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GrJijlt Langston carne away with - a couple of wins in !he Open and 250cc Pro classes. echoed through the shuttle buses on the way in to the track. The word soon spread like wildfire through the pits; McGrath was on a Honda. Just a couple of weeks prior to the Mammoth Motocross, McGrath signed a deal to compete in the Red Bull Supermoto Championship with Jeff Ward, racing for Troy Lee Designs and riding the CRF450R. Not since 1996, after which McGrath parted ways with American Honda, have we seen him on a red bike. McGrath looked right at home on the CRF450R, as the bike roared under the snow-covered peaks. The Vet class had two days of racing, with a four-moto format - each day's overall counted as one race score toward the class overall. Jeff Ward got the jump on the field in the first moto aboard his Service Honda CR500AF. His position was shortlived, however, as the over-40 star fell into the clutches of some of his younger rivals. McGrath and Ty Davis put distance between themselves and the rest of the pack with Kenny Lash following in third. As McGrath opened his lead, Davis was storming with all that he had. Davis was unable to catch McGrath and the Factory CRF a bike that McGrath admitted to feeling somewhat alien to him. "It's different to anything else I have ridden in the past," McGrath said. A former 500cc National Champion, Ward actually dropped the twostroke for his usual CRF450R for moto two. McGrath grabbed the holeshot in moto two and disappeared. Davis was again second, allowing himself some distance for a secure runner-up finish. The race was back in third, as Mammoth local David Barrett fought with everything he could muster to take his Yamaha YZ250F to third. "Mammoth is amazing," Barrett said. "It's the best track in the world. There's no two ways about it. I don't ride, so this is when I come out; this is the only time I do it. My grandpa comes out here; I think he has as much fun watching me ride, so he's my inspiration to go fast." Barrett's grandfather is Dave McCoy, one of the founders of the The 125c:c Pro class heads up Mammoth!s start straight. Andrew Shof1 _ away with the 125cc: Pro cia.. win. Mammoth Motocross. Barrett set blistering lap times for his little bike against a field that was mostly 450cc four-strokes. He would distance himself in the turns winding through the trees and hills, only to be left in the dust on the uphill. Each lap. Barrett would work his way back up to the fight through the turns. But Davis and McGrath were too far ahead for him to catch, and he had to settle for third. From start to finish during Sunday's first moto, McGrath's goal was to see how much time he could put on the following pack. A first-turn pileup on the start left Barrett in the dirt. "I think I will do better today," Barrett said prior to the start. "I have only ridden four times prior to this and had some problems with my bike. It's just preparing for next week when everyone is on the same bike . , Brock Hal'den t1ad a very successf_ld . -weekend, topping ~ree classes.-The KTM 'rider-wori th.·125, 25Oc:c: arlls ~ Or~ Ju,,!ior l:la'!Se*. :- ,. ~,. [in the 125cc Pro race]. I'm on that 250F, and everyone else is on a 450, so I'm looking ahead to next week." As McGrath and the rest of the pack were charging into the back section of the track, Barrett finally was able to light the 250F to chase after them, completing the race in a remarkable seventh. When the race was over, McGrath had established nearly 50 seconds' worth of distance between himself and Davis. Davis finished second, cycle . . . .4 Lash third. and Barrett was able to grab a respectable seventh. McGrath got the holeshot for the last of the Vet Pro motos with a pack of four-strokes and a few two-strokes close on his tail. Davis, Lash and Barrett followed close behind. With McGrath and Davis taking off, the race was for third, with Lash and Barrett playing an exciting game of cat and mouse. Barrett would catch Lash coming back to the long uphill only to have Lash pull away from him. On the final lap, R e _ S • JULY 16, 2003 43