Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS MAZDA TRUCKIAMA 125cc NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MOTOCROSS SERIES (Left) Team Yamaha's John Dowdtook runner-up honors, going 3-4 on the day. (Right) In just his first National, 16year-old Branden Jessemen finished fifth overall. 10 helped me late in the race when I started to get tired." . When the riders lined up for the first 125cc moto, points leader Carmichael chose the eighth gate from the inside with the first pick. Possibly as a result of Hangtown's epic first-turn crash last week, which mayor may not have been Ca.rmichael's fault, the rest of the major 125cc contenders' all lined up to the inside of the number-one rider. Jimmy Button, Dowd, Casey Johnson and Lamson all chose gates even further inside than the one that Carmichael picked. Dowd must have made the best choice because the Yamaha rider blasted into the lead with a rare hoJeshot. The SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasakis of Nick Weyand Carmichael followed the Yamaha rider around the sweeping first left-hander; Robbie Reynard's Primal Impulse Suzuki, and the Honda of Troy duo of Stephane Roncada and Brown followed. Next came Button, Lamson and the rookie, Jesseman. Toward the back of the back were top-10 Hangtown finishers Scott Sheak, Michael Brandes, Casey Johnson and Thor/Smith/One Industries/ Sunstar-backed Josh Demuth. Dowd's lead was short-lived. By the second whooped-out downhill, Carmichael had the lead. Reynard also found a way around Dowd, who seemed out of sorts for the first two laps before settling into the fast pace set by Carmichael. The three up front were quickly putting room on everyone else, and Carmichael was putting some distance between himself and his closest pursuers. He was aided by the fact that he was the only one jumping the huge uphill triple jump behind the starting gate. "It wasn't something that I planned on doing, but once I got out there [ saw that the approach was perfect and [ could jump it pretty easily," said Carmichael of the huge launch. According to his mechanic, Chad Watts, Carmichael was pulling about one hali-second per lap on the rest by leaping the monster triple. After displacing the fast-starting Wey, Button held fourth for the first hali . of the race on the Chaparral Yamaha, but he seemed to start missing his lines and falling off the pace. Button was first passed by Roncada (who was showing the most outdoor speed he's shown all season) and then by his Honda of Troy teammate Brown. Lamson also got by Button, as did the late-starting FMF / Honda rider Jason McCormick. Button's downward spiral would land him in eighth plate at the conclusion of the race. Out front, Ca.rmichael continued to pull slightly away from Reynard, who in tum was opening up a pretty sizable cushion on Dowd. At the halfway mark, Carmichael's 2:19 pace gave him some 10 seconds on Reynard, who had even more room to spare on third-placed Dowd. The three would finish the race at about the same splits. "Both Robbie and John are fast and strong and I knew that I had to keep up a fast pace the whole time or they might make a charge towards the end," said Carmichael, who threw a nac-nac salute to the crowd on the last set of doubles. "I had to work my butt off the whole time.'~ "[ knew that [ had to go really fast right from the start in order to have a chance at beating Ricky, but he was just going too fast that time," said Reynard, who rode hard the whole way fo secure a season-best second. "I got ,the start I wanted and all, but he just got out there quicker." "[ pumped up a little out there and [ was having a little bit of trouble with some lapped riders as well," said Dowd. "I got a great start, but [ just had a hard time settling down at the beginning." Roncada held off a determined Brown for fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Lamson, McCormick, Button, Johnson and Wey. Just after the second 125cc moto exploded from the line, it looked like someone in the inside trio of Bu tton, McCormick and Reynard hit a land mine. The three bikes all piled up together just a few feet off the gate and left the three riders at the taH end of the pack. Ditto for Casey Johnson, who suffered the indignity of forgetting to turn his gas on before the card turned sideways. Only Johnson would make it back into the top 10, managing another ninthplace finish. Button 'would get to 11th, and McCormick and Reynard would both ultimately DNF. Up front, Dowd and Lamson shared the holeshot ahead of Carmichael and Jesseman. Always aggressive at the start of a race, Carmichael qukkly moved around Dowd and then set Lamson up with an inside-out pass on the first "S" section to start the second lap. Carmichael immediately started to pull away while Lamson tried to .keep u,p. Dowd's day would get worse on the third lap when he fell in the back section and got up outside the top 10. "I just made a little mistake, and you can't do that with the way Ricky is riding," said Dowd, who immediately started working his way back up. "I knew that he was long gone but I figured that every spot counted and 1 just rode as hard as 1 could." Dowd's spill left Jesseman in control of third place, and the absolute rookie handled the gift with confidence. With Roncada in pursuit, Iesseman attacked the High Point track with the sudden support of almost every fan on the property. For almost 20 minutes he led the Frenchman before fatigue started to set in. But just as Roncada appeared ready to knock the kid off the podium, the Honda rider appeared to suffer a stripped front sprocket that left the countershaft spinning in vain. So for two more glorious laps, Jesseman held on to third before finally succumbing to veterans Brown and Dowd with just a few laps to go. Ca.rmichael dazzled the crowd on the last lap with a can-can trick on the uphill triple, then added a popular victory lap for the crowd's approval. Lamson was second after a much better performance than his first-moto sixth. Brown was a season-best third, followed by Dowd. Jesseman crossed the finish line an honest fifth. . Rounding out the top 10 were Noleen Yamaha's Ferry, FMF/Honda's Scot Sheak, Primal 'Impulse Suzuki's Ry Huffman, Johnson, and Primal Impuls Suzuki's Buddy Antunez. High Point Raceway Mount Morris, Pennsylvl!nla Results: May 24, 1998 (Round 3 of 12) 125 MOTO 1: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Kaw); 2. Rabbi Reynard (Suz); 3. John Dowd (Yam); 4. Stephan Roncada (Han); 5. Mike Brown (Han); 6. Steve Lam (Hon); 7. Jason McCormick (Hon); 8. Jimmy Butto (Yam); 9. Casey Johnson (!

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