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those guys wouldn't check out," Carmichael said. "You have to make aggressive moves. I don't want to be too rough, or you'll get payback." Carmichael immediately built a small cushion, while Roncada continued to hammer away at McGrath, eventually getting him at the beginning of lucky lap 13. "Jeremy was riding really good at first," Roncada said. "It seemed like he tightened up." Meanwhile, Vuillemin was dogging laRocco from fifth, hoping for a rare mistake from the veteran. It eventually came on lap 14, when LaRocco rode his front wheel through the whoops, and Vuillemin got by. "The whoops were worn down, but there was one about four from the end that was still big," laRocco said. "I clipped it. That was a long one; I was wondering for a while if I would go over." Vuillemin then moved up on McGrath, and he got him over a triple with three laps to go. That set the podium, and a little breathing room finally developed between Carmichael, Roncada and Vuillemin from there to the fmish. "It feels good to show everyone I'm the same guy as last year," Carmichael said. "For me, it's great to win a race where I hurt myself...This win was 10 times better than last week. It feels like a first win." "It's awesome to make the podium," said a happy Roncada. "It Posting a career-be.t runner-up 250cc flnl.h was Stephane Roncada (21). who .eems to have found his legs in the class. Jeremy McGrath (2) led the first half of the race, but this battle with Roncada once again caused fade-Inducing arm-pump. he could also notch a periodic win, and even riders like Team Honda's Nathan Ramsey (fifth here on the CRF450R). Amsoil/Dr. Martens Honda's Michael Byrne (eighth after winning a heat), Ernesto Fonseca (a disappointing ninth after riding great in qualifying), and Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ezra Lusk (completing the top 10) are making tenacious and realistic attempts at reaching the podium and mixing up the points. Keep your fingers crossed and your eyes open: This could be good. MAIN A huge cheer went up from McGrath's home crowd when he nailed a perfect holeshot, with Roncada hard on his tail and the factory SoBe Suzukis of Pastrana and Kevin Windham just behind. Blackfoot Honda's Jean-Sebastien Roy was fifth at the half-lap mark, with Carmichael and laRocco following. Vuillemin was worse than midpack. "I don't get the starts I want, lately," Vuillemin said. McGrath had led last week as well, but this time a win seemed possible. Riding loosely and intelligently, the Californian held off his aggressive chasers for half of the race. By that point, some of them had taken care of themselves (Pastrana slid out on lap four, and Windham crashed as well), while others were doing some good damage control (Carmichael got Roncada for second at the end of lap eight, and Vuillemin picked his way through the pack to sit fifth), but a fierce battle with Roncada had caused McGrath's arms to pump. On lap 10, the Yamaha rider bobbled in the whoops and had to double the following triple, so Carmichael jumped into the lead. "I muscled my way through a couple of riders in the first lap so Every once in a while, a rider or two will attempt to qualify for both classes at a supercross round, but it's rare that he actually makes it to both finals. At Anaheim III, two riders pulled off the feat - Pro Caliber Suzuki's Isaiah Johnson and Powerhouse Yamaha's Daniel Blair. Johnson made it into the 125cc main with a ninth-place heat finish, and he earned his 250cc slot by finishing second in the LCO the night's final qualifying spot. In other words, he rode no fewer than six races (out of a possible maJtimum of seven) on Saturday night, finishing 22nd in the 125cc main and 18th in the 250cc final. "I'm tired, that's for sure," the Albuquerque resident said afterward. "On the 250, I was just trying to survive, basically. I got taken out in the 125s, so I just tried to save myself for Daniel Blair (pictured) and Isaiah the 250s. I was running sixth in the 125 race Johnson each qualified for both until that happened. I was just [running both c...... at Anaheim III. classes] because last week I had some bad luck and I was done racing at like seven o'clock, and I want to race all night. It's fun, and I want to make a little extra money anyway." As for Blair, he took the final 125cc qualifying spot with a fourth in the LCO, and he made the 250cc finale by placing fifth in the second semi. Finillwise, the rider from Lcdi, California, went 21 st and 20th in the 125 and 250cc classes, respectively. Steve Cox cue I .. n e _ S • FEBRUARY 13, 2002 9