how prac-· did not see him, but · ~i s argument fell on ceaf ears, An obviously
those doubling therr . ntry fees in an effort to . double Iheir t racK
e
lime and qualifying.chances at the Georgia Dome. Bayville, New · tice went. how the heat races went, and so on, - The cost of the .. upse t Sheak ·walked out of ·the stadi um befo re lhe main event
conc luded ..
..
call is $2 per minute; kids under .18 need to get .a parent's permisJersey"s Carst en prove d to be the I110st successful of the .group
sion. There·s also a Showtime Racing web site for you computer
as the Suzuki rider mac e the.field in bot h Classes. Carsten .qualibuffs. II can be found here; htt p) lwww.inland.net/showl ime.
Injury u p datet Jeam yamaha·s Doug ·Henry finally retumed to
fied through th e LCQ in the premier 250c c class and finished 19th
pr;ofessfonal racing after compressing his back in last years bizarre
just moments alter scoring 1H h in the 1~ 5cc ma·in .event
Injury updati., The already battered Kawas~ki SplitAre/Pro Circrash·a t .the 6 udds Creek outdoor Nat ional.in June. W nh the help :
cuit team almost lost Frenchman M ickael Pichon in a scary Atlanta. of Dr. John Starr. of the George Washington .University Medical
·Atlanta is presently a · spo rts -crazed ·town •. w hat .w·ith .l he 1996
crash that ·cost him the race win, which brought .1o mind injuries to
Center in Washington. D.C...Henry was given the okay to retum at
Summer Olym·pics coming to tow n on the heels of Ihe A tlanta
the team ·s W estern Region pilolS David Pingree and Chad Peder·
Atlanta: - M y back feels fine. and rm not really worried aboui lhal. B raves baseball team winning the ·95 W orld Series. The closest
said Henry. a forrnertwo-time 125cc National and Eastern Region-·
thing the city has to a hometown supercross star is Bainbridge. . son. - Ping·s dOing fine physically, and he's getting a litlle betler
mentally. - said technician Chad W atts of Pingree's femur ·breakal.Supercross Champion. - I just need to get the routine of riding .
Georgia·s Ezra Lusk of T eam Suzuki. Before the opening ·cereing, finger-snapping. knee·twisting practice crash at San Diego two . down . M y conditioning is prelty good . but I need to gel used to ridmonies, AXO 's Scott Taylor ran out to a nearby shopping mall to
week s ago. - He·s got a rod in his right femur and the staples are · ing the pace again·. I'm not io c IBr out of lhe re: ' Dr. Starr hap,
purchase Lusk an All anta Braves .hat and baseball jersey for his
al re~dy out. He's getting to where he can put aboul 60 percent of
· pened 10 be in town for an orthopedics convention across the
int roduction to the 45 ,OOO·plus fans. The result: Lu sk ·s cheers
his we.ight on lhe legs. He·s up to crutches now. too . after start ing · street from ·the stadium, .so he stopped by on Saturday night to
were equally as loue as the applause that went up for .supercross
out with a w~lker: He should be down to one crutch in a couple · watch his star patienl finish an inspired 14th from the press box.
cham p Jeremy. M cG rath and wildly ·popular Sout herne r D amon
more week s. They also operated on his ieft knee. and they say ifs · Starr also mentioned that. all hough the sport in general is danger.
·Bradshaw of nearby North Caroli na.
·
.
a tom meniscus instead of an AC L tear. They"re looking at around
ous as far as back injuries go. Henry's doesn·t have any added risk
four months before he can come back. ' . Pederson..who broke his
of reinjuring the same spot ·on his spinal column. Due to the rigidity
Another independenl team trailer made its debut at"the Atlanta SX
arm in Minneapolis in late Ja nuary, has been . helping Pingree
of that area where Ihe vertebrae were fused. the spots directly
wtien the Great Western Bank/ lnnov;'tion S pOrtS rig pulled
through his· convalescence. Pederson will get his cast off in two
above and below the ·previous injury are actually more susceptible ·
into lhe pits . However, Ihe Gordon Keck,built trailer that carrie s
more weeks.
.
.
to injury.
Ihe bikes and parts for Phil Lawrence. Buddy A nt unez, Denny
,In
will
·Sl ephenson and Davey Castillo got off to an inauspicious start .
- The trailer buckleCl,' related teamsler Castillo.· 'The fronl end is
all ripped up. We are going to ·order another trailer, and as soon as
.n·s ready we 're going to send this one·back: -.
There was .a buzZ in the Atlanta pns concerning Ihe selection of
Team USA for the 1996 Motocross des Nations. wh ich Will
be held in Jerez. Spain in late September . Last year"s squad of
S teve Lamson (12 5l . Jeff Emig (250 l and Ryan Hughes (50Q)
barely lost ·to the ieam from Belgium. All three riders ·are willing to
return to duty this year, bUI so are a·few otherinlerested parties.
- I want to gal - assured current 250cc SX and MX National .ChampiOn Jeremy McGra th. - I wanl 10 eam my position on the tea"';
in the outdoor Nationals and I want to win that litle. too. If I feel half
as good as I did lasl year. r m in there for sure.- McG rath·competed on the las\. winning vers ion of Team USA in -Austria in 1993 .
where he struggied to 4-7 finishes in the 250cc class: But that was
the old supercrossspecialist version of - ShO
Wlime,- not the allaround supers tar that he is today. "J want to·go Dack ·and help
America get the trophy back.- Mc Grnlh did not att end t~e evenl in
·95 for a variel y of reasons, moslly concerning budgeli ng at Team
Honda. He should be a shoo· in for a spot ·on the 1996 team.
In a successful effort to better the eVening's program in general,
the promoter of the Atlanta race brought in six·time N ationa l
T rial s Champion Ryan Y o ung to entertain the· crowd during
intermi ssions. Young did various tria!s tricks on the supercros s
obstacles while tractors filled in ruts all around him . ' This is a
blast!" exclaimed Young after riding in front.of his biggesi audience
ever. : 1hope this works well for the.sport of trials by gett ing us in
the public·'s eye . Hopefully we ·1I be able to do the resl of the
series _ Young rode a Zip Express-sponsored '96 Gas Gas 350 .
Other less-successful act s in Atlanta Included the seven·year old
girl who rode a Honda 50 across the starting line into thewaitfng
arms of a man dressed asa Subway si.mdwich, and the two-man
bicYcle ..ace for lOCal DJ s that saw bothmen face-plant in thE> soft
Georgia clay:
S t ev e Hudson . from a Charlotte. North Carolina. ministry known
as Motor Racing Outreach , was on hand in Atlanta to attend tei the
spinlual needs of interested ridern. - Aft er the riders· meettng we
try .10 offer these guys a chapel serv ice· because we 1

