Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·M1251250cc R S O O National S T C O Championship Motocross Series Round 1: Gatorback Cycle Park AMA Fourth in the 125cc divis ion we nt to Kawasak i' s Dam on H uffma n, the man many expected to give Lamson a run for h is m one y . Th e tw o-tim e We st ern Region al 125cc Cha m pion rode tight in the firs t m ot a and cam e home fourth, and a smashed pipe in th e second goaroun d saw him struggle to a fifth-place finish for fourth overall. In th e 250cc d i v is ion, Mc G ra th enjoyed a perfect 1-1 day. While the Californ ian's firs t-mota wi n came relatively easv, McGrath was forced to work for his victory in m o to two . Kaw asaki' s Jeff Emig led from the ge t-go and fended off McGrath's cha rges for nearl y 30 minutes. It wasn' t until the fina l five minutes of the race that McGrath sto rmed past, and he was in stantly award ed so me bre at hing room wh en Emig crashed whil e trying to retaliate. Wh ile McGra th pranced off with his 10th career Na tional win, Emig recovere d qu ickl y eno ugh to sa lvage second overall with his 2-2 mota scores . Emig's Kawasa ki teammate Ryan Hughes turned in a pair of stea dy, third-pl ace finishes and rounded ou t th e pod iu m. "Man, I wanted to w in t his ra ce bad ," said McGrath. 'The first moto was easy, real easy , but I had to ride a little hard er that second mota. A lot of people were saying th at my com pe tition would be tougher this year, but I shut 'em down agai n." Yamaha's Damon Bradshaw turned in 6-4 scores for fourth ov era ll, th e North Carolinan looking mu ch better in the second mota than th e first, as his over-thebars riding style seems to have returned . Three -t ime Worl d Cha m pion Greg Albertyn ap peare d to be the com petition's grea test hope in the ea rly stages of (Left) Kawasaki's Jeff Emig (2) grabbed the holeshotln the first 250cc National moto at the ser ies opener at Gainesville, Flo rida. Emlg went 2-2. (Below) Team Honda 's Jeremy McGrath carried his supercross-winnlng momentum int o the outdoor Nationals. He easily won the first 250cc moto, and scored a hard-fought victory in the second moto. By Donn Maeda Photos by Kinney Jo nes and Maeda GAINESVILLE, FL, MAR. 3 s troll th rough G atorback Cycle Park at the first ou tdoor Nationa l of the year revealed what can only be described as the m ost professional looking pits in the sport's history. Along wi th the tractor trailer rigs of the Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda of Troy / Sinisa lo and Spli tFire /Pro Circuit /Kawasaki teams come a handful of fifth-wheel trailers belonging to various privateer squads. Fancy paint jobs an d hu ge awnings created quite a pr esence in the pits, and the pair of Team Honda /l BOO-Co llect /Fox bo x va ns th a t were pa rked on th e outskirts of the pit area almos t went unnoticed . In those humble Honda pits, however, we re the two bikes and riders that mattered m os t - the number-one CR s of reigning 125 and 250cc Nationa l Champions Steve Lamson and Jerem y McGrath. "Su re, th e bi g sem is h a v e a g rea t impact in the p its," said Ho nda Team Man ager Wes McCoy before the start of the aftern oo n's p ro gra m . "But all th at p resence in the pits doesn' t mean a thin g on the track." How tru e. W hen a ll was said and done, both J.' Lamson and McGrath - the on ly factory Hond a rid ers - emerged victorious and kicked off th eir respecti ve title defenses in gra nd fashio n. For Lamson, the race marked the first time that the likable Californian has ever carried a number-one plate, and .he proved worthy of the digit by posting 2-1 moto finishes for the overall win. Team SplitFire /Pro Circuit / Kawasaki's Mickael Pichon scored a convincing win in the first go-around, while Lamson admittedly struggled to find his usual fast pace, but in the all-important second moto, Lamson dropped the hammer and enjoyed a start-to-finish romp. Pichon, meanwhile, crashed on the first lap and could only muster a 12th-place finish for fifth overall. Suzuki privateer Scott Sheak was a rem arkable second overall, than ks to consistent 3-3 finishes, while Honda of Troy /Sinisalo's Mi ke Brown roun ded ou t the top three with 52 scores. "I'm really relieved ," said Lamso n follow ing his IOth-car eer Na tional wi n. "I rod e kind of tigh t in the first mota, and I didn't have very good lines, bu t in the second mota , I felt good. I figu re tha t this pl ace kind of owed me af ter last yea r. (Lamson wo n the opening mota at last year's even t in runaway fashio n, but was forced to retire in the secon d race with a broken front whee l). ., ..: ~~ - ,. • r ./ - :..~

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