Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath By Matt Freeman Photos by Kinney Jones few years ago, the name Jeremy McGrath oecame synonymous with supercross and motocross. It was not long after that that the identity of the five-time supercross champion became a household name among motorcycle- and non-motorcycle-riding families. As Michael Jordan is now automatically associated with the sport of basketball, McGrath's domination of supercross put him and the sport on the map. Although it has been a long time since most of us have seen McGrath race a motorcycle, due to an injury he suffered early in the AMA National MX series last summer, the smooth king of . consistency claims that he is once again prepared to defend the title that is displayed on the front of his Team Chaparral YZ250. "['m totally ready," says McGrath of his bid for a record sixth supercross championship. "It's going to take consistency for sure, because I think those guys that are out there have definitely picked it up a notch, but they lack conistency." . The guys to whom McGrath is referring are primarily the same competitors that he edged out last year, but now that those competitors have the 1998 season under their belts, even the confident McGrath knows anything is possible. Although Kawasaki's 125cc East Coast Supercross champ, Ricky Carmichael, has received much hype for announcing that he would start the 1999 supercross season aboard a 250cc machine, A ~ ... c '" ... .., 18 McGrath is stilI focused on the competition as a whole and not on the new phenom. "Right now I'm not really sure who will turn out to be my biggest competition," McGrath said. "(Kevin) Windham and (Ezra) Lusk, most likely. I assume that Lusk is going to be fast because he was fairly fast last year. He's always a threat. I'm treating Carmichael just like anyone else, no different from Lusk. 1 think Carmichael doesn't really realize how fast all of us are. Switching from 125s to 250s is a big step. [ know, beca use I've been there. [ went from winning everything but ationals on a 125 to riding 2505, and it wasn't as easy as rthought it was going to be." Still, McGrath managed to win the· supercross title in his first year riding the headline 250cc class. Even though he has proved sea on after season that he is the best, every year a new rider, fresh from the 125s, steps up to the 250s, and with the move comes rave reviews. Windham, Lusk, Damon Huffman and Mickael Pichon all had stellar 125cc supercross careers but have been un uccessful at dethroning a healthy McGrath. "It goes back to the consistency thing," he said. "Carmichael has a tendency to ride on the edge. He may win a few, but not if he doesn't ride smooth. Actually, I think Pichon is going to ride pretty good this year, if he can stay healthy. I know he's been looking forward to riding for Team Honda for a lot of years, and that should help him out." When asked what he thought of Honda's new four-man squad as opposed to last year' two-man team effort, McGrath's reply was, "They had to do something, I guess." Honda definitely did something, as far as rebuilding the big red machine is concerned. In keeping Lusk and signing Pichon, Windham and 250cc World Champion Sebastien Tortelli, they had to drop longtime CR rider Steve Lamson from the program. Eager to replace Jimmy Button, who showed signs of brilliance one weekend and signs of nothing the next, Chaparral team owner Dave Damron jumped on the chance to obtain the free-floating Lamson. The new addition to the Chaparral team was not an easy pill for McGrath to swallow, partly because of his close friendship with Button, though it had more ~o do with his past with Lamson. "1 kind of had mixed emotions about Lamson joining the team because of L.A. in '97. (At the opening round oHhe 1997 Supercross season, Lamson and McGrath were involved in a two-man first-turn crash that ended both riders' hopes of a good finish.) But now I'm okay with it. We've spent a lot of time together in the off-season, testing and stuff. It's also good that Button got the factory Yamaha four-stroke ride, because even though we are not officially teammates anymore, we still got to test together a lot because we're both on Yamahas. We practice and ride together on our own a lot, also. He's (Button) going really fast on his new bike. He should be right there this year." Button, Lusk and Pichon may be right there this season, bu t even McGrath knows that, in time, more will come, and he will be the man they are gunning for. At Chaparral's recent Invi- Jeremy McGrath will be sporting a new look for 1999. The five-time Supercross champ will be wearing No Fear clothing, and his Randy Lawrence-tuned ChaparrallMazda Yamaha will be wearing number-one plates. tational 125!250cc Supercross Shootout at Glen Helen Raceway, McGrath went head to head with not only the 25Os, but, due to the event format, also with the 125s. In the 250cc main event, McGrath motored to an early lead, threatened only by Jeff Emig. Just when the win looked like it was in the bag, McGrath's clutch cable broke, handing Emig the win. In the 125/250cc shootout, 10 125s were given a head start, ahead of 10 250s. Due to his freak 250cc main-event mishap, McGrath was forced to start dead last out of the gate. He charged his way through the pack, catching and passing every competitor except for KX125-mounted Shae Bentley, who not only won the shootout but the 125cc main event as well. "1 was really surprised at how well he (Shae Bentley) rode," McGrath said. "I've seen him a few times, but I never really paid much attention to him until now. He's definitely someone to look out for in the future. There are a lot of guys out there right now on 125s that will someday be a threat: Stephane Roncada, Ernesto Fonseca and Casey Johnson. I mostly see the Yamaha guys ride because they test with us, but Johnson is definitely the one to beat on 125s." If the Chaparral Invitational is any indicator of McGrath's health,.then a sixth supercross title may only be six

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