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/127790
lead over Emig, 291-249, with seven races still to be run. Third is Team Suzuki's Mike LaRocco with 192. LaRocco posted 9-3 moto finishes for fifth overall. In the 125cc class, Lamson is a full 65 points ahead of series runner-up Dowd, 266-199, while Windham is third with 182 points. Windham had a miserable day in the Southwick sand. The Team Yamaha rider, for all inten ts and purposes spent the entire day eating grainy roost in the middle pack for what were to be hard-earned fourth- and ninthplace finishes. Clear and cool weather conditions greeted the racers at Southwick, which came as great relief as compared to the hot and humid conditions they suffered through the previous week at Budds Creek in Maryland. Another large turnout was had, as the estimated erowd count was 13,000-plus. Dowd took the win with about 10 seconds to spare, while.Lamson finished second but easily the overall winner for the day. Lusk held on to third, while Sheak, who tarted the moto about 10th, worked his way up to an impressive fourth. Another strong performance by Antunez gave him fifth, while Carter gave the crowd even more to cheer about with a strong sixth. Craig landed seventh after a 17th-place getaway, while Suzuki support rider James Dobb and Willoh rounded out the top 10. 250Cc NATIONAL McGrath powered his Skip orfolktuned Honda CR250 into the lead at the start of the first 250cc moto, but hot on his trail was Bradshaw, on his Steve But- . ler-tuned Yamaha YZ250. Behind them were Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes, Henry, Team Burnsville Yamaha/PJI/Xtreme/ Atomic 22's Jimmy Button and HoT's Larry Ward. Elsewhere in the back were Emig (ninth), Suzuki's Greg Albertyn (10th), GWB/CTi2/Kawasaki of Mexico's phil Lawrence (15th), and way in the back was LaRocco, who went down in the first turn. Up front, McGrath and Bradshaw quickly detached themselves from the rest of the pack. Hughes tried hanging on for a while but dropped off the lead pace. Bradshaw matched McGrath's every move, lap for lap, turn for tum. 125cc NATIONAL The Southwick crowd could not have been much happier to see a couple of local hotshoes running up at the start of the first 125cc National, as Manchester Honda's Tony Lorusso and Shane O'Connor led the pack through the fast, sweeping, right-handed first turn. O'Connor slipped to fourth and hung there for a couple of laps before dropping to fifth. His promising ride, however, came to an abrupt halt when his Honda seized on about the fifth lap. Meanwhile, up front, Lorusso was holding his own, while a host of other riders followed in his sandy wake, including Primul Impulse/Bill Pipe's Robbie Reynard, Lusk, Scott Carter another Manchester Honda rider from nearby Bolton, Coneeticut, Pedro Gonzalez - Reynard's teammate - Australian National Champion Kim Ashkenazi, and Dowd. ' By the second lap, Reynard had taken over the lead, but as quickly as he had taken it from LOnlsso, he had given it back when the luckless Honda rider crashed and dislocated his shoulder. The riders directly in back of him had to make quick, evasive moves to miss Reynard's crashed motorcycle. One rider who didn't quite swerve in time was Dowd, who clipped Reynard's Honda and era hed. He recovered quickly, but a few laps later Dowd was walking back to the pits with a mortally wounded bike. "When I clipped Reynard's bike, it must've put a hole in the radiator or something," said a dejected Dowd. "The bike ju t seized." Lorusso suddenly found himself back in the lead, but, again, not for long, as Lusk motored by him and began pulling away. Lorusso hung tough, though as Ashkenazi and Lamson moved into third and fourth, while FMF's Michael Brandes took over fifth, ahead of SplitFire/Pro Circuit/I<;awasaki's Chad Pederson, Craig and Sheak. Well into the race now, Lusk enjoyed about a five-second lead over Lorusso, who now had Lamson breathing down his back. Lamson soon got him, and once past Lorusso, the factory Honda rider set his sights on Lusk. Lamson slowly but surely closed the gap on Lusk, about a second per lap. Eventually, Lamson whittled Lusk's lead down to just a few bike lengths by the time the white flag came ou t. It looked as though Lusk had just enough enough of a cushion to hold Lamson at bay, but a slight bobble on a fast section of the track cost him the win. "1 really thought I had more of a lead on him than I did," said Lusk. "I bobbled and he was right there." (Opposite page) Jeremy McGrath grabs the holeshot ahead of Ryan Hughes (5), Patrick Barton (66) and Doug Henry (15) In the first 250Cc National. McGrath went on to win both motos. (Above) Steve Lamson recorded ~ยท2 moto finishes in the 125cc class for the overall win. He had to come from behind In both motos. (Right) Jeff Emlg (2) led McGrath for a while during the first half of the second 250Cc moto. Emlg went 6-2 for second overall. The race was one lap too long for Lusk, as Lamson sailed past him into the lead and went on to take the dramatic win. "1 really wanted to win it," said lamson. "1 know that Ezra really isn't in the points chase and 1 really didn't have to pass him. 1 could've just sat back, but I wanted the win." Lorusso held onto third the whole race but did have to endure some pressure by Ashkenazi a few times, but Lorusso simply outlasted the Australian on his home track. In fact, Ashkenazi began to tire late in the' race, as Windham, Sheak and Craig all passed him, making the final finishing order Lamson, Lusk, Lorusso, Windham, Sheak, Craig, Ashkenazi and Pederson. Honda of Troy's Jeff Willoh and A.P. Graphics Tom Clowers fought for the holeshot in the second moto with Willoh winning out. Willoh led for three long laps before Dowd took over, and Willoh would run among the leaders all race long, before dropping back to 10th at the finish. Clowers quickly dropped to the middle of the pack, while Great Western Bank/CTi/Kawasaki's Buddy Antunez took it upon himself to pursue Dowd but to no avail. Antunez ran second for a number of laps before Lusk, then Lamson dropped him back a couple of notches. It took Lamson only a couple of laps to zap Lusk, but, by this time, the damage was done, as Dowd was long since gone. Lamson tried, though. He pulled away from Lusk and narrowed the distance between himself and Dowd slightly but that was it.