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Round 4: Motocross 338 MAZDA TRUCKS/AMA 250cc NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MX SERIES By Matt Freeman Photos by Karl Ockert SOUTHWICK, MA, JUNE 13 oing into the fourth round of the outdoor series, the odds-on favorites to win the 250cc overall at Southwick were none other than Easterners John Dowd lind Doug Henry, and why not? Last year, at a muddy and drenched Southwick track, Dowd took 125cc honors and Henry won the 250cc battle. Historically, both riders have been successful on what could be con'!IIi sidered their home track, and the fan iii support alone that the Yamaha teamIII mates receive would warrant a good hhome-fitheld advantahrge. Not to m.ention ~ t at in e young tee-race ene, no :iii one rider has been dominant. But all of Q that may be about to change, and judging by the looks of his performance on ; the andy Southwick circuit, Team _. Honda's Ezra Lusk is just the man to ...- take control in the remaining eight ~ rounds. Not only did Lusk post two ยง convincing moto wins, he also moved to .... the top of the points ladder, ahead of his 6 teammate Sebastien Tortelli. "I :t Lusk's successful moto wins came via successful starts. In the opening moto, Lusk followed leader Dowd around for five laps before making the pas and running away with the win. In the second moto, Lusk went to work a little quicker, passing Dowd for the lead on the third lap. However, the second time, Dowd made it a little harder for Lusk to breathe comfortably. The crowd favorite tuck behind Lusk for a while before Lusk finally did open up a lead that could be considered comfortable. "I figured John (Dowd) would pace himself a little more than he did," said 1.usk about chasing Dowd for the lead in both motos. "He really surprised me today. I didn't know he was going to be that strong and that fast. He was going fast in some sections I figured he'd go a lot slower in. Some sections I was good and some sections I was bad, but then, when I finally put it all together, it was all good. In the second moto. I put it all together right from the get-go and I didn't want to mess around with John for long. J just wanted to get around him and pull a lead. He still hung in there, though. J was surprise ." In the first moto, Dowd ultimately finished third behind Factory Connection/Honda-backed Mike LaRocco. In the second moto, Dowd held on for second, which netted him second in the overall standings. Even with all the fan support and his past success at the venue, Dowd himself seemed to be a li ttle surprised with his stellar results. 'Tm pretty happy, because it's been rough for me my first three rounds before this, coming back from my shoulder injury," said Dowd, who tweaked his shoulder earlier in the year after era hing at the Daytona Supercross. '1 haven't had the confidence and I wasn't sure about the strength, and hopefully J can continue on. This place was nasty and rough today. It was pretty tough to make just 30 minutes. rm just glad I made it." LaRocco put two solid starts together to race to third. Both his second-place finish in moto one and his third in moto two were very impressive - the second moto especially, where he fought off everal late-race pass attempts by Tortelli, who finished one spot off the podium when the scores were tallied. Obviously till suffering from lack of experience on concrete starting pads, Tortelli was the fastest man on the track at times. There is no doubt that Tortelli was quickest in the first moto, but a bad start and a crash, which momentarily tangled his bike with the Team Yamaha YZ400 of Jimmy Button, set Tortelli way back. Still, he forged on to finish sixth in moto one. In moto two, the defending World Motocros Champion finished a close fourth, behind LaRocco. Fifth on the day went to the winner of the previous round, Team Suzuki's Greg AIbertyn. Albertyn put together a fourth and a sixth, and he did so with lackluster starts. The same went for his Suzuki teammate Larry Ward. Ward never really gated well all day, yet he till managed to work his way through the pack like Albertyn to finish with a score of 8-5. The other crowd favorite, Doug Henry, could have had a better opening moto. "The first moto did not go so good," said Henry about his first-lap excursion. "I came out about third, and going up the back hill, I fell off, and then J was dead last."