Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the riders were forced to single the triples while paramedics attended the downed rider. Despite being off the bike for a few weeks with an injured knee and a case of chicken pox, Hughes looked as strong as ever as he led the pack around the technical Orlando track, but this would all change by the fourth go-around. "I felt good, got a good start, but I've got asthma and it just kicked up today," Hughes said. "I've been battling with it all day. Even in practice I'd go three or .four laps and pull over and try to get my breath back. Even in the heat race 1 was hating it. In the main, five laps into it, 1 was struggling, gasping for air the whole time. 1didn't think 1 was going to make it." But he did. Hughes would end up finishing seventh. Ward was the new leader after five la ps, and Lusk was enjoying sole control of second. Emig was having his problems finding his rhythm when both LaRocco and McGrath scooted by the series points leader. • "I just didn't flow," Errtig said. "I was confident 1 could pass everybody ahead of me but I ju t didn't get the job done." By the halfway point there were two distinctive battles going on: the one between Ward and Lusk for the lead, and, a few second back, the one between LaRocco and McGrath for third and fourth. Ward simply could not shake Lusk. The Yamaha rider was determined to make the pass but was just waiting for the right moment to make his move. "I didn't really want to force anything because I knew Larry wouldn't ride a good, safe race, so to speak," Lusk said. "But I wanted to get by him real quick because I knew he'd start to fade we were getting to the halfway point and he would hold me up if 1 didn't get by quick." Lusk saw his chance on lap 11 and passed Ward for the lead, and then he took off. • "I was able to get by him (Ward) and put some time on the guys behind me. Once I got by Larry I put the hammer down to get away, 'cause the track was of second for the rest of the race. Swink held on to third, while LaRocco, who ran a close fourth the whole race was nearly passed by Brad haw at the finish line. Following Bradshaw across the line was Antunez in sixth and Ryan Huffman in seventh. Emig nailed the holeshot in the second heat race but Suzuki's Greg Albertyn made a surprise inside move and shot into the lead with Emig settling into second, Ward in third and Lawrence in fourth. Albertyn led for a couple of laps until Errtig went to the outside and passed the three-time World Champion. Albertyn nearly got Emig back in the next turn but couldn't make the pass stick. Then, all of a sudden, Ward got in on the action and pushed Albertyn off the track coming out of a turn; Albertyn rode along side of the track for a few yards and re-entered the course before anyone else could get past him. A lap earlier, in the exact same spot, Button, already taking some heat for making contact with a few riders at the previous supercross round in Houston, ran his teammate Lawrence off the track while taking possession of fourth place. Lawrence went down in the inddent but quickly got back up and going. "] was so mad," Lawrence said. "I didn't know who did it and when I looked up and saw it was Button, my teammate, 1 couldn't believe it. 1 didn't think he would ever do that to me, but now I know." Meanwhile, up front, Errtig set the pace but couldn't pull away from Ward. The two riders raced closely down to the finish with Emig hanging on for the win over Ward. Albertyn looked to have third place all but locked up but suffered a spectacular getoff over a series of double jumps and was carried off of the infield on a stretcher with a back injury. He did get back on his feet and took a few steps before sitting back down. Button inherited third when Albee crashed, and Lawrence passed Grayson Goodman la te in the race for fourth and a direct transfer to the main. Lusk again shot his Yamaha to the front of the pack at the start of the first 250cc semi but this time he would never give up the lead, though lappers got in his way a few times late in the race and allowed Bradshaw to get close at the finish. Third place went to Huffman, who ran second in the race for a short time, followed by Antunez in fourth. Kawasaki rider James Eickel squeaked. in for a transfer to the main with a fifth-place finish. Goodman scored the second semi win after a shaky couple of laps early in the race. He battled with Kawasaki rider Mike Jones for a while before taking control and moving on for the win. Gonzalez worked his way up through the pack and slipped past Jones on the last lap for second place. Third went to Jones, followed by Kawasaki rider Jason Frenette and Oregon's Ty Birdwell. Just missing out on a direct transfer after crashing a couple of times was F&S Suzuki rider Cliff Pa lmer. Jeff Hedden, another F&S Suzuki rider, made a spectacular third-to-first pass on Mike Katin and Jason Thomas to win the Last Chance Qualifier. Hedden got off to a mid pack start and quickly made his way to the front of the field. With the fin.al two transfer positions on the line, Hedden launched off a triple jump and passed both Katin and Thomas on the second-to-last lap, a move that would ultimately win him the (Top) Mike LaRocco (5) and McGrath went at it for a number of laps. Here, while running fourth, McGrath checks out where leader Lusk Is near the halfway point. (Above) Back in action, Ryan Hughes led the first four laps then had trouble breathing because of asthma. He stili finished seventh. (Right) Third-place finisher Jeff Emig and runner-up McGrath get even with winner Lusk on the podium. race. Ka tin edged out Barry Carsten, who had passed Thomas on the last lap, !o land the final transfer position of the night. Ward powered his Marshal Plumbtuned Honda into the lead at the start of the main event just allead of Hughes, Lusk, LaRocco and Emig. Swink settled into fourth, Katin fifth and McGrath sixth. "I got smoked off the start," McGrath said. "I didn't have the rpm high enough I think and kind of bogged it off the line. Got smoked." Before the first lap was over, Hughes made his way around Ward for the lead, while Swink took a trip over the handlebars after coming up short over a triple jump. It was a hard fall that left Swink lying on the side of the track, curled up in pain. For about three laps,

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