34th Ann u a l M ammot h Mountain Motocross
By S TEVE C OX
P HOT OS BY RYAN MAHO NEY/
P HOT O CROSS. NE T
MAMMOTH LAKES, CA, JUNE 21-24
R
u m o rs o f J ere m y McGra th 's
determ ina tion to win his e ighth
s u p ercross cha mpi o ns hi p in 2002
we re not unfounded. The proclaimed
King of S u pe rc ro s s s ho rt en e d his
su m me r "vacation" signifi cantly com pared to previous years to beg in riding , racing and training for the series,
and where better to test o ne 's stami na and speed than at the 34th annual
Mammoth Mountain Mot ocro ss? The
Mammoth track is loc at e d at a cool
8000 feet in elevation , where cardiovascular conditioning is tested more
than at probably any other track in
the country.
Another motivation for McGrath to
race the e v en t is t h e thought of
ach ie ving t he infa m o us Mammoth
Sweep. Very few rid e rs have had the
luc k, stam ina a nd speed to win all
three Pro c la s ses at the popular
event, and McGrath wanted to add his
name to the list , which includes last
year's winner, David Vuillemin, a nd
McGrath 's id o l, Rick Johnson. However, he would have to deal with the
gaggle of hotshoes s igned up for the
event in order to pull off the sweep ch ief among th e m Doctor D/Wh ite
Bros./Yamaha -backed Doug Dubach.
The Pro classes , a lthough the main
attractions, weren 't the most exciting
races of the fo ur-d a y weekend . For
example , Honda -moun ted Da n ie l
Sani and Suzuki's Davi Millsa ps pro vide d one of the most exciting races
of the who le weekend in the 8 0cc
(12 -1 3) main event. Wh e n Mike
Alessi seized his Yam aha off the start,
Millsa ps grabbed the holeshot in the
m a in event and promptly crashed
going around the tree turn on the secon d la p, handing the lea d to Sa ni.
"He wen t around that tree corner ,
and th ere was like a rock, a nd he hit it
and went over the ba rs, a nd I was first
then ," Sani said. "I just paced myself
the who le race, trying to keep it."
And keep it he did . Sani he ld a
comfo rtab le lea d unt il th ere were
about two la ps to go, when Millsaps
began to ree l him ba ck in. Sani kept
his cool . tho ug h, a nd record ed his
firs t m ajo r 80cc c ha m p io ns hip win.
Mill saps fi ni s he d a cl o s e se co nd ,
50
JULY
11. 2 001 •
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