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/127938
SUPERCROSS TOYOTAlTHORlPARTS UNUMfTED AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES By Cameron Coatney Photos Karl Ockert 00 0\ 0\ ..... trl ..... ..... I-< ~ 12 PONTIAC, MI, APR. 4 fter four weeks of alternating I domination by Yamaha riders / L L... Jeremy McGrath and Kevin Windham, the Supercross Series needed a little shaking up. And that's .just what happened as 1,'eam Honda's Ezra Lusk rode to his third win of the series in front of the 60,189 fans who flocked to the Pontiac Superdome. Lusk's win not only proved that the _ Georgian is now fully healed from that hand injury that slowed him midseason; it was all the more sweet due to the fact tha t the win settled a score between himself and mechanic Mike Gosselar. "Two weeks ago, we made a bet that if I didn't win, I'd have to grow a mustache and keep it until I won," Lusk explained. "It's coming off, but he's got a mustache that he's had for over 10 years and now he's got to get rid of it· because I won. "Everything is going great," Lusk continued. "You never really know how good of a team you have until you have to dig down and pull it out of the bag. We've had some bad weekends but you really realize what you've got when this happens. I had a lot of bad weeks when I got hurt (his hand fracture), but I think we're back on track. We've had a three, a two, and now'a one in the last three weeks, so we worked up the ladder and now we're back on top." Lusk turned in a great start and ride to earn the win, but it was not without a little help from the early race leader, Team Chaparral/Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath, who crashed at the end of the second lap. _ "I got a good start," McGrath explained. '1 was riding really well and really loose and started to pull away - I Round 13: Pontiac Si/verdome had a three-second lead or something and I just made a little mistake and crashed. I came up a little short on this jump-across thing, so when I hit it, I got bucked sideways, rode the front wheel a little, and then I tipped over going into the berm. That's when something happened to my bars." As the dazed McGrath picked up his bike from the corner, the handlebars flopped down onto the tank and his race was over before it had really begun. Many thought his new Twin-Wall Renthal handlebars had broken or something hadn't been properly tightened, but team manager Larry Brooks commented on the problem. "When he crashed the bike, it flipped over and when it hit the berm, there was a lot of leverage on the handlebars and it broke a clamp," Brooks explained. "It's a freak thing, but common at times, because it happened to Button last week. It's just from the leverage and the bike driving into the ground. There is nothing wrong with the Renthal bars, though." Last week' winner, Team Yamaha's Windham, rode a smart and steady race from his sixth-place start to finish second. Windham was very pleased with his finish, as he is the only other rider besides McGrath to finish within the top 10 in each of the 13 races. "Man, it's weird," Windham said. "I set my goals for two (wins) in a row, but I haven't done it yet. [ just keep going every other, so it looks like it's going to be my turn in Charlotte. It feels great, though. I had a little brain fade and didn't gef a good start, but it feels good to go out on a track and know you can put in a good, hard 20 laps, which is exactly what I did tonight without getting tired. After McGrath went out, I saw Ezra and he was gone, so I thought it's time to charge up to the podium. Once I saw McGrath go down, I set my sights on second, and realistically it was probably the best I could have done tonight." Yamaha teammate Doug Henry gated a little worse than Windham did in the main, but charged his YZ400F through the pack to claim a podium finish in third. It was the Connecticut resident's second third-place finish this year, the first occurring in.Seattie. "This is really good," Henry said. "Lately, I've gotten four fifths in a row. I'm just trying to come back from the first part of the year, which was up and down and more down than up. I'm just trying to settle in there and get ready for the outdoor series by staying focused, and tOnight went really well for that. I didn't have the whoops down in the heat, but in the main, I got them down and that really helped." The Tampa SX winner, Team Suzuki's Larry Ward, rode hi RM250 to fourth overall after running as high as 'second early on. He eventually calmed down and nearly caught Henry on the last lap, trying to steal away the final podium spot. '1t's an okay result; I ju t made a lot of mistakes tonight," Ward said. "[ think the track had a lot of big braking bumps, and it was a great track, but I just personally made a lot of mistakes. The last five laps were great, but up until then 1 was fighting it. I did mellow out the last five laps and almost caught Henry. I tried to ram him - well, not ram him, bu t got alongside of him in the last straightaway. You know, at least} didn't get run into this week or hurt anything, and I'll go to Charlotte in two weeks and try to get back on the podium." Ward's teammate, Frenchman Mickael Pichon, gated well and was in the lead pack throughout the main, but settled for fifth at the checkers. Team Honda of Troy's Mike Craig took his third sixth-place finish in a row, followed by Team Jack in the Box/Honda's Mike LaRocco, Team Chaparral Yamaha's Jimmy Button, Team Honda's Steve Lamson and Team Yamaha's John Dowd, who crashed early on and charged up from 16th to finish 10th. Team Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes finished 11 th, Team Kawasaki of Mexico/Thor /Tecate's Jean-Sebastien Roy took 12th, Kawasaki of Carrollton/Thor/Pro Circuit-backed ational Arenacross regular Cliff Palmer got 13th, and Honda of Troy teammates Mike Brown and Stephane Roncada finished 14th' and 15th. Hudsonville, Michigan's own Todd DeHoop finished 16th, followed by Grea t Lakes Airlines/Bill's Pipes/Factory Connectionbacked Heath Voss, Tom Morgan Racing/DunlopIJT-sponsored Ryan Terlecki, and Yamaha of Japan/Holley (Above left) When Jeremy McGrath dropped out 01 the main with mechanical woes, Team Honda's Ezra Lusk pounced into the lead and rode oil to victory. (Below) Last week's winner, Team Yamaha's Kevin Windham, came through the pack nicely to finish second.