Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS Round 5: Budds Creek MX Park AMAlMAZDA TRUCK NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 250cc M XSERIES r;:-- - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - -- (Left) Team Yamaha 's Doug Henry made it tw o wins in a row with a strong perfo rm ance at Budds Creek MX Park, a track that, in the pas t, has not been very kin d to him, . By Kit Palmer Photos by Karl Ockert BUDDS CREEK. MD,JUNE21 iR 6 ad Team Yama ha 's Dou g Hen ry finished no better than 20th bu t left the Budds Creek a tiona l w it h a ll of h is b od y p a rt s in tact, he w ou ld h ave been sa tis fied - p erhaps even happy. Three years a go, Henry su ffere d a nearly career-e n d in g broken back a t Budds Creek, and just last year he broke both arms her e. But tod ay he not only left the facility in one piece, he also w on - putt ing a n e nd to th e Dou g He nry Budds Creek curse on ce and for all. And he d id it in front of 12,423 su n-d renched spectators. On a hot and balmy day in sou thern Maryl an d - qu it e th e co n tras t to th e mu dbath the week befor e in Southwick, Massachusetts - Henry chased teammate Kevin Windham to a second -place finish in the firs t m oto . Then th in gs p retty mu ch picked up w here th ey lef t off a t the start of the second rnot o, with Wind ham lead ing and Hen ry ru nni ng second. This tim e, however, Henry wa s able to wea r down his nearl y 10-year -you nger cou nterpart, passing him at the halfway poi nt a nd runni ng o ff with the rno to win and the overall victory. It was a very sa tisfying wi n for the eve r-popu lar East erner who seemed to have no thing bu t bad luck at this track. - - - - - - - - -----' "This was one of my goa ls this yea r, to win Budds Creek," Hen ry sa id. "I' m jus t so glad to be able to come here and do it. 1 wasn 't sure if I was go ing to d o my best here, but 1 did . I won it, and I'm really happy." Despite fading back to fourth before the second mot o wa s over, Windham still nabbed second overall, giving Tea m Yama ha a well-earn ed 1-2 sweep. Windham led Henry and the rest of the 40r id e r p ack arou nd th e lon g and hilly Budds Creek track the entire 30-minu teplus-two-lap fi rs t m oto, never rea ll y pulling away fro m Henry but staying ahea d just eno ugh to take a confidenceboos ting win. Just as he had done in the first rnot o, Windham grabbed the holeshot in the second moto and a gain led Hen ry around for half the rac e. But this time, however, fatigu e set in . He first succu mbed to Henry, then to Mike laRocco and fina lly to Mickael Picho n befor e settling int o fourth for good. "I' m coming around," Windham said of his coming back from his separa ted shou lder su ffered ea rlier in the year. " I just got tired . 1 was seeing like fou r of everything and just feeling rea l tired . 1 mean the heat was incredible. I'm coming arou nd a nd doi ng w ha t it ta kes. I mea n th e competition is so tou gh . I' m rid ing on top of my game right now, bu t it's rea l d ep ressin g w hen there' s o ne sim ple thin g - ge tting in sha pe. 1 mean it' s one of the hardest jobs to do, bu t it's th e one thing th at every body can d o" Not ev erybo dy ca n go out th e re an d rid e fast, I feel like ) do that pr ett y well, but that one thi ng th at everybody ca n get, I don 't have right now." For someo ne who said he is not used to rid in g in th e hea t, Team Su z u ki 's Mickael Pichon fooled a lot of peo ple by putting tog eth er tw o solid th ird -pl ace rides for third overall. Pichon was never all that far beh ind Henry and Windham in t he fir s t mo to, a n d he w a s clos e eno ugh to catch a tiring Windham in the seco nd m oto to take third behind Henry and laRocco. " It was a great day," said the Frenchman. " I tried very hard . I d idn't think ) wo uld do that good in the heat because ) a m not u sed to it , bu t m y Su zuki is workin g really good and things are coming togeth er. It was tou gh out there." Fourth overall went to Mike laRocco on th e Factory Co nnectio n/Jack in the Box/Shockwar e Honda . In t he first moto, laRocco got off to a 15th-p lace start bu t qu ickly threaded his wa y up through the pack, and by the eighth lap he had control of sixth, wh ere he wo uld eventuall y finish. laRocco ga ted mu ch better in the second moto and had a lock on third bv the end o f th e fir s t lap . He foll owed Wind ham and Henry aro und for a number of laps, and when Windh am started to fade , laRocco seemed to ste p it up a little bit more and began wo rking really hard on the new leader, Hen ry. . La Rocco ga ve it eve ry thi ng he had bu t jus t could n' t quite break the app roximately four- second barrier He nry had built between first and seco nd. "I ca ught u p a little bit," Lakocco sai d o f h is ch a rge o n Henry . " Bu t ) s truggled w ith lap pers, and it was really to ug h to m a ke up a ny th ing o n thi s

• Cover