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/127948
MOTOCROSS MAZDA TRUCKIAMA NAnONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 125cc IIX SERIES By Jerry Athey Photos by Karl Ockert and Kinny Jones SOUTHWICK, MA, JUNE 14 ith five National moto wins in his last six starts at MX 338, one might say that Team Yamaha/Fox/Bridgestone's John Dowd owns Southwick. After finishing second at each of the three outdoor Nationals run so far this year, the 32-year-old Dowd, from nearby Chicopee, Massachusetts, put his superior mud-riding skills to work, flying to a commanding 1-1 win at the rain-soaked and heavily rutted sand track in front of the 10,251 hard-core motocross fans who braved the harsh elements. "I feel great," the elated Dowd said. "I was a little nervous about the track this year because of all this mud. It really makes things different out there. You never know. Mud can be good for you or bad for you. I came out of it okay and had another good day, so I'm pretty stoked." Another good day indeed, as the Southwick crowd favorite, after a brief battle in moto one with the defending National Champion, Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael, set a blistering pace in the second moto that saw him lap all the way up to fifth place. With his decisive win and an uncharacteristic, mechanicaIJy induced DNF for Carmichael in the first moto, Dowd now holds the series' points lead for the first time in his career, 173 to Carmichael's 160. Following Dowd for second overall was Team C;haparra-l/Yamaha's Jimmy tton. Button, who celebrated his 25th birthday at Southwick, raced to a pair of solid third-place moto finishes to take the runner-up position on the podium, his best finish so far this year. "I'm really happy with my ride today," Button said. "Being from Cali- W Bu 16 338 fomia, I don't really consider myself to be much of a mud rider. To finish second overall here to someone like Dowd, who grew up riding in these conditions, feels almost like a win to me. I'm sti1J looking for my first ational win, but there's still three months left in the series, so I plan to keep training and riding hard until the very end and see what happens." Filling out the final spot on the podium was Team FMF/Honda/Thor rider Scott Sheak. After being sidelined for most of the year with a nagging Achilles' tendon injury, the popular rider from Hudson, New York, put in a strong 4-5 ride for third overall and, in doing so, advanced from ninth to sixth in the series points standings. Sheak, who incidentally won last year's muddy Mount Morris round, was obviously thrilled with his performance under the adverse conditions. 'Tm really happy to be standing on the podium today," Sheak said. "Before the a tionals, I had been out of action for over six months and missed the entire Supercross Series. This is a great way to start my serious return to racing." (Above) Yamaha's John Dowd (9) leads Scott Sheak (14) and the rest of the 125cc pack. In front of his home crowd, Dowd won both motos and climbed into the series points lead. (Below) Dowd (9), Robbie Reynard (21), Robbie Skaggs (45) and Tim Ferry (22) get the jump at the drop of the gate. Reynard finished second in the first mota but couldn't back that up in the second.