Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Craig got an early lead in the main and Emig was content to ride for a safe second after he was gifted the place when Tortelli fell at the end of the whoops on lap two. Hughes had been on the floor on the fir.;t lap and needed most of the 20 laps to catch up for the pass on Dowd for third, while Huffman, also recovering from a lowly 11th on lap one, had exited on lap five following a midair collision with Pichon. A hospital checkup revealed no broken bones, but severe bruising to the shoulder and ribs. Tortelli provided most of the spectacle, charging back from seventh to third before another crash left him back in sixth again, but such was the Frenchman's pace that he was right back on the rear wheels of Hughes and Dowd by the checkered flag. The rest were lapped by the impressive Craig. Huffman's exit from the Friday main also meant he could no longer be champ, while Hughes trailed Emig by 13 points. The U.S. outdoor champ would only need a ninth on Saturday to' clinch the World title. Both title candidates won their heats on day two, while Craig came back from a fall to push a sore Huffman to the rescue races again, where he was joined by the crash-happy Tortelli. The Frenchman, ever seeking his limits as part of the learning process, again fell in the final after moving quickly from sixth to third, but incredibly recovered to snatch second to the" !1ffiaway Craig with a last-lap pass on Button after the American, an old adversary from the '95 GP campaign, had spent half a lap using every trick in the book to block the frighteningly fast Frenchman. The title battle didn't last long. Emig gated second to Craig and did no more than necessary to stay out of trouble, while Hughes had completed the opening lap eighth after renewed difficulties in the first few turns on a track which was much tighter than previous Palexpo layouts. Tortelli's fall left Hughes challenging Dowd for the vacant third berth, and the title was decided prematurely as the duo touched in midair on the very same jump where Huffman and Pichon had done likewise 24 hours earlier. As ever, the 125s proved the better entertainment, and a full house for the second night was assured, despite the absen.ce of McGrath, when Swiss Philippe Dupasquier handed out a rare . defeat to David Vuillemin the previous evening. It was Vuillemin's only defeat in the four races, however, and he was a clear winner of the Coupe D'Europe title. The Yamaha teamster will contest the first four West Coast 125cc SX races before returning to Europe to contest the GPs. Main rival Stephane Roncada was strangely subdued, but his thoughts already were on the Sunday afternoon flight to California to join his Troy teammates in preparation for a complete U.S. season. (N rNeed A· Gift That Keeps On Giving? , GenevaSX Geneva Palexpo, Switzerland Results: December 7-8,1996 (Rounds 6-7) FRIDAY: \. Mike Craig (USA. Hon); 2. Jeff Emig (USA, Kaw); 3. Ryan Hughes (USA. Kaw); 4. John Dowd (USA, Yam); 5. Sebastien Tortelli (France. Kaw); 6. Jimmy Button (USA, Yam); 7. Thierry Bethys (France, Hon); 8. Miaael Pichon (France, Suz); 9. Cyril Ports (France, Hon); 10. Brian Swink (USA, Hon). SATURDAY: 1. Craig; 2. TortelH; 3. Button; 4. Emig; 5. Damon Huffman (USA, K~w); 6. Pichon; 7. Hughes; 8. Guedard; 9. Dowd; 10. Phil Lawrence (USA, Yam). FINAL WORLD SX CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1. Jeff Emig (118); 2. Ryan Hughes (91); 3. Damon Huffman (80); 4. Sebastian Tortelli (72); 5. Mike Craig (69); 6. Larry Ward (52); 7. Greg Albertyn (51); 8. Jimmy Button (50); 9. John Dowd (48); 10. Jeremy M

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