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/128107
IAbove) Doug D eH aan 15) cuts un derneath Bra ds haw In heat-racing ac tion. IBel ow) Simon Homas won th e 125c c main_ (Above) Johnson ce lebrates his 250 cc main-event w in. cro s s p ro du c e d a new 250cc class winn e r · Ca sey Johnson . J ohn son, a board his new Morgan Ractnq -becked Suzuki , captured the 250 cc class win over Bradshaw, while Ca n a d a ' s top -fin ishing rider, Darcy Lange, took th ird. In the all- Canadian 125cc class, Yamaha -mounted Homans S im o ns scored the victory. 250cc Johnson started thing s off by winning his qu alifier over Lange and Roy, while Johnson's Morgan Racing teammate , Pedro Gonza les , fended off Ca na d ia n Blair Morgan , Mike Craig and Bradshaw to win his qualifier. The ma in e vent fe at ured 25 rid e rs, and when the gate dropped , the crowd was thrilled to see Lange nail the holeshot, but Lange's moment of glory didn 't las t for lo ng, as Johnson moved to the outside and s woo pe d arou nd h im . Lange ' s p roblems con tin ue d when both Bra d Ha g set h and Mo rg a n sl ipped by him before the first lap was over. One of Ca na da 's biggest hopes to win the whole thing went out the win dow when Ro y ba iled off in the first turn. Mean wh il e , Johnso n qui ckly opened up a big le a d , while Bradshaw and Go nza le s , who had both gotten off to m idpack starts, bega n working their wa y forward. It didn 't take long for Bra d s h a w to put h is Honda int o the top five, and he soon had h is machine into second. Bradshaw set his sights on th e leader, Johnson , but struggled to get around th e lappers. "l had a chance to win after mak ing som e great passes in the beqin n ing ," Bradshaw said, "but I followed lap riders the whole t im e . I think I would have been a lot closer to him in the end if I d idn 't ha ve trouble with the lapped ride rs, but that is ra cing ." Before Bradshaw to ok ov e r s e c ond, Hagseth wa s hold ing down th at position until a rm pump got th e be st of him . He e ventua lly s lipp ed ba ck to fifth before all wa s sa id and don e . "I felt that , c ould ha ve made the podium if I didn 't get arm pump : Hagseth said , "but I am happy with my fifth-place fin is h. " Lange charged back up to the front after getting passed e a rly, fin is hing out the race in th ird . "I passed Brad Hagseth [then] I started to feel some arm pump , " Lange sa id, "so I just decide to ride a protective race to ho ld on to a thirdpla ce finish ." But th e surprise rider of the night was J o h n s o n who won with a b ig le a d . "My night was so awes ome , m y bike wa s riding rea lly great," Johnson said . "I ha d a great start and got into t h e lead . I lo oke d back o n c e but wa s n't s ure who was behind me. I just kept lo o k in g at m y p it board th e whole t im e and rode th e race. I am happy to be on the Suzukis , they are working rea lly great. "It is a c ha nge of pace riding here in Canada : J ohn s on added. "My p lans are to w in t he 125cc Wes t Canadian Natio na l, a nd the 250 c c Canad ian Nati onal, too. 125cc The 12 5cc m a in was a 10 -lap race wi t h 25 r iders . Wh en th e gat e dropped for the final , S imon Homans p ut his Yamaha YZ250F to the front right a wa y, and he kept it there for all 10 laps. The second - a nd third -place positions changed many t imes , as a nu m ber of riders went down in th e main. J a s on Thorne cam e up from a fourth -pl ace sta rt to finish second. c ue . e "I ha d a good start a nd m a de m y way th rough the pack , as a few riders went down : Thorne said. '" got a little tired and , in the end , that stopped me from ta k ing first. Bu t I rod e a great race by fin ishing in second pla ce." Justin Tho m pso n, who took third , said, "I didn 't get a great start, but I was able to make my way through the pack. I am happy with my thirdplace finish ." Round ing ou t th e top five overa ll were Rya n Lockhart and Chuck Mesley. eN Skydome Toronto, Canada Results: May 18, 200 1 2 50 : 1. Ca se y J ohns on ( Suz); 2 . Damon Bredshew ( Hon ); 3. Darcy LAnge ( Kaw) : 4 . Pedro Gonzal es (Suz) ; 5 . Bred Ha gseth ( Yam) : 6 . Mike Cr aig ( Ho n); 7 . Do ug D eHaan ( Hon); 8 . Mike Treadwell (Suz) ; 9 . Mar co Dube (KTM); 10 . blair Morgan (Hon) ; 1 t. .Jeen -Se be snen Roy (Hon); 12 . Josh Woods (Kaw); 13. Kaven Gregoire (Yam) ; 14 . Bill Wallin (Yam) ; 15. Joel Saents (Yam); 16. Chris Pomeroy (Kaw) ; 17. Sean Hamblin (Kaw) ; 18. Jeffrey Bcurdeqes ( Kaw); 19. Ian Hayd en (KTM); 20 . Guy Giroux (KTM); 2 1. Mik e Clark (Hon) . 125 : 1. Simon Homes (Yam) ; 2. Jasen Thome (Hon) ; 3. Justin Thompson (Hen): 4. Ryan Lockhart (Hon); 5 . Chuck Mesley (Hon); 6. Jamie Bird (Kaw); 7 . Jean-Yves Allard (Hon); 8. Ryan Gauld (Yam) : 9. M ilot Benoit ; 10 . Ba rt St ephen son ( Yam ); 1 l. (Unknown); 12. Michael Island ( Yam) : 13. Mitche ll Cooke (Kaw); 14. Kyle Snelgrove (Kaw ); 15. Ryan Matthews (Yam); 16. Kyle Thompson (Hen); 17. Kyle Keest ( Hon) ; 18. Rob Bourque ( Yam); 19. Derek A rnold ( Yam) ; 20 . Core y Stoll (Hon); 2 l , Trav is Hesketh (Hon) ; 22 . Ashley Adam s (Yam): 23 . Brad Coles Jr. (Yam). n e _ S • J UNE 6 , 2001 43