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/128102
W e s t e r n Regional 1 25c c S u p e r c r o s s S e r ie s Round 7 : Texas Stadium B Y D A VE DERIN GER P HOT OS BY S T EVE BRU HN DAu.AS, TX, APRIL 21 'l7 hree weeks ago , Red Bull /KTMU sponsored Grant Langston had his dream of winning his first 125cc S u p e rc ro s s race pulled out from under him when he fell on the last lap while lead ing the 125cc main at the Houston Astrodome . As a result , Langston ended up th ird , giving the win to Hus q va rn a ' s Travis Pr esto n . Lan gsto n was emba rra sse d, (t o s ay th e least) a nd disappoint ed about his m istake . But at least he doesn 't have to ste w about it an y lo nge r now that he ' s c a p it a lize d on h is se c ond ch ance. At Dallas, the South African native red eem ed him s elf by com ing right back and charging as hard as he d id at Houston, opening up a comfortable lead and, th is time , holding on to take the win . So, did Langston perform any last-lap celebration moves over the jumps, which got him into trouble at Houston? Of course he did ! Langston waved to the crowd over s everal jumps, and perfo rmed a breathtaking no -footed can can , on the last lap, showing everyone that he wasn't going to let the Houston debacle get the best of him . The win was the 18 -year-old 's first , and came in only his eighth Supercross race. It was also the first win for Austrian manufacturer KTM. "I rode we ll bac k in Houston, but I just lost m y co nce n t ra ti o n and got screwed up ," Langston sa id. "I wa s so up set because I c a me so close, but it's good to c o me ba ck and win for me a nd the team . I've wanted this for so long , I really can 't bel ie ve it. I think I pr oved to e veryone that I can come ba ck strong and do w el l. I won my first heat rac e earlier in the night and then my first fina l. It was a good night. " And when asked how the win felt compared to his 2000 125cc World Championship t itle , Langston answered , "It' s bigger! I've gone from a n absolute beginner in Supercross to winning, real fast. I've grown up with motocross outdoors, so when I win a round of the World Championships it's a good feeling, but to win my first Supercross feels so g reat. It feels like a 10 -ton weight ha s b e e n taken off my shoulders . I don't wa nt to just be known as an outdoo r ride r; I want to be known as both!" Sec ond on the e ve ning was Team Suzuk i's Rodrig Tha in. The Fr en ch m an looked s t ro ng a ll ni g ht , as he too k the first 125c c heat-race win of th e program and then ro d e to a n u nc ha lle ng e d runner -up spot in the final. It was Tha in's best 12 5cc ma ine v e n t resu lt , but the s oft-s po ke n rid er d id not appear t o b e all tha t e x cited after the event , p er h e p e cue I e knowing that on e more big rac e rema ins . By tak ing second in Dallas, Thain moves in t o se cond in the points standings and , with only one round left , he still has an outs ide chance of beating Ernesto Fonseca (who had a tough night ) for the west coast title . "I had the flu all week and was real weak today: Tha in commented after the e ve nt. "Grant rode strong, an d I got a little tired a nd I did n't push in the final laps." "I had no arm pump today: Thain added . "I'd like to kee p second in the fina l po ints standings , too." F inishing an amazing third was Yamaha of Troy -ba ck ed Fonseca . T h e Costa Rican had a very tough n ight after c ras hing hard in the second 125cc he at race a nd once in the m ain. Fonseca got up from the heat-race " ra s h, well ba c k of the pack , but n e _ S • MAy 2 , 20U l ~