Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

San Diego, Celifol""'nle .....anuery2:2. eooo AMA,/EA Spores Supercross Series Round 3: Qualcomm Stadium By the physical pain in a little corner of his mind marked to be dealt with at a more convenient opportunity; he'd index those 19 riders in a nearby nook labeled not worthy of my present consideration; then he would not so much concentrate on the track as he would simply become one with it, flowing his Yamaha YZ250 over and around the circuit's undulations and bends with such apparent lack of effort that his eventual victory would seem more an afterthought than an objective. That's What Jeremy Would Do in the given context, and that's exactly what Vuillemin - the Frenchman whose sin- CHRIS JONNUM PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES • • • hat Would Jeremy Do if he . . found himself with the holeshot in a supercross main event, his body hurting from a previous crash, 20 laps to go around a brutal supercross circuit, and 19 of the world's best riders snapping at his rear tire like a pack of starved foxhounds? What Would Jeremy Do? That's what David VuiJIemin had to be asking himself as he emerged from turn one with the lead going down Qualcomm Stadium's whooped-out second straight, his wrist and back throbbing from a horrendous Friday crash that he initially feared may have brought his season to a premature end. And Vuillemin's response to that 'query was spot-on: Jeremy would file 6 FEBRUl:RY 2,2000' cue gle-minded missi0,n in transferring full-time to the U.S. is to dethrone McGrath - did in San Diego. "You cannot win something more important," said Vuillemjn afterwards. I e neVIl's In both his heat race and the main event, David Vuillemin was never led at San Diego. It was his first U.S. win. "It was my dream from when I was eight, when I was watching [Rick] Johnson and Jeff Ward and all those guys ride supercross. It was my dream to come here and win." What Would Jeremy Do if he found himself on that same whooped-out straight with a front brake rotor that had been bent in the typical first-turn bedlam just milliseconds earlier, leaving him in the latter half of that same pack with those same 20 laps around that same track ahead of him? What Would Jeremy Do? That's the question the real Jeremy McGrath had to be asking as he realized that he had no front binder (information to which the record 61,244 crowd was not privy), and that for the first time this young season, his points lead was in very real jeopardy. And McGrath's reply to the riddle was as accurate as Vuillemin's: Jeremy would painstakingly and patiently dog each successive rider in front of him until sa id rider made a mistake that allowed him to sneak underneath in a turn; he would intentionally case jump landings in a desperate effort to scrub off speed for corners, paying no heed to the fact that doing so could leave his uncomprehending adopted home crowd (McGrath recently moved to ·nearby Encinitas) with the impression that its hero had forgotten how to ride; he would do all of this to such devastating effect that he would advance past top-level riders (including two current national champions and two former 125cc regional champions) who were riding perfectly functional motorcycles, and he would finish the race in a position - fourth place - that left him at the top of the points chart. That's What Jeremy Would Do, and that's precisely what Jeremy - the greatest supercross racer this planet has ever seen - did do in San Diego. '" was pretty much floundering out there," said McGrath. '" was doing the best' could to salvage, and to ride with no front brake. I couldn't land backside on the jumps, or I wouldn't be able to stop ... ' know I followed for a long time, which isn't like me, but no front brake expla ins it." Between the two Yamaha riders were Amsoil/Competition Accessories/Jack in the Box/Factory Connection Honda's Mike LaRocco - in what is becoming a customary workmanlike podium finish - and Team Honda's Kevin Windham. Vuillemin's finish moved him to within five points of McGrath - 68 to 63 - with the consistent LaRocco one point closer at 64. With his superiority questioned and the benefit of a flat front brake rotor, What Will Jeremy Do next weekend in Phoenix? Need you ask? "I'm not even worried about it," said McGrath. "I'm going to win next week and get those points back." ••••••••••••• Collecting the main event's $1000 Yahoo! Sports Holeshot award for the second week in a row was the apparently memory-challenged Vuillemin, who said, "I've never started like that before." Behind him, the usual turn-one maelstrom was occurring, and it was here that the Mazda/Chaparral Yamaha of McGrath, who had also gated poorly in his heat race, incurred its disc-rotor damage. Rounding lap one in 10th place, the champ immediately went to work to make the best of his given circum-

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