Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

"I've been keeping fit while I've be en away ," McGrath said. " I crashed in the FastCross in Ita ly a few weeks ago and didn't g e t t he result I wan ted . I want to win going into next week' s La s Vegas Supercross, for sure." Heat two saw Ev ert s encounter trouble early as he trailed the pack go ing into the firs t corner. But it did n't take long fo r the four- time Wo rld Cha m pion to hook on to the back wheel of ea rl y lea der Mi ke Brown. " I kn ew Stefan was there," . Bro wn sa id . "He w as makin g g ro u n d . qu ickl y , but I fe lt go od w ith m y lead - no real pressu re ." 4 Evert s wa sn't a b o u t to crash for a third tim e, and he cruised to a so lid second- p lace fini sh . Brown to o k th e win, with British Grand Pri x rid er Jo hn Barfo ot third. Darcy Lange and James Painton finished fourt h and fifth, respec[vely. Eve rts felt good about his ances in the final. " I s till d on't think I ca n Bea t McGrath," he sa id , "bu t Brown a n d McC orm ic k - I have a cha nce to race with th ose guys. We wi ll see." Wi th a long br eak before the ac tion resum ed , Everts and McG ra th headed into th e crowd, giving away T-shirts, hats and just about an ything else they cou ld find . The British crowd responded well to the two legends. When th e two riders crossed paths during th e intermi s sion , th ey didn't appear to look at each other - possibly th e start of so me m ind ga me s prior to th e final. "We are friends," Eve rts said . ."1 like Jeremy. He is a great rider. I don't need to ge t angry with him, and I respect him very mu ch." McGrath wa s also complimentary of his rival. "He wi ll be racing just th e same as every race he d oe s - he' s go in g to be compe titive," McGrath sa id . " But I like him and there is not bit terness between us ." As the riders made their way to the start ga te for the 12Scc fina l, Everts and McGrath sat w aiting for th eir moment; s.till, they kept a di stance, altho ugh the two had spent a portion of the evening ea ting togethe r. Coo per, ma kin g o ne of his man y su percross appeara nces of lat e, swept to th e front of the 12Scc fina l with severa l la ps remaining in the race - keeping a mu ch yo u nger David Pin gree a t ba y. Cooper rode to a great win , topping Pingree and a lon g list ofGra nd Pri x riders, including Ryan Voase, eil Pr inc e and Luig i Segu y. , "Man, I wa s ge tting tired out there," Coop er said . " I ha ve n ' t been in thi s position for a long tim e. It feels good . I always like co m ing to England, a n d h.ope I can return next year." Pingree was content with second. I . " If he thi n ks he w as getting ti red , then so was I," he sa id . "H e had a small I~ad and I could n' t ree l him in - it was th at simple." , Everts ha d m ention ed ea rlier in th e night th at he was wo rried abou t the 25lap ma in eve nt. .. "Those w hoops reall y take my ene rgy," Everts jo ked to Gra nt. "Go an d tell then to mak e it only 20 laps." As luck wou ld have it, the night ran past its expected finis hing time and the promoter was forced to cu t the final to 20 la p s . Need less to say, Everts was more th a n pleased with the new arrangement. When the pack blasted out of the ga te it was McGrath lead ing Everts, Herring, Brown and McCormick . With four Ho nd a rid ers on his tail , McGrath made a lightn ing-quick first .Iap, leaving ev en a smooth-looking Everts in his wake. " 1 kn ew I had to g e t awa y fr om those gu ys ," McGrath sa id lat er . "Stefan wa s not m a king m istak es a nd I did n't want to ge t in the sa me position as last ye ar." Last yea r, McG rath lost the race on the final la p . The plan for a quick start was put off a little bit as la p ped rid ers cam e into pla y ea r ly in th e race . Ever ts , on th e other hand , was making up some tim e, and for tw o or three laps , many in attend ance were starting to wonder if he co u ld catch McGrath. Ever ts, though, put it into perspective. "He got held up by lappers," Ever ts sa id . " I felt good a nd ma ybe I co u ld ha ve ca ug ht him , bu t it wa s 'm ore the lappe:;! riders than m y speed that I g'!.t close. Th e d ist ance between M cGrath a nd Everts didn't cha nge fro m m id raceon, a nd McGrath crossed the li n e so me three seco nds ahead. Ever ts w as second, Brown third , H err in g four t h a n d McCormick fifth . "I think Jerem y w as n' t getting away so th e cro w d -wou ld n o t ge t bored ," Everts sa id. " I' m happy w it h se cond pla ce this tim e. I only came here with a cou ple of days' notice and had not pr acticed at all. I felt .smooth." McGrath w a s' g la d th e ni ght wa s ove r. " I was ve ry unhappy about losing last year," he said. "It was my first race on a Yamah a, and the rea son I los t w as ner ves. I've had a yea r on the bike, and m y s ta rt was spo t on . Go in g into the first co rner in front was im portan t on this track - it's so small, anything could hap pen . Stefan rode a great race . Sometimes he would pick up the pa ce, then I would do some good laps. It was fun racing with him ." n , Sheffield Supercross Sheffield, England Result s : October 3, 1998 125 FINAl.: 1. C uy Coope r (KTM); 2. Da vid Pingre-c . (Hun); 3. Ryan Voase (Suz ): 4 . Neil Prio re (TM); 5 . Lui gi Scg uy (l Ion). 250 FINA L: 1. Jeremy McG rath (Ya m); 2. Stefan Evert s (Hen): 3. Mike Brown (Hen ): 4. Rob Her rin g (H un); 5. ' .-lson M cCormick (H un). (Top) The final get s under way with McGrath (2) getting the jump over Mike Brown (100), Rob Herring (32) and Everts (4). (Above) Everts and McGrath gave British Supercross fans something to cheer about in She ffield. 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