Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Round 14: Louisiana Superdome TOYOTA TRUCKStTHOR/PARTS UNLIMITED AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES By Matt Freeman Photos by Karl Ockert NEW ORLEANS, LA, APR. 17 eam Honda's Ezra Lusk had not been atop the supercross podium since winning the Anaheim II main event on February 6. Since then, victories have been divided up between Lusk's now-injured teammate Kevin Windham, with two wins, and Jeremy McGrath, with five wins. (For McGrath, those five wins have come in the previous five races for a grand total of seven wins this season.) Lusk, however, wanted to change all that at the New Orleans Supercross. Coming into round 14 of the 16round series, McGrath virtually needed just to finish in order to claim his sixth title, and Lusk needed a win if he was going to gain ground on the secondplaced series points holder, Mike LaRocco. With 31,017 fans looking on, both Lusk and McGrath accomplished what they had to do, as Lusk came away with his fourth win of the series and McGrath claimed yet another championship after finishing second to Lusk at the Louisiana Superdome. Both fea ts were not as simple as they may seem, especially because the Superdome circuit was one of the most difficult tracks on which to race in the series thus far. First-turn pileups, widely stretched-out triple jumps and rapidly deteriorating track conditions proved to be the demise of many challengers. Factory Connection/Jack In the Box/Honda-mounted Mike LaRocco was actually the only rider who could have prevented McGrath from winning the championship in New Orleans. If LaRocco won, McGrath would have needed at least a fourth-place finish to claim the title as early as round 14. Instead, LaRocco was involved in a four-man, first-tum pileup at the start of the main event, which also included Team Kawasaki's Damon Huffman, Team Yamaha's Jimmy Button, and McGrath's teammate, Mazda/Chaparral-Yamaha's Steve Lamson. LaRocco was able to salvage an incredible sev'enth by the end of the 20-1ap main event, but by then the damage was done. Team Suzuki's. Robbie Reynard stayed out of trouble by getting a stellar start. Reynard rode most of the event in fifth place before moving up to third, where he finished, marking his second third-place finish in as many weeks. Finishing fourth behind Reynard was his teammate Larry Ward, who sped into the first tum neck and neck with Lusk. Lusk and Ward raced in first and second until about the halfway mark, when Ward gave way to the hard-charging trio of McGrath, Reynard and Team Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael. For laps nine through 13, Carmichael held third 'place, but a bobble in a timing section of the track left him on the ground and back in 12th when the checkered flag came out. In his best 250cc supercross finish ever, Noleen Motorsport/Yamahamounted Tim Ferry overcame a crash in his hea t race to win the second semi. With a less-than-stellar pick on the gate for the main event, privateer Ferry got an eighth-place start and rode consistently en route to fifth. T 6 The Louisiana Superdome wa,s the site where MazdalChaparrallYamaha's Jeremy McGrath wrapped up his sixth Supercross title in seven years. McGrath won his heat race and finished runner-up in the main event to Ezra Lusk.