MOTOCROSS
AMA NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP MX SERIES
1: Gatorbact Cycle Park
(Right) Team Kawasaki's Jeff Emig started
off the 1997 AMA National Motocross
season just as he finished it in 1996 - with
two resounding holeshots and moto wins to
take the victory at the Gatorback National
Motocross. (Below) Team Pro
CircuiUSplitFlrelKawasaki's 17-year-old
rookie sensation Ricky Carmichael proved
to the pundits that his first SX win last
weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, was no fluke
by winning the 125cc class in Gainesville
with a 2-1 rnoto tally.
By Davey Coombs
Photos by Kinney Jones
GAINESVILLE, FL, MAR 2
he opening round of the 1997
AMA National Motocross Championshi ps at Ga tor back Cycle
Park saw two different types of overall
winners: The experienced veteran and
the teenage upstart.
The veteran role was played by
defending 250cc National Champ Jeff
Emig of Team Kawasaki. The 26~year
old Emig put in two co=anding rides
in the 250cc motos for a successful
beginning to his title defense. "Jeffro"
pulled both holes hots on his Jeremy
Albrecht-tuned KX250 and was never
headed. The only rider even close to the
same pace as Emig was former class
champ Jeremy McGrath, who ran second in both motos and got close to the
T
leader toward the end of the second
heat before making a mistake with two
laps to go.
"I just rode my own race and didn't
worry about the other guys out there,"
the Kawasaki /Bridgestone/Shift/
Arnette-backed Emig said. "I wanted to
start this series out strong and show
everyone that I deserved to wear this
number-one plate, that I was stronger
than ever. Well, I don't know about
being stronger, but I definitely rode really smooth. I had a little bit of pressure
from McGrath, but he bobbled before
we started to go at it and that was pretty
much it. My goal was to go 1-1 and here
I am. What a great way to start the
series."
Finishing a surprising third in the
250cc class was Manchester Honda/
Axo/Scott-backed Damon Bradshaw (53), who held Emig in check for the first
