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/127831
SUPERCROSS THORIPARTS UNLlILITED AliA SUPERCROSS SERIES the parade lap under the spotlights next week!" By Davey Coombs Photos by Kinney Jones DAYl'ONA BEACH, FL, MAR 8 earn Kawasaki's Jeff Emig accomplished two lifelong goals in Daytona Beach, Florida, when he won the 25th annual Daytona Supercross by Honda and became the AMA 250cc Supercross Series points leader for the first time in his career. "Now 1 can get my name on the plaque on the Wall of Winners!" Emig said, referring to the Daytona racing museum that he visited the day before the race. "1 sawall of those names up there like Bob Hannah, Rick Johnson-and 1 thought, 'Man, I want to get my name up there with those guys.' That was my whole goal t~day and 1 just got good starts, had the right equipment and rode well enough to win." IT Finishing a surprising second was Suzuki's Greg Albertyn, who uncharacteristically avoided all of the sand and supercross traps placed on the Gary Bailey-buil~ infield track to record his second podium finish of the series (and his AMA career). '1 was charging as hard as I couId the whole race but Jeff just rode a fantastic race, no question," said a satisfied Albertyn. "I'm very happy and it's great to be on the podium again." Albertyn's Suzuki teammate Jeremy McGrath was a very'impressive thi~d after coming through the first turn at the back of the 30-man pack. Many racewatchers felt tha t McGrath's climb through the pack was his best effort of the year and might have signaled a change in fortunes for the embattled four-time series champ. "Like Albee said, it's a demanding track and that's all you can ask for," McGrath said later. "Of course I want to win races but those two were out front and gone and 1 wasn't there. But 1 can tell you again that it's all coming together - it's only a matter of time now." Rounding out the top five were Yamaha's Ezra Lusk, who recovered from a midrace fall from second, and poor-starting Mike LaRocco, the third Suzuki factory rider in the field. Honda's Steve Lamson was a season-best sixth, followed by Honda of Troy riders Mike Craig and Larry Ward. Team Chaparral's Jimmy Button was next, followed in 10th by an out-of-sync Doug Henry, whose season-low finish cost him the series points lead that he's held since the second round of the series. As for taking over the 250cc points lead for the first time, Emig said, "It's really no big deal at this point in the series. It just means that 1get introduced to the crowd last and then I get to takE! In the 125cc class at Daytona, many .fans were watching for another chapter to be written in the Ricky Carmichael rookie saga, but instead of watching one of the youngest riders in the field win, fans saw the exact opposite. Yamaha's John Dowd, 31, took advantage of Carmichael's first-turn crash to. secure the biggest supercross win of his career with a convincing IS-lap effort. '1 told myself to relax and find some lines and not go crazy because the race is so long," said Dowd, who started fourth. "My strategy was to relax .and ride smooth and then wait to see what happened to everyone else. At one point those guys got pretty far away out front but I just put my head down and went after them." Suzuki's Tim Ferry finished second for the third 125cc East Region SX in a row and Carmichael's Pro Circuit/SplitFire teammate David Pingree got on the podium for the first time this year. American Honda's Scott Sheak and Noleen Racing's Jeff Willoh rounded out the top five while Carmichael recovered for sixth. Gary Bailey went back to the oldschool style and built a demanding loop of more than a minute and a half in the heart of NASCAR's most famous facility. Set down in the grass between pit row and the steeply banked finish line, the track was a minefield of whoops, ruts and square edges, with some hard-pack dirt trucked in to build the jumps. With the AMA calling for a 2a-lap main event in the 250cc class despite the lap times, the supercross looked more like an outdoor National MX moto. Even though he averaged 1:35 lap times throughout the main event, Emig's winning time was 32 minutes, 14.13 seconds. "It was miserable:' Yamaha's Lusk said of the long main event. "Daytona is the toughest supercross race we run all year, and this year was the tougliest yet." "It was brutal," HoTs Craig added. 250cc The first 250cc heat race featured a good battle between the fast-starting Suzuki of McGrath, who actually blew into the outside of the first turn and surrendered the holes hot to Honda of Troy's Craig. Manchester Honda Racing/AXO/Scott's Damon Bradshaw £01-