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/127851
MOTOCROSS AMA 1251250Cc NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MOTOCROSS SERIES Round 9: Kenworthy's MX Park (Lell) Ricky Carm ichael extended his already huge 12Scc series lead with a pair 01 seeond-ptaee finishes. (Below) The pack of 125cc riders squeezes through the firs t couple of tu rns in the sec ond moto. (Right) Th irdplac e finIs her Mlckael Pichon tries 10 keep cool before going 6-5 for th ird overall In the 125cc Na tional. "I jus t blew up in the seco nd moto," McGrath said. "Abou t 10 minutes in to it, I was beat, tired. I was third behind Larry and Emig, an d then I just start ed mak ing so me mis tak es when Hugh es wa s behi nd me. I held him off for a few laps, but aft er tha t I was jus t wasted , tired." "I was just hammered from that first moto," Albertyn said of his bad-s tart-toseve n th r id e in th e seco nd m ot o . " I overh eated and found it really tou gh to come back . I' ve been st ruggli ng' w it h m y s ta rts and tha t onl y made thin gs worse." 125cc NATIONAL Hu ffman gra bbed h is fir st of two great starts to begin the opening 125cc Na tional rnot o, with Pingree, Deegan, Carmichael and privateer Suz uki rid er Brian Roth in tow. Deep in the fie ld were Windha m, a wounded Steve lamso n (see Briefly...) and Reynard . Of the p oo r- sta rting trio , on ly Wind ha m would be able to manage any points at all - he climbed as high as sixth before twisting his ankle in a rut and painfully rid ing to 15th pla ce. Lamson d ro pped out early, while Reynard wa s havin g a p roblem wi th his left wrist and dropped ou t jus t afte r the halfwa y mark. Honda of Troy's Mi ke C raig also pu lle d out after an ea rly fall. "I' m slowly learning that it's a lot easier when you get that ho les ho t," Huffman said of his grea t start. "Lately my starts have been really good, but I didn't get out of the gate that good. My bik e jus t pull ed everyo ne else d own that long start." Ha lfway th rough th e fi rst la p , Ca rmichael moved into second a nd st art ed to pr ess Huffma n, and for th e ne xt 15 min ut es th e tw o w o ul d rid e w ithi n a couple of bike len gt hs of one another , thou gh Huffma n remai ned in the lead th rou ghout. Afte r the halfway mark, Carmichael seemed to let Huffman go and instead con cen trated o n cons erving his energy an d kee ping well ahead o f a hu ge battle for thi rd that devel o ped between Pingree, Deegan, Pichon and Sheak. "Carmichael has been really fast this year, and no t too many guys have been able to outrid e him w he n he' s right there," Huffman said lat er. " I like thi s tr a ck a lo t a nd I just p u t everything .toget her to bea t him. Tha t was my best moto all yea r - maybe longer. I think I have a lot left for the second mo to. For me, it's the humidi ty that's the p roblem, not the heat " " It was like a survival-of-the-fittest, and Huffy w as defi ni tely th e fittest," Ca rmichae l sa id after se ttl ing for second . " I was just k ee ping a n eye on things behind me and wa tching some of Damon's lines, too. I think I'll be able to get after him a little more in the second rnoto, bu t the most important thin g to do is to make some points on Kevin." Th e battle fo r th ird e nded w ith a tired Sheak on top, while Pingr ee di splaced Deegan for fourth on the last lap. "I didn't really get a good start but I rode ha rd, an d I think I' ve go t some good lines," Sheek said. "It's so ho t out th ere , yo u can' t believe it. I' ve been traini ng a lo t in this kind of weather ba ck home in New York, b u t this is ridiculous. I was starting to get dizzy, but I think I was s till going as fast on the last lap as I did on the first." Sheak's feeling would grow worse in the second moto. The heat got to him this lime and the Ho nda rider dro pped out of the points while jus t circling the track in a n attem pt to fin ish. Reynard would also DNF the second race, and privateer David Kratz was so overcome by th e hea t that he wa s sa id 10 ha ve pa ssed o u t on h is b ik e w h ile still up righ t and required emerg ency medical atte ntion for hea t pr ost ration .