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/127786
~~. . MOTOCROSS AMA 1251250CcNational C hampionship M otocross Series Rou d4: High Point Raceway n (Left) Priva teer Scott Sheak (26), here leading Mike Craig (17), surprised everyone with a firstmoto victory in the 125cc class. He fin ish ed seventh in the second moto for runner-up hono rs on the day. of Troy rider named Mike - Mike Craig . But this time his Kenny Watson-tuned Suzuki RMl 25 held together and Sheak was able to bag the first mota win by a true priva teer since Robb ie Reynard 's Steel City upset of '93. "I have worked so hard for this you can't even believe it," said Sheak , who p roved at H igh Poi n t tha t h is Gainesville ru nner-up ride was no fluke. "My wh ole family was here to watch, and I'm just so happy to be able to win my first mota here and get on the podium . I tell you, it's a d ream come true ." Fini shing third behind Wind ham a nd Sheak was yet anot her East Coast pilot , Massa chu setts' John Dowd, who finished 7-3 in two motos to maintain second in the 125cc point stand ings behind Team Ho nd a /l -800-CoIIIect/ Fox Racing's Steve Lamson, wh o finishe d sevent h overall Sunday with a 5-6 perfor man ce. Lamson lead s the standings with 169 total poin ts afte r 4 of 13 events. Dowd ha s a tot al of 136, follo we d by SplitFir e / Pro Ci rcu it Kaw asak i' s Micka el .Pichon (125) and Windham (121). In the 250cc ran kings, McGrath's perfect mota streak ended at six in a row (11 in a row going back to the '95 series ), but he still hold s the 250cc points lead with a tot al 191 point s. Emig is next wi th 168, then a di stant th ird with 122 po ints is La Rocco . Roundin g ou t th e curr..nt top five a re Albertyn (114) and pr ivat eer favorite Kyle Lewis (111) of the No leen Yamaha tea m, who joined 125cc ind ependent rid er Sheak as th e wi nne rs of the $500 Skoal Racing Top Priva teer Cha llenge Award. 125cc NATIONAL 16 Hond a of Troy' s Mike Craig nailed the ho les hot when the fir s t 125cc Nationa l mot a left the gate, foll owed immed iately by LarnsoruSheak, Windha m, Team Ch aparr al's Brian Deegan, Dowd and Suzuki privateer Jim Chester. At the far end of the pack was American Hond a / Primal Impulse /Fox Racin g' s Robbi e Reyna rd , wh o would be d eadlast at both star ts and spend the afternoon passing peopl e. It was clear from the start that lamson was not on his game. Hewas passed by several rid ers in the first few turns before settling down to sixth and getting his pace back up. On ce in seco nd, Shea k immediately wen t to work on Craig and chased the Californian for four lap s before squeezing by at the bottom of a sweeping offcambered corner. The Suzuki rider tried to sp rin t off wi th the lead righ t away but Cra ig attached himself and went wit h the kid . "I was having my ' best mo ta of the yea r, and I wasn't goi ng to give up on the win just like that," said Craig, who has had an inju ry -plagued season. " I was riding loose a nd smooth and .the (Right) Kevin Windham posted his second-straight National win in the 125cc class; he went 4ยท1 on the day. (Bel ow) Greg Albertyn finally did it - he won his first moto since coming to America. " Albee" topped the first 250cc National and was in a posit ion to take t he overall In the secon d mot o before crash ing. fans wer e really cheering us both on, so I ju s t kept after him ." While th e two lead ers ed ged away from the field a battie for third was sha ping up between Windham , Dowd, Lamson and a charging Pichon . Also on the move from deep in the field was Reyn ard, who started las t but wo u ld end up sixth before it was all over. Crai g ke pt th e hea t o n Sh ea k and then jumped p ast him on a n in field tripl e just befo re the two-lap board came out. At that time the rain started falling a little hard er and the track got slick in some corners. Shea k took advantag e of the wet wea ther conditions to glide by Craig on the inside of the u phill triples and the sweeping corner that followed . Cra ig nev er stoppe d p ressing an d follow ed Sheak right to the end. Still, the privat eer scored an extreme ly popular win. At tha t point he rode into the arm s of his ever-exci ted m ech a n ic Kenny Watson . "I knew I couId do it! I knew I could do it!" shou ted Shea k as he took congratulations all the way back to the pits. "I go t th e s ta r t, ke p t my head a nd rod e smart . Mike Craig rode a grea t race but even after he passed me towards the end I kept my head toge th er an d kept th e pace. Now I know I can beat these guys, and they know I can beat them, too."