Round 7: Georgia Dome
TOYOTA TRUCKSfTHORIPARTS UNLIMITED AMA
u.s. SUPERCROSS SERIES
Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Georgia
Results: February 13, 1999 (Round 2 of 8)
125 HEAT 1 (6 laps, 1-9 transfer to main): 1. Brock
SeUards (Han); 2. Jason McCormick (Hon); 3. Kelly
Fonseca's teammate
Stephen Roncada charged
up through the pack after
a bad start to finish third.
HEATS
After winning the first 125cc hea t,
Sellards admitted that he was worried
about riding too tense. You wouldn't
have known it from his performance.
Three turns into the six-lap heat, Sellards raced by the fallen Yamaha of Excel
Motorsports' Josh Demuth and sped to
the win. It was a comfortable win, with
Sellards never being threatened.
Second was equally clear-cut, with
Planet Honda's Jason McCormick taking
over the .spot on the second lap and
pulling away.
Crossing the line in order behind
McCormick were Kelly Smith, Roncada,
Tallon Vohland and Danny Smith.
From the drop of the gate, Fonseca
was gone, winning heat two easily and
leaving second to the others. His would
be the faster of the two heats. Wey was a
secure second, with Suzuki's Jiri Dostal
well back·in third. Then came Moto
Planet's Robbie Horton, who took
fourth after colliding with RRP's Ty
Wallace in a 180-degree right-hander
two turns from the finish. Wallace took
fifth, with Excel Motorsports' Jason
Thomas a close sixth.
Demuth got the holeshot in the lastchance qualifier and rode it into the
main event.
Second went to Kames' Sports' Mike
Katin Jr., who moved into the spot on
the second of four laps.
F&S Suzuki's Matt Shue and Bromley
Suzuki's Barry Carsten were third and
fourth.
MAIN
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12
Fonseca bolted at the start and set the
pace. His early lead was comfortable,
though not insurmountable. Sellards
wasn't gaining, but he wasn't fading,
either, hoping that Fonseca would make
a mistake on the very teclmical track. It
never happened, and he came up 2.009
seconds short at the end.
"The first couple of laps, he turned it
on," Sellards said. "1 moved into second
on the first lap and came through this
rhythm section on the right of me and
he pulled a Ii ttle lead. It was all I could
do. I had to try to wear him out, and
he's in pretty good shape. I was praying
for an extra lap when I was catching up.
I know I was going good at the end of
that race. Maybe another lap, I could
have stuck'a wheel on him."
Fonseca knew Sellards was close.
After getting his rhythm at the beginning, he made a few mistakes midrace,
which .gave Sellards false hope. But the
mistakes weren't fatal and he made his
way through traffic to the top of the
podium for the second week in a row.
"Hopefully, I can keep everything
together for Daytona," Fonseca said.
The numbers tell the story of Roncada. Mired back in 18th at the end of lap
one, he gained four spots the next lap,
then jumped up to ninth on lap four.
From there, it was a steady progression
until he was within striking distance of
fifth place on lap six.
''I'm pretty happy I made it to the
.
.
'!"
••
podium," said Roncada, who was clearly in pain.
Horton went down early on lap
eight, letting Danny Smith into third
and Roncada into fourth. Roncada kept
the heat on, passing him just before the
finish jump. Smith led the next lap. Then
it was Roncada's turn to the end.
Smith held fourth, with Wey fifth.
Horton recovered to take sixth, with
Thomas a steady seventh from midpoint
on.
Wallace pa.ssed F&S' Suzuki's Matt
Shue on the last lap to take eighth, with
ProteI/Triad Yamaha's Jim Neese
rounding out the top 10.
CIII
Smith (KTM); 4. Stepha.ne Roncada (Yam); 5. Tal10n
Vohland (Han); 6. Danny Smith (Hon); 7. Jim eese
(Y.m); 8. Jeff G;bson (]d outs;de. the top 10 arid then moved up to ~zra Lusk·.s younger brother Shane L.usk made h;; Hollywood' debut
fourth on the 11 th lap before falling and dropping two spots to Kawasaki's. just after the Anaheim Supercross. The 12-year-old min; racer was jnvited
Je'ff Emig and Honda's Ezra Lusk. Uridaunted, Carin;chael moved back to film a segment for "The Dubba Dubba Kids Show" on- the· WB net'into fourth on the l'6th lap. only to 'crash in the treacherous whoops two work. Ih.e Saturday morning show focuses· on extreme sports_ Lusk rode
a Honda CR80'at Max Trax. near \{alencia. Cal;fornia. for the show on the
laps later. He finished 14th.
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Sunday after the second Anahe;m siJpercross·. The' younger Lusk was
The Dirt Wurx-designed track feetured a few new wr;nkles in such a hit on camera that the show. which has yet to be a;red. was
.
Atlanta. The start chule was the shortest yet th;s season. but for a rea- expanded.
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son: It opened up twa new lanes behind the start so the fans at the north
end of the Georg;a Do.mewould.have more radng io watch instead of JUSt Travis 'Pastrana, the 15-year-old freestyle jumping champion. showed
the back of the start. The whoop sect;on. whiph led to a 180 just before up ;n Atlanta while recover;ng .from serious injuries he suffered in' a jumpthe finish jump. was 190 feet long. the longest this year. There were 13 ing accident· several months ago: Pastrana landed 7 feet short on a 120whoops. w,h;ch meant a variety of styies were employed to traverse them, .foo~ double jump. dislocating' his spine fr9m his pelvis. It was clamped
together w;th two screws wh;ch lefl two 9-inch scars and two 4-;nch
but only one fast way.
scars. Pastrana plans to ';ncrease his repertoke with back Aips and double
Team J1onda's Ezra Lusk hosted the Team Honda _and Team FMF variations .on ex;sting tricks. but said he yvould focus on racing Supercross
squads for some Southern hospitality. along with the chance to ride at in t~e year 2000.
one of h;s four practice t'Scks ;n his hometown. Ba;nbr;dge. wh;ch ;s
about a four-hour drive from Atlanta. l,usk was impressed by teammate For the second wl'ek in a row. Heath Voss pocketed the Racer X Gas
Kevin Windham's techn;que in culling through the whoop section. which Card award worth $250. The money is g;ven to the top-finisn;ng privateer
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had been made' more difficult. After looking at the whoops for about 20 ;" the 250cc class. At Atlanta. Voss fin;shed 17th..
minutes.. Windham. took the whoops tapped out in fo.urth gear: something
The rider. who spent the most time on the track was three·time Atlanta 'SX
Lusk hadn't done until this week.
"'!;nner Mark Barnett. ':The Bomber,' who won at the prev;ous facWty.
·Brian Berry. the mechanic·fbr Yamaha's John Dowd. won a frl>e meal Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. in 1981. '83 and '85. operates a variety of
at a ·Wa.ffle House in tampa at the expense of Team Mazda/Chaparral heavy 'equipment for P;rt '(IIurx. the.company which designs· and builds all
.
·Yamaha s Jeremy McGrath. McGrath told Berry that ';f he could fit'the of the Supercross tracks except Daytona.
entire giant waffle he'd jllSt' ordered into h;s mouth. he'd'""y for it. It was
Road racers were well-representee at· the Atlanta S~. with ·Kevin
'no contest. with Berry jamming it clean in without los;ng'a drop of syrup..
Schwantz. Muzzy. Kawasaki's Aaron Yates. and Atlanta resident
Georg;an Sh~e Bentley didn't get a chance to race in' front of his fellow '. Tho"",s Stevens in attehdance. Schwantz said that he d;dn't have any
Georg;ans. though he is mak;ng progress with the right wrist he' broke 'plans to race the Busch Grand National. series and was seU;ng all of his
two,voieeks ea~lier. Kawasaki's Ben.tley, from Ellenwood, Georgia. has' cars and equipment. "I let' my guys go before Chr;stmas." the 1993
been working out on his station~ry bi.ke after break;ng the wrist on 500cc. World Champion said. Schwantz commillei:l to working w;th Fast
.Kawasaki's pract;ce track Bentley has a ~-inch metal plate in the arm and' By. Ferracci's La..y Pegram before'. he was. asked by American Suzuki ;f
's also in a soft cast for the next week and a half. i'je.l,lans to be ready for he'd I;ke to work with their four-rider team .. "Pegram cailed and asked me
fi.rst. -. Schwantz said. "Mel 'CHarris) callea and 'sa;d he's got· some new
.. the. POntiac Su'percrdss on April 10.
riderS'. I'Whelp them or Mat Mlad;n-'- anyon\> who·1I1;sten." Schwantz said.
Even though they were trounced ;n the S.uper BOwl ·by the De.nver Bron- . he' would go to most - though .ndt·necessarily all ~ of the MBNA Superbike
races.
