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/127854
MOTOCROSS AMA 125/l5Occ NATIONAL IIOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Left) Team Pro ClrcuitlSplitFirei Kawasaki's rookie sensation Ricky Carmichael clinched the 1997 AMA 125cc Nationa l Motocross Champions hip with two rounds rema in ing with a res ounding 1·' for the o verall win in Washougal. By ErIe Johnson . Pho tos by Kinney Jones WASHOUGAL, WA, Ave: 17 n a brillianl sunny day along the e ve rg reen-blanketed border of s o uthwes t Washi ngton, SplitFire/Kawasa ki rider Ricky Ca rmichael clai med his first-eve r AMA 125cc ational Championship title, while Kawasaki factory rider Jeff Emig came within an eyelash of claiming his second co nsecu ti ve 250cc Natio nal Championship. Heading into th e Wa sh o uga l uSec Na tio n a I, 17-year-old sensa tio n O Ca rmichael needed to score ju st six p oints o ve r sea s o n -lo ng a n ta go ni s t Kevin Windham in order to mathematically eliminate anyone who dared 10 challenge h is massi ve points lead . Carmichael - eager to etch his name into the reco rd books alongside other firstyea r 125cc-title wi nners such as Marty Smith, Bob Hannah and Mike Kiedrowski - blitzed the field at Washougal, reeling off two dazzling moto wins to not only win the ov erall, but the National Championship as wel l. "This is like a dream rome true," said Carmichael, while an ad hoc celebration commenced around the Pro Circuit 18- wheeler. "This was my first yea r, and th ere was a lot of pressure on me for being a rookie. All of the hard training was worth it. The who'e year has been a team effort, and it has been unbelievable." Emig, mea nw hile, through an ot her commanding 1-1 overall performance in which he claimed his eighth consecutive moto win • is now poised to win the 1997 AMA 250cc Natio nal Champio nsh ip next Sunday i n Binghamtnn , New York. Emig. who was ab le to capitali ze o n the bad raci ng luck experienced by venerable Yamaha pilot John Dowd, heads to the Empire State with a 99-point lead - just on e point s ho rt of clinching th e title. In fact, if not for a spirited come-from-behind r id e by Dow d in the second moto , Emig would ha ve clinched the series cha mpionshi p in Washing ton. "Th e second m oto was ex tr em e ly rou gh, " claimed Emig, who ran off and hid fro m th e firs t lap forwa rd . " I was really co ncerned about winning both my motos today. It's a real pleasure to have a 99-point lead and to be ab le to race with someone like John (Do wd), becau se he gi ves 100 percent, and he kept h im se lf i n the c hampio nship tod ay." Following Emig home in both molos w a s So u th Africa n e xpatri ate - a n d thr ee-time AM World Champion - Greg Albertyn of Team Suzu ki. Albertyn rod e to tw o har d-earned runner-up pla cings, h a ppy to a tone fo r hi s somewhat sketchy perfo rm ance at Wash ou gal last year, when he finished seventh overall after a few off-track al terca tions. " I kind of d isappointed a lot of pe0ple las t yea r w hen I went over the fence and crashed aga in co mi ng back on," mused AJbertyn, bringing levity to th e situ a tio n. "That was a little embarrassing, but I think I redeemed myself this yea r. I'm rea l happy with my performan ce here tod ay. I'm quite happy, and my bi ke is a lo t beller this week. We fou nd some th in gs o u t - even thou g h there are onl y two races to go, but bet ter la te than nev er." Third o vera ll in the highly competitiv e 250cc division w en t to A merica n Suzuki / Suzuki of Troy / l -800-Collect/ Fox ico n Jeremy McGrath. McG ra th , who has been the subj ect of countless rumors regarding his plans for 1998, utilized a stro ng third- place fini sh in the first moto to inherit the fina l step on th e victory podium. "Yeah, it was an all-righ t result," sai d a mela ncho ly McGrath from th e co nfines of the Suz u ki transpo rter. " I got kind of a decen t start, at least better than usu al, and I passed.a few gu ys to get up there. 1 just want to do th e bes t I can in each e ven t the rest of the yea r." When asked if there had been a ny developments in his p lans for 1998, McGrath replied : "No. Everyone's talking. but I just don' t know yet. " Finis hing fourth on the day was yet a no the r Su zuki rider, Mike LaRocco, who, d es p ite two woeful s tarts, left Washougal relatively pleased, " 1 had problems with both starts and wa s ha ppy to ge t through the tra ffic like I did," explained LaRocco. "T he bad starts didn't help things, but I felt decen t out there. I feel like I've been . riding good the last few ra ces, and I'd like to work o n trying to get a win in these last few races and finish out real strong." Washington native Larry Ward gave the locals something to cheer about by guid ing his Team Ho nda of Troy / Sinisal o /Oakley-ba ck ed C R250 to fifth overall with consistent 6-5 scores. FInally, Team Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes rode to si xth overall, which he earned through s te a d y (if u nass u mi ng ) 4-9 moto finishes. As the season enters its final stage, Emig hold s dow n a Vir tu a ll y insurm o u n tab le 99-poin t lead wit h 497 points, and John Do w d ' s ti tl e ho pes