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/128137
AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series Round 1: Edison International Field mlil:e when all was said and done. One of those riders was Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin. Obviously, Vuillemin is certainly capable of winning supercross races, but after a season last year that was filled with injuries and less-than-spectacular finishes, his name hardly ever came up when the list of probable Anaheim winners were discussed during the day. But Vuillemin came through to score a somewhat surprising win, ahead of two other "dark horses," Mike LaRocco and Ernesto Fonseca. "That was cool, I'm really happy," Vuillemin said. "Last season, no podiums and a lot of injuries; it's always tough when you're really low like that and to come back. A lot of things changed in my life last year, so it's been good. I've been working with Jacky [Vimond, a former 250cc World MX Champion] a lot, he's got a lot of experience and he showed me the direction to work." By KIT PALMER PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN ANAHEIM, CA, JAN. 5 f your last name wasn't Carmichael no one was giving you hardly a chance to win the muchhyped opening round of the AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series presented by Speed Stick at Edison International Field. All the talk going into the big race pretty much centered around Ricky Carmichael and Jeremy McGrath and the great battle they were going to have here at Anaheim and throughout the 2002 Supercross season, but when the champagne was flying and the awards were being handed out after the 20-lap feature, neither Carmichael nor McGrath were anywhere in sight. So much for the hype. Instead, there were three riders who managed to slip under the radar and avoid all of the pre-race hoopla (and crashes) and stole the spotlight T III or McGrath, 6 JANUARY 16, 2002' eye • e neVIIs Despite winning the series opener, which is always one of the biggest supercross races of the season, Vuillemin was surprisingly calm and collected about nabbing the fifth supercross win of his career. "This is just one race," he said. "Now I want to go home and just keep working. It's going to be a tough season, for sure." In spite of finishing second, Mike LaRocco, on the Amsoil/Dr. Martens/ Honda/Factory Connection Team CR250R, was probably the fastest rider in the 250cc main event. While running third at one point, LaRocco tangled with another rider (Ricky Carmichael) and was passed by three others, but he didn't let that get him down. Instead, it only seemed to motivate him as he quickly got those riders back, moved into second place, and was closing in on Vuillemin when the checkered flag came out. At one point, LaRocco was 11 seconds behind Vuillemin, but at the finish, he was only three seconds back. "I was aiming real high and I got close, but I really wanted to walk away winning this thing," LaRocco said. ") think I could've, and it kind of bums me out a little that I had a little bit of bad luck, but I can live with that." Filling the last spot on the podium in third was perhaps the surprise rider of the night, Ernesto Fonseca. In his very first supercross race in the 250cc class and as a Team Honda factory rider, the two-time 125cc Regional Supercross Champion rode what was actually a very smart and calculated race, something you would certainly expect for a supercross veteran but not necessarily from a 250cc-class rookie. Fonseca started off the race in 10th but instead of panicking, took his time, waited for people in front of him to make mistakes, made some nice passes though one of them was perhaps a bit