Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Intcn icw By Kit Palmer Photos by Matt Freeman and Kinney Jones ~ ~ !!l 15 If 22 dJ erhaps the biggest surprise of this year's supercross season so far is the resurgence of Mike laRocco, a rider many thought was past his prime. Before the gate dropped for the start of the 1999 AMA U.s. Supercross Series, LaRocco was hardly mentioned as a possible series contender. Even after he put his Factory Connection/Jack in the Box Honda on the podium at the series opener in Anaheim, a lot of people didn't take him very seriously. Instead, they looked at it as a fluke - an accident, so to speak. But here it is, well into the supercross series, and LaRocco is still right in the thick of things. He has visited the podium more times than any other rider and is currently just one point out of the series points lead (prior . to the Tampa Supercross). LaRocco has Mike laRocco finds himsen in the heat of the battle for this year's supercross title chase. proved that that first Anaheim race was no fluke, no accident. He has made a statement: Mr. LaRocco is here to stay, and he would like nothing better than to end his career with a supercross championship (or two). But it won't be easy. Even if LaRocco never wins another race, he has a wonderful career of racing motocross and supercross to look back on, but there have been a few bumps along the way. In 1992, LaRocco, seeking his first championship, came within two very untimely mechanical breakdowns of winning the AMA 125cc National MX title; but all was not lost, as he proved to his fellow racers tha t he had what it takes to be a champion. A year later, he rebounded with a 500cc National title. Unfortunately for him, though, LaRocco was unable to defend that title, as the AMA dropped the ax qn the 500cc series the following year. But LaRocco did focus all of his attention on the 250cc class in '94 and promptly walked away with the prestigious 250cc outdoor title. That '94 season, however, was actually a strange year for the Indiana-bred racer. Even though he won the 250cc title, all was not well, as one of the main riders he was fighting against for the title was the same man with whom he was sharing the Team Kawasaki pits: Mike Kiedrowski. As could be expected, the two fierce competitors butted .heads both on and off .the track, and their stormy relationship carried into and throughout the '95 season. Injuries didn't help LaRocco's cause any that year, either. Heading into the 1996 season, LaRocco thought it was time for a change of scenery and he went to Team Suzuki, where he was to be managed by fivetime 500cc World MX Champion Roger DeCoster. LaRocco's future looked promising again, but things did not go well for him there, ei ther. New in-house disputes erupted and, combined with more injuries, the net results were lessthan-satisfactory performances on the track during LaRocco's two-year tenure at Suzuki. At one point during the '97 season, LaRocco became so frustrated that he nearly quit the team. Something had to be done. Tired of the pressu res tha t sometimes come with being a factory rider, LaRocco left Team Suzuki following the '97 season and started his own gig with the help of Factory Connection, O'Neal, and outside-the-industry sponsor Jack in the Box. Honda also gave him support, though it was very limited. Overall, LaRocco was happy again, as he was on his own program, but it all came a t a price: no more "works" parts. Still, laRocco rode well throughout the 1998 season on his privately funded Honda and turned a lot of heads - especially of those who had previously written off the veteran racer. As a result, for 1999, Honda and Jack in the Box have stepped up their support for LaRocco, and things are paying off. "Last year, I was pretty much on the privateer program; it was tough," LaRocco says. "Last year, everything on my bike were shop parts; it was actually close to stock. Everything we did to the bike were things that anyone could get. But things are a lot better now. This year, H

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