Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AVIEW FROM.THBy.F Johnson E Eric E ENC n 1996, there are 28 races on the AMA Nation al Championsh ip M X schedule. Fifteen of these ra ces are supercross events and 13 are ou tdo or Nationa ls . When the AMA N ation al ci rc u s takes to the road each year in early Janu ary, it begins a nine-m onth, town-totown odyssey that takes the circuit from one end o f the country to th e other. While all of the rac es on th e sche d ule are im portant and pay out equal points toward s their resp ective cha m pio nship seri es, there are a few eve nts - nam ely six - that, in m y opi nio n, sy m bo lize som ething a little bit more un iqu e and spe cial than the rest. Whether it be history, heritage, fame , pr estige, locati on, tim in g, conditions or reputation, the sev en races I have spelled ou t ha ve a co m m o n, intangible thread running through th em that personifies som ething special and uniqu e. If a rider is fortu nate eno ug h to take hom e a piece of silver or gold ha rdware from one of these events, you can be su re that it will find a special place on his /her tro phy shelf. Anaheim Super cross: Arguably th e most glamo rous race on the AMA professional circui t, th e Anahei m Super cross takes place every Janu ary at Anaheim Stadium which is located in th e epicen ter of th e burgeoning Southern Californi a MX empire. Mere miles from the big four Japanese fac tories and a plet ho ra o f aftermarket and clothin g firms, Anaheim brings ou t, to quote su p e rcr oss announcer Larry N aston, "A ll of the industry h ea vywe ights." Throughou t the '80s, Anah eim was the ope ning round of the AMA Sup ercross Series and consistently drew se ll-o u t crow d s of nearly 70,000 spectators, not to mention a major bu zz throughou t the int ernational racing world . H owever , the sport's power brokers would throw cau tion to the w ind and fix some thing that wasn 't broken. Unfortunately, in 1991, the even t would lose a bit of its lus ter w hen the AMA an d th e supercross p romo ter group took away An ahei m's o pen ing-rou nd s ta t us a n d re p laced it with a round in Orlando, Florid a (making Ana heim the number three stop on the series sched ule). What resu lted w as a d ownward s p ir al in atte nd ance and p resti ge com po u nde d by an overload of January d irt-oriented even ts in the s tad iu m. H owe ver, the Ana he im event seems to have recently reinv en ted itself. In 1996, over 65,000 spe cta tors went through the Stadium's turnstiles, thu s selling ou t the event for I th e firs t tim e since 1987. Rum or ha s it th a t the AMA and p r om o te r s h a v e promised the factories that the '97 season will kick off at the "Big A." High Point Na tio na l: For the p ast decade, the High Point Na tional MX in Mount Morris, Pennsylvan ia, has been the crown jewel of the AMA Nation al MX Series . Set every Mem ori al Da y weekend in th e Appalachi an Plateau area of southwest Pennsyl van ia, th e even t has con sistentl y d rawn upwar d s o f 20,000 specta to rs and an unprecedented amount of medi a coverage in the world motocross press. Even though the event is' not the season-ope ner, it does kick-off the tru e summer National ou tdoor season. Takin g place on a highspeed, hill-addled , off-cam be r infested circuit, complete with a "sea of humanity" backdrop, the Mount Morris National has been th e sigh t of many me mo rable battles that range from the Damon Bradsh aw and Jeff Sta nton 250cc dogfight in 1991, to the legendary Jeff Ward and Johnny O 'M ar a 125cc co nflict in 1984. In addition, Mount Morris hosts one of the most prolific amateur races in A m erica, the Ka w asak i Team Green Spring Nati onal. Run on th e Satu rday prior to the Nati on al, the event has been so successful, th at it se t th e preced en t for th e current tr end of all Natio na l eve nt venues hold ing an am ateur race da y. Daytona Sup ercross: Included in the funky mix th at is Dayt on a Bike Week, the Daytona Supercross has now run for 25 consecutive years. Wh ile Bike Week is a whacked-out concoctio n of bee rfueled , gin- soaked H arley rid er s, flat tr ack gu ys , road racers, coll ege kids, tourists, drifters , hu ckst ers, hood lums, half-baked cab drivers, sno w bird s and mo torcycle industry types, the Daytona Supercross has mana ged to rema in one of the most meaningful races in American MX. Daytona Beach d raws the entire American m ot orcycle indu stry to it s shores the fir s t w eek in March who groove into town to monit or the numerous motorcycle races that take plac e at Daytona International Speedway. While the Da yt ona 200 Superbike ra ce tak es top billing, the Supercross (whether the motorcycle industry likes it or not ) has drawn crowds and an atmosphere that has either rivaled or surpassed those of the 200. Nearly every racer on the AMA circuit considers the rough and tumble, whooped-out, energy-sapping Dayt ona Supe rcross as one of the most imp ortant races - if not the most imp ortant - on the sc hedu le. Nothi ng m ak es th e factory brass pr ouder than to have their motorcycle w in before the entire motorcycle peer group . Daytona is also a circuit that demands respect. Through out the past 25 yea rs, a handful of physically fit racers have been able to rise to the occasion and not on ly ta ke th e measu re of th e compe tition, but the track itself. Among those who have never won Daytona are Jeff Ward, Mike LaRocco, Damon Bradshaw , an d Jean-Miche l Ba yl e . "Iro n Men " include four-time Daytona winner Jeff Stan ton and thr ee-time winners Bob H annah and Mike Kied rowski. Fivetime World Motocro ss Champion Roger DeCost er was al so a Da yt ona winner a nd Jeremy Mc Grat h fin all y got the monkey off his back by winning his first Daytona Supercross last Mar ch. Gatorback National : Considered by m any, and understan d ably so, to be an "orphan" race, the Gatorback National in Gai nesville, Florida, is still, withou t a d oubt, one of th e ra ces to w in on the AMA registe r. Sched u led every yea r between the Atlanta and Daytona Supercross events (and not followed by another nation al for over two m onths), th e Gainesville Na tional has been the opening round of th e AMA ou tdoo r se ries since 1983. Wh ile its posit io n on the schedule is a bit su spect, the event generates an enormous amount of excitement, international attention, and for a number of rid ers - hop e. If a rid er is not d oin g well in the supercross series, is tryin g to shake off an injury, or just needs a new lease on life, Gainesville is the place to make it all happen. Pulling strong results in Gainesville can set a rider on course towards a 125cc or 250cc Nation al Champi onship. Etched out of a long-abandoned limestone quarry, the Gatorback circuit is an omino us mix of sand, clay, shale, bi ke-eating wh oop s, hills a nd skyshot jum ps - something for everyone. 125cc pilot George Holland is the only rider to win three consecu tive Nationals at the Gainesville facili ty ('85, ' 86, '87) . Jerem y McGrath can tie that reco rd in 1997 with a win in the 250cc class. Pontiac Supe rcross: Fro m the first time the eve nt ran in 1976, the Pontiac Supercross h as been o ne of the m ost rock-solid and success ful events on the AMA Supercross circuit. Initiall y staged as a tw o-night double-head er, the race was trimmed d own to a one-nigh t affair in 1994 du e to we ar and tear on the riders, mechanics and bikes. For th e past 20 years the Pontiac Sup ercross has galvanized crowds with its great racing, track la yout, ye ll ing ma tch es an d fist fig h ts . In a d d i tio n, year after year, the Pontiac events have been so me o f the best -attended races, o ft e n drawing so m e of th e la rges t crowds in supe rcros s history. 1996 was no different, as over 51,000 midwestern sup ercross fan s cam e o u t to wa tc h America's p remier m oto pil ot s wage war. Wh ile a number of great racers have claimed victo ries in Pon tiac, Bob "Hu rricane" H ann ah was the undisputed heavyweigh t champion of the Silverdome. During his wild-riding days of domination in th e late '70s, H an n ah reeled off six straight wins at the venue, winning both nights in '77, 7 8, and 7 9. With its two -nigh t, midseason position on the schedu le, Pontiac deserves its place in history as it has proven to be a make-or-break stop on the AMA schedul e on more th an one occasio n. Lastly, Pontiac is the only supe rcross tra ck left in America that still d eliver s the rid ers up into the stands. MX 338 (Southwick) Na tiona l: While the AMA Na tiona l Series sche dule ha s been a bit e r ra tic an d inco nsis ten t throu gh out the years, the re ar e a few select races th at ha ve been an integral part of th e AMA Na tional circu it fo r years, su ch as Spring Creek, Red Bud and Washouga l. Another on e of th ese hallowed cir cuits is Motocro ss 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts. As one of the lo n ges t-r u n n ing ve n u es, hosting an AMA National since 1976, Southwick has tested the mettle of many riders, ranging from Pierre Karsmakers in the mid-70s to Jeff Emig and Jeremy McGrath in the ' 90s. With its axle-deep, cocoa-brown sand, the legendary circuit is more akin to the legendary sand circuits of Europe th an any thing else in Americ a. Southwick is a gut-wren ching, "tough guy" track that only th e fittest and strongest racers can excel on . in the track' s 19-year his tory of running National MX races, there have only been tw o racers to win four consecutive Natio na ls there. Texan Kent H owert on won three consecutive 250cc Nationals in 79, 'SO, and '81 and a 500cc N ational in '82. Jeff Sta n ton, no stranger to running well on rough tracks, won fou r consecuti ve 250cc National s from '88 through '92. To that end, when a r ac e r leaves Mo to cr oss 338 w ith a National victory he can be su re on that given d ay, he w as the strongest, mo st ph ysically fit motocross rider in America. It's the old school motocross - the way it used to be. I -LO K GB ... O IN .ACK 25 YEAR SAGO... JUNE22,1971 a m a h a 350 m ou nted Kel Carruthers was edge d out b y inches b y Har ley Davidson-m ou nted Mark Brelsfo r d in an AMA 100Mile Nation- ~;;::!:!~~fE~~J al Road Race held in Lo u do n, N e w H amp sh ire . Dick Ma n n's third-pl ace finish wo uld keep him in th e lead in the poi n t standings with 384, followed by Gene Romero in second with 313, and Carruthers in thir d with 228. A motorcyclist finally wo n the infamo us Baja 500, but unfortunately Bobby Ferro, 23, wa s dri ving a car at the V time, demolishing Parnelli Jones' record time by 44 minutes. Hu sqvarna's Malcolm Smith an d J.N. Roberts were the first bike team to cross the finish line, with onl y three cars ahead of them. 15Y AR E SAGO ... JUNE 17,1981 tev e Morehead enjoye d the thrill of v ic tory five la ps after Hank Scott s u ffe r ed th e ag on y of d efeat with a mech ani cal failure a t round 10 of the AMA Gran d National Ch amp ions hip Series at the Delawa re State Fairgrounds. The win was the seco n d s traight fo r Moreh ead a t the S I Delawar e track, and moved him from Kawasaki's Jeff Ward at the Oklahom a 19th to 11th in the '81 po int standings. Stat e Fair Speedway. Bayle took home Team Yam aha's Bob Han nah and Broc $100,000 for the seri es championship, while Ward mo ved up to third on th e Glover took the overall victories in the 250cc and 500cc classes, resp ectively, at all -tim e supercross w in list with 20. th e AMA 250/500 Nation al Champi Scott Parker's th ird Louisville H a lf onship MX held in St. Petersburg, FloriMile w in tied him for first on the allda . Running a partial fairin g and d irt time w in list with 40, with t he legtrack tires on the asphalt sections endary Jay Springsteen. Pa rker 's wi n of the cou rs e, Yamaha 's Larry , . on the Downs ova l was his Roes eler and Bruce Ogilve r 1-1 ' ; ~.J;,· ti ~:::Jj 12t.h o n a half mi le , topped the 405-mile SCORE Baja ,-~ :.J.J...:J • w hich pu t hi m one WIn ~:::--. - ~ away from tyin g Sieve intemacional in just six hours, 42 minutes and 34.59 seconds. Morehead for t h ir d o n ClinO'ffhe the all-time half mil e wi n C es list. Doug Polen handily 5YEARS AG ... O tttre! wo n the Brainerd rou nd of JUNE1 9,1991 the World Super bike ond a' s Jean-Michel Ch am pi o n shi p Series on Bayle considered himself his Fast By Ferracci Du cati, a "free m an" after wrap wh ile Scott Russell to ok ping up the Camel Super cross se co n d o n a M uzzy Series Ch ampion sh ip w it h a -~"-"~!!f~~!!!!!!!!:!J Kawasaki. ('N seco n d -p la ce fi nish beh ind . s- - H 79

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