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/127796
'MOTOCROSS' .' AMA 1251250l:c National "ol9Cross Championship series Round 1 Spring Creek Motocross Park 0: Kawasaki had a grest weekend with factory riders (from left to right) Jafl Emlg and Ryan Hughes taking first and second In the 250cc Natlonsl, snd prlvatser Phil Lawrence snsgglng third. By Cameron Coatney Photos By Kinney Jones MILLVILLE, MN, AUGUST 4 eam Kawasaki turned the hills of Spring Creek Motocross Park in Minnesota even more green than they already are by taking the top three positions in the 250cc class at round 10 of the 1996 AMA 125/250cc National Motocross Series. It was a day that Kawasaki will remember for a long time as Jeff Emig took first place in convincing style by grabbing two holeshots and winning both motos outright. Teammate Ryan Hughes had a consistent day and finished second with a 2-2 moto tally, while Kawasaki of Mexico/Great Western Bank/Xtreme/CTi2's Phil Lawrence finished ott the "green sweep" by securing third overall with solid 5-3 rides that also netted him $500 from the Skoal Privateer Challenge award. "I feel fortunate to make up some points on Geremy) McGrath this week and make some money,in the process," quipped Emig from the podium. "It's really nice to get out in front and ride your own race, and that's just what I got to do in both motos. From here on out, I have to keep focused and win both motos at the last three rounds if I'm going to win the championship." Hughes practically dashed all of his T chances for winning his first 250cc National overall by getting a start oute .side of the top 20 in the second moto, but still moved up at an incredible pace to ta1>e second at the finish of moto two and secure second overall. "I was told I got about a 28th-place start in the second moto," explained Hughes. "By the sixth or seventh lap I was in second and started catching Emig. I flew off of the track coming out of the sand whoop section and started 'making a lot of mistakes and that was itI settled for second. The fans were great, and I can't wait to come here next year." Lawrence had a good first moto and finished fifth, and his second mota went even better as he nearly took the holeshot and held second for quite a while befoI'll Hughes got around him. "Ryno (Hughes) had a strong charge going' (in the second moto) and I couldn't do anything to hold him off," said Lawrence. "In the first moto I rode hard the whole race and I felt about the same in the second mota, but I got a better start. If only my National rides were consistent like my Supercross rides this year - I'm workin' on it, though." Another strong privateer, PJ1/ Xtreme/Burnsville Yamaha's Jimmy Button, had a super day and finished a very respectable fourth overall after turning in a 4-5 moto score. Normally, that would be a good enough finish to take home Skoal's $500, but Lawrence had plans of his own for that dough. Team Honda of Troy's Brian Swink rounded out the top five after riding to a 6-8 in the matos, putting his sand-riding skills to good use and pulling off cancans in practice to please the fans. Where was the Champ, Jeremy McGrath, you must be wondering? Well, McGrath had a little mishap in practice on Friday while trying to double up on to a table-top jump (that no one else even considered) and severely sprai ned his left foot and bruised his voice-box when he cased it. He was riding to stay inside of the top 10 in order to salvage some points and turned in a respectable sixth overall with a 9-7. "I hurt myself coming out of the sand whoops while trying to land on top of the table-top - I guess you can't make it," explained McGrath. "I have a midfoot sprain that is supposedly more painful than breaking it, and I hit my throat on the bars and messed up my voice-box. The silencer got smashed on the caliper and I bent the shock bolt - it was pretty bad. There's no way 1 can win like this and I'm just going to ride around and try to stay in the top 10 - if 1 fall out of the top 20, I'm pulling off. I've just got to l.ook at it this way: I've been extremely lucky at staying away from injuries and this is even minor. I should