Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

. (Above) The surprise ride of the night was turned In by ChaparraVYamaha's Jimmy Button, who actually passed both McGrath and Emig for the lead on to ihe first lap. Button led for about five laps before McGrath got by him. Button ended up on the podium in third. (Right) For the second week In a row Greg Albertyn was the runner-up, giving Suzuki a 1-2 finish. The win was not only big for McGrath but for his mechanic Wyatt Seals as well. This was his first 250cc supercross victory. "The adrenaline is flowing right now for sure," Seals said. '1 went skydiving last week, had a lot of adrenaline then, and I would have to say that this is pretty darn close. Surprisingly, I felt kind of calm during the race but, eh, 1guess the last two laps the butterflies came in. It definitely feels good. I hope they all feel this way. I don't think this will be the last one." For the econd week in a row, Albertyn Pl,lt his Ian Harrison-tuned Suzuki into the number-two position on the rostrum and was quite happy with his performance and that of his teammate. "Consistency, tha t' s what I'm aiming to do," Albertyn said. "I know I can do it. You know, being up there once (winning the opening round of the series at Los Angeles) it feels like it's the right place to be. I'm learning the technique now, getting the starts, ride fast for the first few laps and settle down. It's as easy as tha t. "Jeremy was riding well, really. I'm stoked for him," Albertyn added. "If anybody deserves to win, it's him. He's put in a lot of hol:lTS. I'm happy for him, and I'm happy for Jimmy, too." Albertyn was referring to Jimmy Button who rode an outstanding race, too. Many were expecting the early leader to fall off the pace, but the Chaparral/ Yamaha rider never did. He managed to stay clear of a raging duel between series leader Emig and former leader Doug Henry that was going on behind him late in the race. It was his first-ever podium finish in the 250cc class. "Oh man, it's unbelievable how I feel right now," Button said afterward. "You know, getting exiled from America and then coming back and showing the factory guys that I could do it, that they just needed to give me the support and a little bit of time ... It's incredible. I didn't think it would feel like this, this feels better than any 125cc win I've had. I felt good, but Jeremy was just going a little bit too fast for me tonight. I'm stoked." While the first three positions were all but decided long before the checkered flag came out, the same could not be said for the fight over fourth place involving Henry, Emig and Honda of Troy's Larry Ward. Even Suzuki's Mike LaRocco was in the hunt, as was another Honda of Troy rider Mike Craig, but most of the action was between Henry and Emig, who were separated by only a few points for the.series points lead going into the Minneapolis round. Their monumental battle came down to the wire when Henry passed Emig on the last lap to claim fourth place once and for all. A close Sixtll went to Ward, followed by LaRocco, Craig, Team Yamaha's Ezra Lusk and Chaparral/Yamaha's Phill;awrence, who rounded out the top 10. The remaining 10 spots were filled by privateer riders who took advantage of tlle fact that many prominent riders sat out the event for various reasons, including factory Kawasaki riders Damon Huffman and Ryan Hughes, and Honda of Troy's Mike Kiedrowski, Manchester Honda's Damon Bradshaw and Yamalla'S John Dowd. The only factory-backed rider who placed outside the top 10 at Minneapolis was Team Honda's Steve Lamson, who went over the bars while running among the lead. ers. He took a hard blow to the ribs and was unable to finish, officially finishing 20th for the night. With McGrath wimling and Henry and Emig finishing somewhat down in the field, the points chase tightens up as the series crests the halfway point. Now only six points separate the top three riders. Emig still leads with 153, followed by Henry with 149 and McGrath with 147. Slightly off the pace in fourth with 128 points is Albertyn and LaRocco is fifth with 126. HEATS Ezra Lusk shot his blue and white factory-backed Yamaha into the lead at the start of the first 250cc hea t race, but Albertyn had something to say about that. The three-time World Champion slipped his factory Suzuki underneath Lusk's Yamaha and took over the lead just a few turns into the race. Chasing in third was Henry, followed by McGrath and Craig. Henry made quick work of his teammate Lusk for second, while McGrath followed Henry right around Lusk as well, making the top order Albertyn, Henry, McGrath and Lusk. McGrath's momentum carried him right past Henry and up to Albertyn. On the third lap, McGrath squeezed his way inside of his teammate and forced his way into the lead. Albertyn's problems weren't over yet, as Henry outjumped the Suzuki over the triples, then, on the next lap, "Albee" bailed in some whoops. Henry kept McGrath honest the rest of the way, but this would be McGrath's race. On the last lap, McGrath celebrated with his patented nac-nac over the triples and took the win with little room to spare over Henry. Lusk ended up third, followed by Craig. Finishing one spot out of a direct transfer was Lawrence. Albertyn ended up eighth. As he has done so often before, Emig launched his Jeremy Albrecht-tuned Kawasaki into the early lead in the second heat race and would lead everyone to the checkered flag. Only for a brief moment was his lead challenged. Button was fired up and had passed factory Suzuki rider Mike "LaRocco for second at the halfway point and was rapidly closing in on Emig. At one point, Button put his front wheel next to Emig's Kawasaki only to bobble over a step-up jump. The miscue was enough to let Emig get away and LaRocco close back up. A second hiccup by Button gave LaRocco second, but Button kept the heat on right down to the finish only to give up right at the end. Making the cut to the main were Emig, LaRocco, Button and Moto-XXX/O'Neal/HSKS of Ocala's Brian Swink. Just missing a ticket to the main was Ward. The two heavy-hitters in the first 250cc semi were Albertyn and Lawrence and, as expected, these two riders were found at the front of the pack right off the start. Albertyn actually shared the holeshot with Ohio's Mike Katin before taking charge. Lawrence also zapped Katin on the next lap, and it looked as though the first two positions were set, as Albertyn held a sizable lead over Lawrence, but Lawrence wanted the win. He slowly closed the gap on the Suzuki rider and, on the last lap, Lawrence took the lead with little resistance from Albee. A little ways back in third, Kahn had his hands full with Suzuki rider Cliff Palmer, who hounded the Yamaha rider until Katin could not take it anymore, making the top three Lawrence, Albertyn and Palmer. Katin held on to fourth, while Missouri's Brian Stone sneaked in there for a trip to the main. Lamson and Ward duked it out every inch of the way in the second semi. Lamson took the holeshot but just could not shake Ward. Lap after lap, turn after turn, Ward would match Lamson's every move, but no matter how hard he pushed, Ward just could not force a mistake out of the leader. The dice came down to the last turn when Ward tried and nearly pulled off a pass on Lamson. Minnesota's own Heath Voss held down third place for most of the race, much to the delight of the sellout crowd, but Voss could not outrun a fast-closing Ryan Huffman, who eventually passed Voss for third. Fifth wen t to Honda rider Rich Taylor. By the time the Last Chance Qualifier came around, all of the top riders had already bought tickets to the feature and this gave the remaining privateers an equal shot at the remaining two slots for the main. Suzuki rider Doug Dehaan led from start to finish, while Kawasakimounted Jason Frenette grabbed the last transfer of the night. As Albertyn put it, the first lap of the main was "the closest racing I've ever experienced. It was so tight I couldn't even believe it." It all started when Emig shot his Kawasaki into the lead, but before he knew what had happened, he was fourth. "I got bumped around there at the beginning, and I just lost my groove," Emig explained. "It seemed like I was on the outside every time I needed to be on the inside and on the inside every time I should've been on the outside. I got the holes hot and then off those triples (after the first turn) McGrath bumped me, and I ended up in the wrong lane I wanted to be. I was just in the wrong area." In the blink of an eye Emig went from first to fourth, but it was Button who made the surprise move of the night by pa~sing both McGrath and Emig in onesmooth motion. As the riders filed by the finish-line jump after the first lap, the order read: Buhon, McGrath, Albertyn, Emig, Lamson, Lawrence, Ward, LaRocco and Henry. Back in 15th was Lusk. Many thought McGrath would take care of Button right away, but Button put up a valiant fight. The Yamaha rider would run four strong laps before McGrath finally slipped by on the inside to take the lead. "Jeremy came up and put his wheel in on me ~ couple of times after I passed I:"him on that first lap, but I held him for 0\ about six or seven laps," Button said. ~ '1 was going to be my old self, that's how I do it and that's how I was going to do it," McGrath said of the first few laps. "It was a cluster out there. Button was riding excellent. I was right behind him, and I didn't want push him around 'cause he is my friend. I wanted him to do good as well." A lap after McGrath passed Button,

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