Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Left) laRocco, McGrath and Pichon celebrate on the SI. Louis podium. (Above) Emesto Fonseca came from way behind to win the East Coast 125cc main. Ramsey was second all the way, finishing about four seconds in front of Suzuki rider Tyler Evans, who had to fend off Plan.et Honda's Jean-Sebastien Roy. Behind them came Kawasaki Mexico's Pedro Gonzalez. LAST-CHANCE QUALIFIER Insane Terrain Racing's Ryan Terlecki went down in the middle of a pack at the start, with about eight or so other riders also hitting the dirt. Plano Honda's Grayson Goodman emerged from the serum at the front, unaffected by the calamity behind and trying to put the race away. It worked for a lap until Voss approached, at which point Goodman was slotted back to second for the duration. Voss, as a leader, was untouchable, and he and Goodman took the only two spots into the main. .~ < 8 MAIN The start chute funneled into a tight 18O-<1egree left turn, then right into a set of whoops. LaRocco got to the first tum just in front of McGrath and Reynard and set the early pace. For the first six laps, McGrath was con tent to sit and watch, waiting for a . mistake or looking for an opening. The pair had drama tically different lines in the 90-degree right leading to the northend jumps. McGrath took the rutted inside line, with LaRocco choosing the berm on the outside. When it came time to make the pass, that's where McGrath went for it. "I was taking a better wide line, he was taking a deeper rut, obviously inside being a little bit better, mine being a little bit safer," laRocco said. "I actually made a small mistake in the comer and he got alongside of me, got up the inside. Not much I could do there. I was actually all right with that." Then it was McGra th's turn to control the race, which he did, though LaRocco was able to match the pace. "I couldn't really get away:' McGrath said. "He was right on my butt the whole time and riding a good race." "l said, 'I'm not letting him get away:" laRocco said. '1 actually picked up the pace a little bit. I found a couple of better lines through the whoops. I tried working on the areas I felt 1 lost. I caught back up to him. It was tough." It would come down to the end, and laRocco felt he had enough in reserve. He also got a little help when McGrath was held up by Voss with about a lap and a half to go. The only problem was that Voss held up LaRocco, too, giving back to McGrath what he'd taken by slowing him. From then on, it was McGrath tothe checkers. "At the end, 1 was tired:' McGrath admitted. '1 had a little bit of a gap and 1 think a few lappers got in my way there were three of them, in fact. Then he got behind me and then 1 got around Heath Voss, who's in my way every week. Voss messed him up. So I kind of got a little break there. It was all right, we only had a lap and a half to go." "I thought towards the end of the race I could make tha t back up but got into a little traffic, and Jeremy's ricling a hell of a ride right now:' LaRocco said. "He was riding good enough where 1 needed a mistake from him to make anything happen, and he clidn't make one." Pichon took over third on the second lap after his run-in with Ward. It wasn't a comfortable spot since he couldn't shake Reynard, and the Suzuki rider took over third on a run along the east side of the staclium. Pichon clidn't give up, either. As the pair fell back from the leaders, Pichon stuck to Reynard and made a run at him on the 12th lap. A lap later, Pichon was back in third, where he'd stay, though not without clistress. Reynard faded and would eventually finish seventh, but Huffman took up the challenge and made a serious run at Pichon, closing right up to him with five laps to go. That's as far as he'd get, with Pichon redoubling his resolve, despite a tough week. "The first half of the race I was trying to find some good lines and saw Reynard and Pichon right ahead of me," Huffman said. "Reynard dropped off the pace quite a bit and 1 caught up to Pichon and 1 was like, I still got some time, just take my time, figure out where to get him and get him. 1 think from doing that, I just settled into his pace and made a couple of mistakes and [ would've loved to pass him." The pair of Pichon and Huffman had managed to pull away from Lusk, who wasn't moving in either direction after passing Reynard on the 15th lap. The story was somewhat the same for Carmichael, who passed Reynard two laps from the end but was too far back from the leaders to make a run. "Those guys rode a really good pace and when they get away from you, it's hard to catch back up:' Carmichael said. "They run a really fast pace and it's tough." From the eighth lap on, Button held eighth. Once he got over what he called a '10usy" start, he held his ground, then didn't have anything left for the end of the race. Still, he was happy with the result considering his lay-off. Ward got up out of the sand to finish ninth. He said that qualifying through the semis had given him a bad pick for the starting gate in the main, and that certainly hurt him. "I'm-riding really hard, I'm really' strong:' Ward said, "I've just had a little _ bit of bad luck." Trans World Dome SI. Louis, Missouri Results: March 27, 1999 (Round 11 of 16) 2SO HEAT 1 (8 laps, 1-4 transfer to main): 1. Ezra Lusk (Hon); 2. Robbie Reynard (Suz); 3. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 4. Greg Albertyn (Suz); S. Larry Ward (Suz); 6. Steve Lamson (Yam); 7. Heath Voss (J-Ion); 8. Isaiah Johnson (Yam); 9. Damon Huffman (Kaw); 10. Jimmy Buttor. (Yam); 11. Grayson Goodman (Han); 12. BradJey Strunk (Suz); 13. Phil Lawrence (Suz); 14. Travis Trieb (Yam); 15. Greg Bcaet (Suz); 16. Brian Mason (Kaw); 17. Joseph Oehlof (J

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