Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128006
Motocross Round 9: Washougal Motocross Park AMAlMAZDA TRUCKS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 250cc MX SERIES By Davey Coombs Photos by Doug Karch er WASHOUGAL, WA,AUG. 1 n the da y that Jer em y McGrath chose to return to AM A professional racing, it was ano ther Yamaha veteran who rose to the occasion and stole the g lory. Twenty-six-y ear-old Jimmy Button earned the first AM A Nati onal win of his career with a solid 3-1 rid e at the Washougal 250cc Na tional in southern Washingt on. In tw o ext remely close and exci ting ra ce s , Button, on h is Bryan Kenny-p repped YZ400, emerged victo rious, just ahead of title contender Kevin Wind ham, defending series cham pion Do ug Henry, a nd series po in ts lead er Greg Albertyn. m m m 22 "This is every t hing. Th is is it. I've worked my entire life for this," sa id the Yamaha /Bridgestone Tires /Fox-backed Butt on aft er winning the second mo to. "You can't believe w ha t this feels like right now. I've been a profession al racer for 10 years, worked my bu tt off every year, and everything th at"I've don e my whole life has paid off tod ay." Button's moto wi n was also a career first fo r the Yamaha rid er . Team Honda's Windham, the last inhouse Red Rider with a legitimat e sho t at the series cham p io ns hi p, ended up second overall via 2-3 moto finishes. The always-determined Henry, just one week after his surprising overall victory at Troy (Ohio) was third overall in Washington with a 1-6 ta lly. The Suzuki's of Larry Ward (6-2) and Greg Albertyn (44) rounded out the top five on a day filled with tight racing and close finishes. The fact-that Button's win came on the beautiful and fast motocross slopes of Washougal had a certain symmetry to it. Ten years ago, Button made his professional debut at this very same track, finishing 10th overall in the 125cc class. It took a decade to make up the spots from 10th to first, but Button finall y did it , co ming full circle in a career filled with more downs than ups. " I finally got the monkey off m y back. I got my first moto win and my first overall on the same day," Button s a id as family and fr iend s crowded around him in the winner's circle. By winning at Washougal, Button became the seventh rider in nine races to score an overall win in the '99 se ries. He also now has the distinction of being the ninth rider in this series to score a moto victory. "I'm stoked to be ab le to finall y ride like Yamaha had anticipated I cou ld ride like when they signed me, " said Button later. 'The bike is just awesome . I'm so happy to win for all of the guys at Yamaha. This is it - this is the grea test day of my life so far." Standing next to Button on the podium was Windham , who seems to be bouncing back from a minor slu mp. "1 spent a lot of time with Jeff Stanton this week, just trying to relax and take another look at my whole game and try to figure out where I'm s lackin g at,"