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/127848
MOTOCROSS 30TH ANNUAL M M O HMOUNTAIN A MT MOTOCROSS Mammoth Lakes, California (Left) Team Honda's Steve Lamson returned to act ion and won the 125ce Pro class at the Mammoth Mountain Motocross. (Below) Pro ClrcuitlSplitArei Kawasaki 's Casey Johnson led the troops to victory In the 250cc Pro class, By Tony Alessi 24 MAMMOTH LAKES, CA. JUNE 26-29 ea rn Honda's Steve Lamson's wrist injury - which has all but dashed any h op es he ha d of ca p tu ri n g his thi rd st raig ht AMA 125ee Nati onal MX Championship - seems to be completely healed , as he won th e highly competitive 125cc Pro cla ss at the 30th ru nning of the Marnmoth Mountain Motocross. Lamson rod e his Honda into the lead early in the race and opened up a small cushion over Kawasaki's Damon Hu ffman . Huffman made a valiant effort to ca tch the d efending Natio na l cha m p, but just cou ld n' t catc h the high -flying Lamso n, wh o scored the 125cc-elass win with ab out five seconds to spa re over the factory Kawasaki rider. The 250cc Pro-dass win went to Pro Circuit /SplitFire /Kawasaki's Casey John son, who put the move on Honda of Troy's Stephane Roncada early in the race before pulling away for a comfortable win. Perhaps the most successful rider of the we ekend was KTM' s Lance Smail, who wo n both the Open Pro an d Four Stroke classes, and who also turned in a respect able ride in the 250cc Pro class, where he placed third . Smail even compe ted in the 125cc Pro class and took sixth. As alw ays, the Mammot h Motocross drew a hu ge cro w d a nd lu red th ou sands of riders to the scenic track, which is loca ted approximately 8000 feet up in th e Sie rra N evada Mo unta in range. wh ere jetting in the thin air an d e ven basic bike preparation for this race can be a nightmare. To acco mmodate all the rid ers that flock to the famous Mamm oth ski resort, the event is held over a four-day span, starting on Thurs da y with the vets and seniors; Friday featu res the minic ycles, fou r-stro kes and open bikes; Satu rday features the 125s and wo men's classes; and Sunda y caps everything off with the 25Os. The race of the week wa s the 125cc Pro bout on Satu rd ay. When the gate dropped , man y were expecting either Huffman o r Lam son to p u ll th e holeshot, but neither of these riders got the ju m p; rather, it was privateer a nd ro okie p ro rid er Jimmy Vari s, on hi s FMF Yam aha, who snared the holeshot. Ea rli e r h eat-race win ners Pro Circuit/SplitFire / Kawasaki's Brock Sellard s and Honda of Troy's Mike Craig were left behind in a heap after getting together in the first tum. "varia looked like he wa s going to run into the hay bales, so he moved over right into me," said Sellards of the crash. 'The next thing I know , I'm in to Craig, and we' re on the ground." Sellard s re mo u n ted and cha rged