Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

held fifth behind him. Kiedrowski rode into sixth and spent a few laps dicing with the out-of-sync Lusk before seQning his best finish of the year. Albertyn was disappointed with his eighth-place finish. "One wo'rd: Wanker!" Albertyn said. "I was absolutely pathetic. I was having problems with my bike bogging, maybe because it was too lean, and for a few laps I couldn't jump the triple because it was scaring the hell out of me. But that's not an excuse - I rode like rubbish." Lewis and Dowd rounded out the top 10, while Huffman and Lamson put in mediocre showings to finish 11th and 12th. "The first few laps I was doing pretty good," Lamson said. "After about halfway, I cased a triple and it just knocked the wind out of me. I was just gasping for air - I was done. Now I have two weeks to think about my season so far. I really need to get out of this rut I'm in so far." 125cc Team Honda/Primal Impulse/Fox Racing's Robbie Reynard chose the farthest gate on the inside to the holeshot the first 12Scc heat race and pretty much pulled away after that. The Oklahoman ended up winning by about a halfdozen seconds over SplitFire/Pro Circuit's Craig Decker and Honda of Troy's French import Stephane Roncada. ill .the second 12Scc heat race, Team SMP's Grayson Goodman grabbed the holeshot over heavy favorite Windham, who soon rode by and away. The supersmooth teenager had a five-second advantage after just one lap and was on cruise control shortly thereafter. The "Cajun" scored a popular win and rewarded the adoring crowd with a couple of heel-clickers toward the end. Team Suzuki's Nathan Ramsey and FMF's Vuillemin rounded out the top three. When the 12Scc main event blasted off, Pedro Gonzalez grabbed the holeshot ahead of Ramsey and Suzuki's Steve Andrich. Windham was just outside the top five while Reynard's choice of the far inside line proved to be a mistake the second time around; he blew the shift to second and went into the first tum dead last. After a lap, Ramsey was the leader, while Gonzalez, Pro-Circuit/SplitFire/Kawasaki's Casey Johnson, Primal Impulse Honda rider Shauil Perolio and Windham filled in the top five spots. Roncada was eighth and on the move forward, while Reynard was up to 10th. Lurking all the way back in 12th was the Frenchman Vuillemin. The crashing started in earnest on the third lap when Windham, up to fifth, got out of sync in a rhythm section and catapulted himself off the track and onto the slick concrete where he fell. The kid was back on his feet and appeared ready to get right back in the race, but then made a terrible miscalculation. "I got up and, in the heat of the moment, I didn't look back when I 'pulled back on the track," Windham said. "Me and Chris Wheeler came together pretty good and down I went again." When asked what the damage was, Windham said, "Just pride." "Work, work, work and then come to the race and do so bad - it's just really depressing." Windham said. The two successive accidents left Windham all the way back in 21st and with little hope of winning, but the strong-willed rider started right back up through the pack. He made it to sixth by the checkered flag and at least kept him- self in a tie for the points lead in the 12Scc West Region with fourth-place finisher Reynard. After five laps, Roncada was up to second and pressuring Ramsey as' the track grew rougher by the lap. Gonzalez held third but he was losing touch with the leaders as he defended his position from Johnson, Decker and Perolio. In the meantime Vuillemin was up to seventh after watching Reynard drop his Honda and fall all the way back to 19th, just in front of Windham. For five more laps, Ramsey held his ground.and appeared ready to start the sprint to the finish until he made an unforced error and lost control of his Suzuki on a triple jump. To give the race even more of a demolition-derby look, Roncada was already committed to his line on the triple when Ramsey fell and he landed on the fallen leader's bike, taking himself out in the process. The pair still had about 10 seconds on thirdplace Decker when the crash occurred, but only Ramsey got back on his bike before the rest of the pack came by. But the Suzuki was bent and difficult to ride and Decker immediately went by. Before things could settle down, Decker got himself jammed up in the very next comer and both Gonzales and the patient Vuillemin slipped by, giving the race its third le~d change in one lap. However, VuiUemin made sure it was the last by immediately pulling a short lead on the Kawasaki train of Gonzalez, Decker and Johnson. Decker passed Gonzalez for second, but then hit a hay bale with two laps to go and lost spots to both Johnson and Gonzalez. The Seattle derby mercifully ended after 15 laps with an extremely happy Vuillernin still in the lead. Johnson and a thrilled Gonzalez took the next two spots on the podium while Reynard nipped Decker for fourth on the last lap. Windham also made a late pass, salvaging points by passing the struggling Ramsey for sixth. Noleen Yamaha's Jeff Willoh, Team Chaparral's Greg Schnell and Stiffie-backed Cory Keeney rounded out the top 10. "I was very bad off the start, and I had some trouble in getting going," Vuillemin said. "I saw so many crashes that once I got into first I just tried not make any mistakes myself. I tried to ride smooth and jump every jump. I took my time and I'm very happy to have won. Now I am a little bit sad that I have to go home." "I was coming up on the triple and my bike slid out in another rut and preloaded me to the right," Ramsey said after he crashed himself out of what might have been a first-ever supercross win. "It took too much speed from me and I came up short, then Roncada landed on my bike. I got back up and my front end was still tweaked ou t and I couldn't do much. It was too bad .because up until then I felt good, felt relaxed. Wasn't nervous at all. Then I just hit that one rut wrong and that was it." ('N Seattle Klngdome Seattle, Washington Results: February 1, 1997 250 HEAT 1 (8 laps, 1-4 transfer to main): 1. Ezra Lusk (Yam); 2. Larry Ward (Han); 3. Steve Lamson (Hon); 4. Michael Craig (Hon); 5. Mike LaRocco (Suz); 6. Greg Albertyn (Suz); 7. Phil Lawrence (Yam); 8, Jimmy Button (Yam); 9. Kyle Lewis (Suz); 10. Lance Smail (KTM): 11. Jason McCormick (Yam); 12. Ty Birdwell (Kaw); 13. Billy Binckley (Yam); 14. Jason Frenette (Kaw); 15. Tomohiro Shibayama (Suz): 16, Jeff Matiasevich (Kaw); 17. Mark Easley (Kaw); 18. Terry Lee Hamness Jr. (Kaw); 19. Terry Parsons (Hon); 20. He.th Voss (Hon). Time: 6 min., 57.290 geC. 250 HEAT 2 (8 laps, 1-4 transfer to main): 1. Doug Henry (Yam); 2. Jeff Emig (J

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