Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) Team Honda's Ezra Lusk (3) finished third and almost caught Windham after he crashed late In the race. Team Suzuki's Mickael Pichon finished a close fourth to Lusk after nearly getting the holeshot. (Above) Windham .(8) may have been awarded the holeshot money, but Pichon (16) thought he had it, and by the looks of this photo, he may have a case. ny, Kames Sports/One Industries/Sinisalo-backed Mike Katin Jr. and Fleshgear/ AI pinestars/Split-sponsored Carey Hart. McGrath now enjoys a 59-point lead more than a two-race cushion - over Windham, 249-190. Lusk maintains his hold on third and now has 177, followed by Ward (160) and LaRocco (155). to come back from last week's.race and win this weekend. I couldn't let Kevin win again. I mean, I was trying hard, hard not to let him win because I know he's young, and I know when I did that (started winning) in '93 the confidence snowballed. It could have gotten harder to beat him. I did just what a veteran should do and applied the pressure, and it worked." Windham, riding with brimming confidence after his hometown win a week earlier in New Orleans, rode his fadory-backed Yamaha YZ250 to his second straight holeshot award in the main and led the race for 15 laps until McGrath inched by in the whoops to take over the lead. Even so, it was a very satisfying night of racing for the 20year-old who has now joined the upper ranks of the 250cc class. "To hang with Jeremy - I've shown that I have the speed, and I just made a little mistake at the end of the race," Windham said. "For this to be my first year and getting second - I mean, I always think ·about Jeremy. Jeremy came out the first year and won, but that's not what usually happens. Jeremy is still racing and he's still in his prime, so I'm happy to be where I'm at. It's a great learning year for me. The whole team is really doing good for me, and .l'm really looking forward to finishing this year out and having a better year next year. It's really been a positive experience for me." Team Honda's Ezra Lusk seems to be getting a grip on his hand injury and won his heat race over his friend Windham; the two have seemingly dueled this way all year long. Lusk got a pretty good start in the feature but couldn't catch the fleeing McGrath and Windham - that is, until Windham crashed in traffic late in the race. Lusk closed right up on Windham, who had a 12-second lead at the time, but could not make the pass and finished a second behind the Yamaha rider after hounding him for six laps. "I'm guess I'm really happy because I feel like I'm getting back to where I was," Lusk said. ''I'm winning heat races and getting my speed back up and I'm able to ride a lot during the week now. It's going to come back together. This is the first week in a while that I've felt good." Suzuki's French import, Mickael Pichon, went high into the first corner of the main event, while Windham went low and came out of the first corner in second place. McGrath and Lusk and, for a short time, Jimmy Button were the only riders to pass Pichon, and he rode persistently to finish a close fourth behind Lusk. It was his best finish since his fourth-place finish in the opening round of the series in Los Angeles more than two 'months ago. "I'm pretty happy. Maybe with a little more energy I could ha ve passed Lusk and Windham," Pichon said. "Windham crashed and I was 6ght behind them both, but I was getting tired the last three or four laps and hung on to fourth. I know with good starts I can stay up front for sure. My Suzuki is working great, I'm getting good starts and I'm in shape. The starts are so important. If you start 10th, it is very hard to come back. Hopefully, for the last five races I can keep riding this way and get a couple podium finishes." Doug Henry rode his factory Yamaha-backed YZ400F to fifth place for the third week in a row, although a win is still definitely on his mind. "My ride went really good and I'm happy with it," Henry said. "I had a horrible start and I just kept picking guys away and worked my way to fifth. I started pretty far back. It was hard out there because there was only one fast line out there. You just had to·wait for . someone to make a mistake, and if they didn't make any mistakes, you kind of just had to get your front tire in there and make them nervous. My confidence is good. I really think I can win one of these things if I can get au t to a good start, have a good ride and have a little luck." Team Honda of Troy's Michael Craig had an up-and-down race that saw him finish sixth, ahead of Chaparral/Yamaha's Button, who had, a similar race. Team Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes finished eighth, followed by Suzuki's Larry Ward, Factory Connection/Jack,in the Box/Honda's Mike LaRocco, Team Kawasaki's' Damon Huffman, Team Honda's Steve Lamson, Honda of Troy's Mike Brown, Two Wheels Kawasaki/MSR/Pirelli-backed JeanSebastien Roy, and local rider Cory Keeney, who rode his Hartman/FMF/ Extreme-backed Yamaha to 15th. Rounding out the 20-rider field were Tom Morgan Racing/Dunlop/JT-sponsored Ryan Terlecki, Shoei/Bridgestone/Wiseco-backed Heath Voss, Dr. Medsker/Cycle Shed/KTM's Jim Povol- HEATS Huffman took the holes hot in the first heat, followed by Lusk, Brown, Button, LaRocco and Windham. Things changed quickly when Lusk, Brown and Button went by Huffman early, and Windham sent Huffman to fifth a lap' later. Windham passed Brown in a rhythm section on lap five and then took Button's line away before the finish line to take second place on lap six. From there, the top four of Lusk, Windham, Button and Brow.n stayed extremely close but maintained the same order to the finish. "The track is pretty easy and there aren't too many hard landings," Lusk said, referring to the condition of his hand. "Hopefully, I can get out front and do 20 good laps in the main." "I was pumped after getting a sixthplace start, and this track is pretty tough to pass on, so for me to move into second was a great feeling," Windham said. "It's usually a good sign." Huffman, LaRocco and Roy went to the semis with the rest of the field. McGrath, Craig and Yamaha of Troy /Sinisalo/Pro Circuit's Todd DeHoop went into the first corner side by side by side, but McGrath went down as they flew into the whoops. McGrath was promptly run over by Henry before remounting and continuing on. "I came in and Craig was doing his own thing, and I kind of got hit by Todd DeHoop," McGrath said. "He (DeHoop) got a little bit squirrelly and we hit handlebars, and then I came over on Craig and kind of hit him with my body. So I got run over by Henry. Those Bridgestone tires were all up on my back. So [ got a little road rash, but it was no big deal." Ward, Lamson and Hughes fell in behind Craig as Henry tried to move forward, along with Pichon. Henry moved up to put some pressure on Ward for second, but Craig took the win before anything could materialize. "I feel good. This is my kind of track," Craig said from the podium. "Everybody here is rooting for Jeremy McGrath and I'm getting sick of hearing Jeremy McGrath's name, and I just went for it. I hit a few guys in the first corner and stayed up." Lamson took the fourth and final transfer spot, while Hughes, McGrath, Pichon and everybody else went to the semis. SEMIS Huffman, Terlecki, LaRocco, Povolny, Roy and Katin jumped' to the front of the first semi. As Huffman checked out for the win, Terlecki and Povolny held formation to take second and third. Roy and Hart battled for a while, but Roy persevered to take fourth. Hart still transferred in fifth, and LaRocco could only get to sixth after some early problems and a swapping, high-side crash on lap four. McGrath handily won the second semi, but not without some pressure by Pichon during the opening laps. "I was kind of checking the 'whoops out because they (the maintenance crew) were working on them all night; it was changing, so it was kind of a good thing," McGrath said about his race. '1t was only a five-minute race, so it was no big deal." Hughes gated about third and held it to the finish, with Minnesota's own Voss and Keeney earning fourth and fifth and trips to the main. LAST-CHANCE QUALIFIER Katin and DeHoop got the jump on LaRocco and the rest of the riders in the LCQ, but LaRocco had control before the first lap was over. DeHoop got close to Katin at times, but a bobble on lap two left a gap that he couldn't close. LaRocco and Terlecki took the 19th and 20th picks on the main-event gate. MAIN Windham went low and tight into the first corner, taking the short route, while Pichon took most of the pack wide at the start of the main as the Suzuki rider slammed off the outside berm. McGrath, Lusk, Hughes, Button and Lamson were all right there as well and, when all was "'aid and done, Windham had the holeshot, although Pichon was still a bit uncertain after the race. "I thought I got the holeshot, but they said no," Pichon said. "I hope someone took a picture. The line was in the whoops and I hit the berm on the outside and flew across it. I hope someone has a photo, because I was very close. For $1000, I want to make sure." Pichon, McGrath, Button, Lusk, Hughes, Lamson, Ward, Huffman and Henry fell into a squabbling formation behind Windham on the first lap, and McGrath flew by Pichon on the back triple to take over second place: It took MeGra th the next 14 la ps to ca tch the fleeing Windham and move by for the win. "My Chaparral Yamaha was working really well out there, and I was a little worried 'cause I was kind of on the outside after having to ride the semi," McGrath said about his start. "It worked out good. I got a good start and' moved over and came out third, so I was pretty " ,-< ...... ..... I-< 0.. -< 11

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