Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

bag until a tangle wi th Ron cada took th em both ou t. McCorm ick ended u p fourth, followed by Lawrence, Lytle an d Smail. The second heat race was a followthe-lead er affair, and the rider who led the field the whole way was Huff ma n. H e p ut h is factory Ka w asaki into the lead in front of LaRocco , Hug hes , Roy an d Sellards , a n d tha t was i t. T hey would finish ou t the race in that order. Sixth we nt to Dowd, who was followed by Brow n and Ped erson . McC ormi ck o nce a gain tim ed th e gate perfectly and s hot to the front of the pac k in the first semi. The Ho nd a of Tro y rid er led for four laps before giving w ay to Ward, who went on to take the w in. McCormick held on to finish second , leading a close-knit grou p of rid ers - Roncad a, An tu nez, Button and Lytle across the fin ish line. Button got off to another bad start and finish ed one sp ot ou t of a tra nsfer. Dubac h powered his YZ400F into the lead at the start of the seco nd semi, but Dow d go t him before the lap was ove r. Fe rry a nd Ko ik ed a were left be hind after crashing in the first tu rn. The race was all Dowd 's as he pulled ou t a comfortable lead an d smo ked the pack to the checke red flag. Dubach fin. ished seco nd but no t w itho u t some serious chall enges along the way. Roy was the first to p ressu re Du bach , b u t the Ca na dian bail ed hard befor e he could ma ke a p a ss. Later o n, it was Bro w n w ho s tarted d ogging Dubach , bu t th e HoT rider came u p sho rt at the en d and had to se ttle for third . Sellar d s bou ght a ticket to the main by finis hing fourth, ahead of Kawasak i /Tecate's Pedro Gonzalez and Ferry. Team Green's Mike Jon es led Ferry to th e che ckered fla g in th e la st-ch ance qua lifier, With Lawrenc e finishing third, one s pot out of a tr an s fe r. Fini shin g fou rth was Saturday night's LCQ winner , Koikeda. For Jones and Ferry, it wa s their first trip to the main. Failing to finish the LCQ was -Button, who was unable to qu alify for either of the ma ins. All eyes wer e focused on Reynard at th e start o f Sund ay ' s fina l, a nd eve n though he didn't ge t the jum p he wanted , Reynard still had a sh ot at the overall a fter round ing the firs t lap in fifth. H u ffman h ad th e lead , fo llowed b y . . McGrath, H ug hes , Roncada and Rey nard. Left behind, picking up his bike in the second turn, was LaRocco. Reynard spe nt the next cou ple of laps trying to ge t arou nd Ron cad a. Abou t the fourth lap, Reynard a ttem p ted a pass, bu t the two rid er s came together. "I was just tr yin g to mak e a pass," Reynard said . "H e squ ared off, and I was coming in and pooj:" Shortiy thereaft er, Rey nard pull ed into the mechanics' area . "1 hit Roncad a and my ,bike died ," a ver y disappointed Reynard said . "Then, after th at , I thought the ignition was go ing o u t. I case d a ju m p becaus e it acted like it was going out, so I pulled over and s a t th ere for a s eco nd and s tarte d it up . It w as run nin g fi ne - I d on 't know." • Meanwhile, up front, Huffman w as sit ting pretty. He led McGrath a rou nd the tra ck for the next 10 lap s. Realizing tha t a second place w as as good as a first , Hu ffman d id not put up mu ch of a fight when McGr ath atta cked . "1 w a s r id ing a littl e ti ght , a n d I d idn't kn ow for su re w ho w as behind me," Huffman sai d. "I made a cou ple of bobb les. Then I saw Reynar d on the side of th e track. I w as like, 'A ll right , he's ou t - that' s good.' ThenI almost fell one time good; McGrat h was all over me and I th ou ght, 'I th in k I can let him by.' I me an, I knew I could let him by, but I w a sn't p ositive . I saw th e Kawasaki g u ys clapp in g , a nd I tho ug h t it was okay." Now running in second place, Huffman' s o nly real concern was H ug hes, but he was a few seconds back in third, and Hu ffman tried to make sure to keep it tha t way. . "I saw him (Huffman), and once Jerem y passed him, I closed up a little bit," Hu ghes said . "1 mad e a big mistake and almost ran into the hay bales. After that, there rwas two lap s to go and there was nothing I could do ." At the finish, it was McGra th taking the win, followed by Huffman, Hugh es, Roncad a and Do w d . Carmi chael finished a disa ppointing 14th after a ninthplace start and later a fall. " I r od e cra p py the seco n d d a y ," Carmichael said . "In the main; I cra shed and made mistakes . Oh , we ll." "I'rn really happy to come out with a win," McGr ath said . "Last night wasn 't . MGM Gra nd Garden Arena Las Veg as , Neva da Results : October 10-1 1, 1998 T h e MGM G rand Sportsbook offered fa n s present at t h e event an opportunity to wager on all riders en tered i n the Open (250c c ) race. Da mon Huffman's odds to win th e race we re 20 t o 1. Rick y Carmichae l (Kaw): 4. Jaso n McCormick (Ho n): 5. Ph il La w re nce (Kaw): 6. Cas ey Lytle (H o n): 7. Lance Smai l (KTM); 8. La rry ward (Suz) : 9. Cliff Pal me r Sa turday 250 H EAT 1 (15 ri ders, lop 3 tra nsfer to final): 1. Jer emy McGrath (Ya m); 2. Rob bie Reynard ISu z ): 3. Ricky Ca rm ichael (Kaw ): 4. Da vid Vutl lemtn (Ya rn): 5. La rr y W a rd (5 u ;,:) 6. Cas ey Lyt le (H o n) : 7. Jim m y ; Button (Yam ): 8. Stephane Ro ncad a ( Ho n) : 9. Ieff Mat la sevi ch (K.1.w); 10. Lance Smail (KTM) ; 11. Phil La wren ce IKaw): 12. Jimmy G a dd is (Ka w ): 13. C liff Palmer (Kaw ); 14. Ja son McCormick (Hen): 15. Buddy A ntunez (Suz ). 250 HE AT 2 (15 ri ders, lop 3 tran sf er 10 fin al) : 1. Da mon Huffman (K.1.w); 2. M ike La Rucco ( Ho n): 3. Rya n H ug hes (Ka w) : 4. Mi ke Brown (Hon): 5. Mik e Jones (K aw); 6. Jo hn Dowd (Ya rn): 7. Doug Du bac h (Yam ): 8. C ha d Ped erson (Ya m); 9. Brock Sellards (Hen): to. Pedro Gonzalez (Kaw): 11. Nathan Ram sey ( K.1W) ; 12. Ta kes h i Koikeda (Ya m ); 13. Tim Ferry (Yam); 14. Iean -Seba stten Roy: 15. jeff Deme nt (Yam ). 250 SEM I 1 (12 ri ders, to p 4 tr an s fe r to fi na l): I . Casey Lyt le (H en ): 2. Lan ce Sma il (KTM) ; 3. Ph il Lawrence (Ka w ): 4. Stepha ne Roncada (Ho n): 5. David Vu illemin (Ya m) ; 6. Jeff Matta scvich (Ka w) : 7. C li ff Palme r (Kaw ): 8. Ja son McCu rm ick (Hen): 9. Budd y Ant unez (Suz) : 10. Jimmy Button (Yam). 250 SEMI 2 (12 rid e rs, lo p 4 trans fer 10 fin al): 1. Jo h n D o wd (Yarn) : 2. Mike Brown ( Hon ): 3. Bro ck Se lla rds (Hen ): 4. jean-Sebastien Ro y (Ka w); 5. Tim Ferry (Ya m) ; 6. Ta kes h i Ko iked a (Ya m); 7. Pedro Go nza lez (K a w) : 8. Do ug Duba c h (Ya m ); 9 . C ha d Pe derson (Ya m); to . Nathan Ram se y (Ka w ): 11. Jeff Deme n t (Yarn): 12. Mike Junto'S (I<.,W). 250 LCQ (16 ri d ers, to p 2 Iran sfe r to fi n a l) : 1. Ta kes hl Kolkeda (Ya m ): 2. La rry Ward ISuz): 3. Tim Ferry (Ya m); 4. Chad Ped erso n (Suz): 5. Jim my Button (Ya m); 6. Davi d Vuill emi n (Yam) ; 7. Cliff Palmer (Kaw) : 8. Jeff De men t (Yam); 9. Na tha n Ramsey (Ka w ): to . Jt.ff · Matia sevi ch (Kaw) ; 11. Dou g Du bach (Yam) ; 12. Mike Jones (Kaw) : 13. Ped ro G o nz a lez (Ka w l : 14. [imm v G a d d is (Ka w ): 15. Budd y A n tu nez (Su z ): 16. [a son McCo rmi ck (Hen). 250 MAI N (16 riders, 15 laps): t . Robb ie Reyn a rd (Suz): 2. Damon Huffman {Kaw): 3. Rya n H u g he s (Kaw ): 4. Mike Lak occo (Hen): 5. John Dowd (Yam) ; Ii Ricky Ca rm ichae l (Kaw): 7. Jere my McG ra th (Ya m); 8. Lan ce Sma il (KTM); 9. Brock Sella rds (He n): to. Larry Ward (Su z): 11 . C a sey Ly tle ( Ho n ): 12 . Step hane Roncada (Hen): 13. Jean Sebastien Roy (Kaw ): 14. Mike Bro w n (Hon) : 15. Phi! Lawren ce (Kaw): 16. Takeshi Koikeda (Yam). Ti me : 8 m in., 21.140 sec. Margin of victory: 4.009 sec . S un day · 250 HEAT 1 (15 ride rs, top 3 transfer to ma in ): 1. Ro bb ie Reynard (Su z); 2. Jer emy McGrath (Yam) ; 3. (Ko.1 W); 10. Stcpbane Roncada (Hon): 11. Jeff Matla sevic h (Kaw) : 12. Jimmy Button (Ya m ); 13 . Sp ud , Wa lt e rs (Yam); 14. Buddy Antu nez (Suz) ; 15. David Vuille min (Yam ), 250 H EAT 2 (15 ride rs, lop 3 tran sf er to mai n); 1. Damon Huffman (Ka w ): 2. Mike Lakocco (Hon ): 3. Ryan H ughes (Kaw): 4. jean-Se ba sti en Roy (Ka w ): 5. Brock Se lla rds (Han); 6. Jo h n Do wd (Ya rn): 7. M ike Brown (He n): 8. Chad Ped erson (Suz): 9. Jeff Dem ent (Y am); to. Tim Ferry (Ya m). 250 S EMI 1 (12 r id e rs , to p 4 r id ers tr ansf er to main): 1. Larry Wa rd (Suz) ; 2. Jaso n McCormick {l-i n): o 3. Stephane Rcn cada (Hen): 4. Budd y Antunez (Suz); 5. Jimmy Button (Ya m ); 6. Casey Lytl e (H a n) ; 7. P hi l La wren c e (Kaw ); ' 8. Lan c e Smai l (KT M) ; 9 . Jeff Mattasevich (Ka w ): 10. Spu d Walt ers (Yarn ): 11. Cliff Palm er (Ka w}; 12. David Vuillcmin (Yam ). 250 S EM I 2 (12 rid e rs, to p 4 r iders transfer 10 ma in): 1. John Dowd (Ya m); 2. Doug Dubach (Ya m); 3. Mike Brown (H e n ): 4. Brock Sella rds (lion) ; 5. Pedro Go nza lez (Kaw): 6. Tim Ferry (Ya m): 7. Na than Ramsey (Ka w): 8. Tak csh i Koikeda (Yam ); 9. Mike Jones (Kaw ): 10. [can-Sebastien Roy (Kaw) : 11. Jeff Dement (Yam): 12. Cha d Ped e rso n (Suz ). 250 Le Q (16 rid ers, lop 2 riders tr an sfe r to main): 1. Mike Ju ne s (K.1. w ); 2. T im Ferry (Y a m); 3. Ph il Lawre nce (Kaw ); 4. Ta ke sh i Koikcda (Ya m); 5. Cliff Pa lmer ( Ka w): 6. N a t ha n Ram se y ( Ka w ): 7. Spud Walters (Ya r n): 8. Chad Ped erson (Suz) ; 9. Lance Sma il (KTM); 10. Jeff Ma tta se vlc h (Ka w ): 11. Casey Ly tle (H u n ); 12 . Pedro Con zel ez (Kaw ): 13. Jeff De men t (Ya m): 14. Jimmy Butt on (Ya rn): 15. Da vid Vu illemiu (Yam ): 16, lean-Sebastien Roy (Ka w ). 250 MAI N (16 rid ers , 15 laps): 1. Jere my McGrath (Yam); 2. Da m on Hu ffma n (Ka w): 3. Ryan H u g he s ( Ka w ) ; 4. Stephu ne Ron cada (Hen ): 5 . [ oh n Dow d (Yarn): 6. Larry Wa rd (Suz): 7. jason McCo mlick (Hu n); 8. Mike Brow n (Hen): 9. Budd y Antunez (Suz); 10. Tim Ferry (Yam ); 11. Brock Sellards (Hen): 12. Mike Lakocco (H e n): 13. Doug Dubach (Vam); 14. Ricky Ca rm ichael . (Ka w), 15. Robbie Reyna rd (Suz); 16. Mike Jon es (Kaw ). Time o f race: 8 min., 16.550 sec, Ma rg in of victory. n / .1 O /A : 1 . Da mon H u ff m an ($100 ,00 0) ; 2. Rvan Hugh es ($3S.000); 3. Jerem y McGrath ($17,.500) 4. John ; Dowd ($10,000); S. Robbie Reynard ($8000 ); 6. M ike LaRocco ($7000); 7. Stephane Roncada ($6500); 8. Larry Ward ($6000 ); 9. Ricky Ca rmicha el ($5500) ; 10. Brock Se lla rd s ($5000); 11 . M ike Brown ($4750); 12. Ja son McCormkk ($4500); 13. Lan ce Sm.1i1 ($4250); 14. Budd y Antunez ($4000); 15. Tim Ferry ($3750); 16. Casey Lytle ($3500); 17. Dou g Du bach ($2000); 18. jea n-Seba stien Roy ($18OU); 19. Phil Lawrence ($1600); 20. Mike Jo nes ($1400). . J ohn Savin ski -con structed track ' - W hen I first go here : I didn 't thi nk the track would h old up." winner Damon Huffman said. "But they did a grealjob maintaining if and it held up real we ll. " , so g oo d; t od a y I had so me t h i ng to prove - to mys elf a nd eve ryo ne else . I kind of d og g ed him (Huffman) for a while; he made a littl e mista ke and I go t 4':\ by him." ' Team Suzuki's Ton y B e r l uti . 'w ho in rec ent y ears worked as ' M ickael Pichon 's mechanic: before the Frenchman' s recent depar ture for Team Honda. worked ' with Primal Impulse/ Suzuki's Robbie Reynard at the U .S, Open in Las Vegas . " It's a one -off deal." said Berluti from the pits. w hich we re set up in the parking lot of the MGM Gra nd. " At this point in time. I'm not sure w ho I will be teamed wi th in 1ggg . " tainrnentbaq of tricks to .create an. awe -tnsplrinq -show opening.. Lasers, vi deo clips. smoke. indoor fireworks, pumping music. colored lights, and a giant chrome disco ball (wh ich open ed up to create an introdu ce riders to the crowd ) all wo rked in -unison 'unforgettable niqht of entertainment. to Recently crowned 1995 FIM 250cc W orld 'Mo tocross Cham pion S e b a st i e n Tortelli was seen cruising aro und the MG M pits on crutches Saturday afternoon. Still healing ' from a prac tice injury which brok e 'a number of small bones in his foot , Tortell i was in goo d spirits . taking the oppo rt unity to shake hands and meet the people he will be seei ng week in and week o ut beginning this J anuary when he co mpetes in America full time. Tort elli recen tly 'relocated from France and pu rchased a hou se In Tem ecula . Ca lifo rnIa, where he will se t" up hea dquart er s for -his rookie season in the United State.l'. Dave Arnold, along with past riders Chuck Sun.' Johnny O'Mara, Donnie Hansen. Danny laPorte . Rick Johnson and Jeff Stanton. All these riders rode on w'inning , American M otocro ss de s Nations teams for DeCoster and Honda in the 19S0s . ' For the first lime . fans could bet on their favorite rider at the U.S. Open throu gh a speci al arrangemen t wi th the MG M Gra nd S portsbook , The odds . which were posted inthe casino early last week . drew a massive amo unt of spectator ·interest. "The whole . thing was just awesome." enthused Gregg Fisher. supervisor of the MGM Rac e and Sp ortsbo ok , ' "The re w as ju st a'tre me ndo us amount , of fan -interest and parti clpation' and we just got slammed wi th people wanting to bet - we were shocked by all the interest. " . Whil e Jimmy Button,may have recent lyparted ways wit h Team Ch aparrallYamaha. it didn' t keep him away from competing at the U ,S. Open. Still talking to a number of teams 'in regard to employ W hile he was n·t. able to put much time in .during the 1995 AM A ' ment for the 1999. race season. Butt on pulled togeth er a pol'tfolio S ~p e rc ro s s S e ri es d~ e to inju ries. Tea m Kaw asaki' s Ryan o f suppo rt - arid dipped into his own wallet· for the Vegas event. Hughes was able to put in a fine show ing at the initial running of " I went 'o ut and bought my ow n bike. " said Butt on. " You know . a , W hile the invitation-only aGec class was popular with both the the U.S , Open of Supercross. And as fate would have it. the glit- , lot of people have said in the past thatI'm not a true privateer.and spec tators and com petito rs in La s Vegas . it was obvious that the tery eve nt may very we ll mark the en d o f Hughe s' Am erican that I've tried to milk the system, but 'the way I'm doing this race. race circuit may have be~n a little bit too formidable and treacher- . Supercross career , as this February he and his w ife and you ng 1' f'1'1 about as privateer as yo u can ge t. .yam a ~a has ' been Vf!ry ,.t ous.for their skill and patience levels. V irt ually all of the hE races son will head to Europe for the 1ggg FIM 250cc W orld Champihelpful and I' m working out of ·their 'tr uck here and using Yamaha and the two main events were full of minor crashes and off ·track o n sh ip S er i e s . Hu gh e s , w ho r ec ently signe d w i t h Team w heels . but beyond that. I'm on my own : l-SOO-COLLECT. Spy. , excursions. as the, mini riders, no doubt hyped up by the crow d Pamo /Hond a. is thrilled with t he new arra ngem ent. " It' s a big No Fear and O'Neal have also helped me out fo r this race. As far a'nd the atte ntion, rod e over their heads at time s. N onethele ss ,. change for me. but I'm really looki ng forwa rd to it." he said among as lending me a hand. I can't thank Keith (McCarty) and Yamaha many agree d th at the y put on a great show and ' brought th e a throng of auto graph see kers ,n the Las Vegas pits; "The Pamo i enough." " . 10.500·strong crowd to its feet o n many o cca sions. team seems great and they set me up with a really good deal. I'll likely be the only guy on the team . and we 're supposed to receive The ope ning ce remo nies on both S aturd~y night an'd Su nd ay . During the first intermission on,Satumay night. Roge r DeCoster. full fact ory support from Honda of J apan. It doe sn't seem like a five·time 500cc World Champion and four-time 'AMA Trans·AM A aft ernoon did an amazi ng job of getti ng the sello ut U.S . Open there is a lot of persona lity in Europe right now. 'and I think I can Champion, was presented a special .lifetime achievement .award, crowd amped up for racing. Loosely based on the legendary Paris· go over ,there and bring a lot of attention to the team and Gra,nd Bercy Supercross (which. is now 14 years ' old); event orga ~izers w hich was sponso red by, Vintage Iron. As a, special touch , the. Prix moto cro ss... Eric Peronard and Mike DeStefa.no dug deep into the enter- ' award was presented to -T he M an" by former H onda co mrade Eric Johnson ,..... C'l l-< 0,) ..n o ...... u o 9

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