Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIChevy Trucks 250cc U.S. Motocross Championship Series Final Round: Steel City Raceway By JERRY ATHEY PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN DELMONT,PA,SEPT.2 t was just another day at the office for Team Suzuki's Kevin Windham. Despite the defection of Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's recently crowned 250cc National Champion, Ricky Carmichael, to the 125cc class and the resultant lack of fanfare surrounding the race, Windham, aboard his Alley Semartuned factory RM250, calmly and deliberately trounced his competitors with a commanding 1-1 ride. Windham's overall win, his second of the series, came in front of the 20,000plus, sun-drenched fans in attendance for the final round of the outdoor National Series at Steel City USA. Windham started the first moto behind the booming KTM 520SXs of Cernics.com/PC Worldwide's John Dowd and MSR/Torco/Quicksilver's Paul Carpenter. By the time the riders hit the third turn, Windham had taken over the top spot, immediately establishing a healthy lead that he would extend to more than 15 seconds at one point in the race. In the second outing, Windham nailed the start perfectly and, once again, simply rode away from his would-be competitors, despite a strong midrace charge from Team Yamaha's Tim Ferry. "Yeah, it was a good win," said Windham. "In both motos, I was feeling pressure from behind. In the first moto, I was able to open up a lead I 14 SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 • 0 U 0 and kind of ride on that cushion. In the second moto, those guys were definitely coming. Ferry ended up going down, and that gave me a little more breathing room. It's been a long season and I've been working hard." Besides the year-end bragging rights, Windham had another reason to keep his speed up and his skills sharp. He, along with the aforementioned Carmichael and Team SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's new 125cc National Champion Mike Brown will represent America at the 2001-edition of the Motocross des Nations, to be held in Namur, Belgium, on September 29-30. "I've only been over there once [in 1999] and we weren't able to win it that year," Windham said. "It makes for a long flight home. I really want to go over there and win, and I'm confident that I can do my part. We're racing for the U.S., so it means a lot to all of us riders, as well as the fans. We want to keep that trophy here in the United States." Finishing second overall on the day was Ferry. In the first moto, Ferry got pushed outside on Steel City's switchback-style starting area and finished the first lap in eighth, just behind the Amsoil/Dr. Martens/Competition Accessories/ Journey's Honda of Mike LaRocco. Within just a few laps, both LaRocco and Ferry had charged through the pack into second and third, respectively, and began an intense battle I • n e _ s Kevin Windham won both 250cc motos at Steel City, finishing out the year in second place with two wins. for position that would last throughout the remainder of the moto. Despite repeated attacks by Ferry, LaRocco wouldn't budge, placing the Yamaha rider third at the checkers. Ferry also started the second moto' just inside the top 10, but was able to quickly pass his way into third, just behind LaRocco, who occupied second. Once again, the rival fourstroke pilots went at it, with Ferry taking over the spot from LaRocco early in the race and eventually closing in on Windham. A midrace fall put an end to Ferry's hopes of catching Windham, but the Yamaha rider was able to remount quickly and hold on to the runner-up spot. "Well, second's not too bad," said Ferry. "I was hoping for a win here. I kind of messed myself up. I got a bad start in the first moto and then I fell in that second moto, when I was right behind Kevin. I'm still pretty happy with my season." Rounding out the podium at Steel City was LaRocco. LaRocco, who has spent the final three outdoor Nationals aboard Honda's new four-stroke CRF450R, battled with Ferry for the duration of each of the two 30minute-plus-two-Iap motos. In the end, Ferry's 3-2 beat out LaRocco's 2-3, relegating the South Bend, Indiana native to third overall. "Today wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be," said LaRocco. "I had an opportunity to win the overall, but the second moto just didn't go the way I needed it to. I got the fourstroke on the podium and that was kind of the goal for these last three races. I'm going to try to do some work this fall and get a little faster. My consistency is there, but I've got to work on the first part of the race. I've got some homework to do, but I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens next year." Ferry's Team Yamaha teammate, David Vuillemin, finished fourth overall. Vuillemin started the first moto just outside the top five, and after a few laps moved into fourth. Vuillemin spent the remainder of the moto battling with Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki rider and fellow Frenchman Stephane Roncada. A late-race crash allowed Roncada by and dropped Vuillemin to fifth. Vuillemin started well in the second moto, running third on the initial lap before being dropped to fourth by his Yamaha teammate, Ferry. Vuillemin would spend the remainder of the moto riding alone, well off the pace of the top three riders - Windham, Ferry and LaRocco. Rounding out the top five overall was Dowd. Dowd took the first-moto holeshot and, after being overtaken by Windham, spent the early laps of the moto battling with Carpenter for the runner-up spot. After finally getting around Carpenter for good, Dowd fell victim to the freight train consisting of LaRocco, Ferry and, a few seconds behind, Vuillemin and Roncada. A late-moto charge by Thousand Oaks Yamaha/Pete's RV/Reynard Modifications' Robbie Reynard dropped Dowd to seventh at the finish. Dowd started up front again in the second moto, but dropped to seventh by the completion of the first lap, spending the first half of the moto battling with Fast by Ferracci/DKNY/Husqvarna's Steve Lamson and the second half battling with Reynard. Dowd inherited fifth when Reynard dropped out with a mechanical problem, and that's where he would finish out the moto. "I'm pretty happy," said Dowd. "Today was maybe a little bit of a gift, since Reynard blew a motor, or something. I didn't really know what to expect coming into this year and I

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