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/128087
AMAlEA Sports 1 25cc Western Regional Supercross Series . Round 1 : Edison International Field ed by any Hollywood movie exec for being implausible. But this isn't Hollywood (though it's dam close), and there was nothing fictional about the victory - a victory so important for Yamaha that one almost got the idea that the main-event win by Mazda Yamaha's Jeremy McGrath was just icing on the Fonseca cake, and not vice-versa. By CHRIS JONNUM PHOTOS BY JOE BONNELLO ANAHEIM, CA, JAN. 6 ere the night of January 6 orchestrated by the tuning-fork gods, it could hardly have unfolded more perfectly for the American Yamaha importer. Corporate headquarters being just a few miles away on the same street as Edison Field, the company honchos were on hand, and a capacity crowd of 45,050 motorcycle enthusiasts from the company's largest retail market were set to bare witness. The manufacturer's most important new model was on the start line, primed and ready for its American professional-racing debut, and even the Cycle News win ad had been prepared, with only a few details to be added following the inevitable victory (look for it in next week's issue). The only thing remaining was for Yamaha of Troy's Emesto Fonseca to complete the script by taking his new favorite toy through 15 laps to the checkers ahead of the other 21 riders, and the Costa Rican was only too happy to oblige, even throwing in a bit of drama by starting sixth, passing his way to the front, and then pulling away to a comfortable win. The performance proved not only that the all-new Yamaha YZ250F fourstroke is-c-or.npetitiv~ in ..!he 125~c_ class (see column on last page), but that Fonseca is as well, following an unsuccessful 2000 defense of his 125cc Eastern Regional title. "It's unbelievable," Fonseca said of the bike, but he might as well have been referring to the night's script, which would surely have been discard- W 10 JANUARY 17, 2001 • G U G QUALIFYING Fonseca set the stage perfectly for the main event by taking the heat-one holeshot on his booming 250F, and just behind him a few turns later, Moto XXX/DGY/ Atomic 22 rider Michael Brandes elicited a collective gasp from the crowd when he came up short over a triple and cased it - hard. Brandes hit the turf, collecting Japanese rider Kuraudo Toda along the way, and the red-cross flag went out for the next several laps as medics attended to the downed riders. Fonseca extended his lead to nearly five seconds on second-place ~ider Tyler Evans of Planet Honda, taking the easy win. French Yamaha rider Matthieu Lalloz (being assisted by FMF at Anaheim) and Motoworldracing. com/Answer Yamaha's Greg Schnell were next, followed by Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire's Casey Lytle and KTM Red Bull's David Pingr~e. "ThiS is the-first time I've raced it [the YZ250F] in Supercross, but I feel great," Fonseca said. "I think I can win tonight." Heat two was absolutely dominated by Team Suzuki's Danny Smith, who showed some promise on FMF Honda last year but has since gained confi• e n e _ s dence and speed. After taking the holeshot, Smith stretched out a lead of nearly 11 seconds on Yamaha of Troy's Justin Buckelew before turning in a winning time 18 seconds faster than that of Fonseca. Finishing third and fourth were Plano Honda/MSR's Ivan Tedesco and Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire's Shae Bentley - (the defending champion) - respectively. Plano Honda/MSR's Jiri Dostal was fifth. "I just love it every time we go to Anaheim, because everybody pumps me up," Smith said. "I just do my best, and I'm ready to go for the money tonight. [Manager] Roger [DeCoster] has put his faith in me." The LCQ was led to turn one by Frenchman Pascal Lauret on a KTM, but Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire's Andrew Short took control at the midway point and won. Malcolm Smith Motorsports rider Robbie Skaggs was third, with Stephan Demartis - another Yamaha-mounted Frenchman being helped by FMF - taking the night's final transfer spot. MAIN When the pack hit the chalk line that determines the $500 SFX holeshot winner, it was not Fonseca, but teammate Buckelew - on a traditional twostroke YZ125 - doing the honors. Right behind him was Smith, while Fonseca was back around sixth. Smith immediately went to work on Buckelew, actually passing him in a gO-degree right-hander on the third lap. The Suzuki rider established a small cushion, and attention turned to Fonseca, who had gotten by Tedesco in a hairpin on lap two. He then overtook Team Suzuki Frenchman Rodrig Thain in a rhythm section on the following lap, and got by Buckelew in the whoops to take second on the lap after that. It took Fonseca a couple of laps to get within striking distance of Smith, but he was stalking the leader by the beginning of the sixth circuit. Fonseca pushed Smith hard in the second whoop section, then zapped him in the follOWing right-hander. The fight wasn't out of Smith yet, however, and when a crashed rider slowed Fonseca on lap eight, the Suzuki rider squeezed by briefly. Fonseca regained the lead in the following whoop section, then the same thing happened on the next lap, with Smith passing momentarily in a turn and Fonseca getting him back in the next corner. Smith continued haunting the Costa Rican, and when Fonseca came upon a downed Grant Langston in the whoop section, he barely got around without surrendering his lead to Smith. That proved to be about all Smith had, however, and although Fonseca did perform a minor panic rev over a double, he established enough breathing room that he could cruise down the final straight, by the mechanics area, with his fist in the air before taking the win. Buckelew followed Smith in to make it two Yamaha of Troy riders on the podium, and Pingree garnered an impressive fourth on his Katoom. Tedesco was fifth ahead of Bentley and Thain. "I've been working out this whole winter," Fonseca said. "I'm really taking it serious. I definitely want to get back my number-one plate... Danny was riding really good. He definitely was really fast out there. I think it was a great race." "I dedicated myself the fullest that I possibly could," said Smith, who took a slight detour off the track on the penultimate lap. "I've been up here in second place before. It doesn't feel as good as first, I'm sure. I have to step up to bat, but I'm just happy to get on the podium. You can expect a race like that every weekend from me." Team Suzuki's Danny Smith gave a valiant effort in the 125c:c: main, but came up short. He passed leader Fonseca a c:ouple of times before seWing for second.