"I have been sick all week,"
Vuillemin said. '" felt well enough to
do some quick laps, but when the
race entered the second stage, I had
nothing left. At the end of the race, I
really felt sick."
Sure enough, only Vuillemin and
Reed ever looked likely to win in
either Geneva or Arnhem, and not
even LaRocco could match their
speeds. The third-place finisher never
came to terms with the Arnhem layout.
"I don't know what it is," LaRocco
said. "I never got a rhythm going. I
am really disappointed with the way I
rode, and I don't know why I could
not get going. It's been a good work-
out doing these races, although I look
forward to getting home and doing
some serious testing."
HEATS
The night began with Yamaha's
Tim Ferry winning the first heat race
ahead of Bud Light KTM rider Jeremy
McGrath and Suzuki hero Tortelli. For
Ferry, it was about staying upright
and not doing anything stupid. The
27 -year-old Floridian had crashed in
Thursday's practice session and was
not about to do the same thing on
race night.
'" felt okay," Ferry said. "I feel better today, took yesterday off. This
track is just like back home, and it's
many changes to the bike the last
three days... Every time' go out we
change something. If' can get a good
start in the main, then "II be okay.
This is a big challenge· the bike is so
new to me, and it's nothing like the
Yamaha. The track was no good on
Thursday, yet today [race day] it's
really good."
Tortelli proved his Supercross
speed is much better than ever in his
career.
"I was late out of the gate and tangled with Jeremy," Tortelli said. "I
made a mistake, and Ryan Clark
passed me. Then I passed him, but I
couldn't get to Jeremy. I feel really
good on the supercross. The bike is
getting pretty rough. I had a good
start and just maintained a good
pace. It's going to rough up pretty
good - it is what it is, a real American-style track. I want a podium, but
a win is what I'm really after."
As for McGrath, he looked good,
although he never really challenged
Ferry and looked a little tentative
through some sections of the track.
The supercross legend had spent the
complete European experience working out what settings would work for
him.
"It was pretty good," McGrath said.
'" lost some places on a section and
then stayed the same distance
behind. I mean, we have made so
(Left) Mike LaRocco (5) lost touch of Reed and Vulllemin off the start and couldn't reel them back in, having
to settle for third.
(Below) McGrath, who Is stili having trouble sorting out his KTM, finished a disappointing seventh.
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JANUARY
8, 2003
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