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/127779
.S P R R S Rou 11: Tampa Stadium UE C OS nd . AMA Supercross Series . By Davey Coombs -0 TAMPA. FL. APR. 6 n a night that didn't seem much d ifferent tha n any of his previous 38 supercross wins, Jeremy McGrath was especially grateful to be atop th e po d ium tonigh t. The th ree-time SX cha mp was complete ly thrilled for himself and for his team as he rode in to a wave of high-fives from his H on d a /l-800-Co llect l Fox Racing crew, an d also into the record books. By winning Satu rday night's Tampa Supercross, McGrath posted his record-breaking 11th win of the season in as man y races, the most ever in one AMA Supercross Series. He also snapped Bob "Hurricane" Hannah's all -tim e consecutive win streak by posting his 15th consecutive AMA Sup ercross /National victory, extended his ow n Su pe rcross winning streak to 11, and increased his all-time record to 39. Quite a night's wo rk by any stand ards . "It's been really stressful here because everyo ne's been talking abou t these winning streaks and all that all week long." said McGrath. "I felt really good and 1 felt all evening long tha t 1 could win if 1 was just careful, so wh en I didn 't get a good start I d id n't panic, and I came from behind to wi n. It just felt really good to win tonight." Finishing second behind "Showtime" was Kawasaki's Ryan Hu ghes, followed ' by the Suzukis of Mike LaRocco an d Ezra Lusk, and the Yamaha of Damon Bradshaw. If McGra th seemed extre mely happy just to win the race, imagine how much better it might have felt for McGrath had Kawasaki 's Jeff Emig go tten eig h th instea d of sixth. An eighth by Emig woul d have givenMcfl ra th an ins urmountable l00-poi nt lead in the stan dings w ith four races to go rather than the 98-poin t lea d he now holds on Emig, who rep laced teammat e Damon Hu ffman for second after Huffman crashed in the m ain e ve n t. In o the r w ord s, McGrath would h a ve clinch ed hi s unprecedented fou r th straigh t AMA 250cc Supercross Ch ampionship with four races ye t to be run ! Th e wayi t stan ds now, Emig would have to win all fou r of those races and McGrath would have to finish no better than 19th once in order for McGrath to lose the title. . "I'm no t worried about the championship at all because that's just going to happen," said McGrath matter-of-factly. "I wa nt to w in the nex t race and then just take each of them after that. I don't have any pressure righ t now 'and I'm having fun." And so is Mickael Pichon. The defe nding champ was, like McGrath, in a league of his own in Tampa, winning by a h uge margin on the SplitFire I Pro Circuit Kawasaki. " It's g rea t to wi n that wa y," sai d Picho n of his fifth 125cc East victory of the year. Finishing a distant second was Yama ha's John Dow d who had to pull off a last-lap pass on Suzuki privateer Scott Sheak before grabbing the runner- ..... l-< 0.. « 10 ,,,