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/128231
What foll owed w a s a lm o s t unb eli ev able, Windham k no c k ed off eig httenth s of a second t he fi rst la p beh ind Ca rm i ch a e l , th en h e knocke d o ff ano th er 2 1/2 seco n ds th e lap aft er that , fo ll owed by an othe r second and a h alf, a nd th en anot her t wo seconds on conse c u t ive l ap s , On l a p ei ght , Win d h am w a s j ust a h a l f- s e c ond behind Ca rm ic h ael. " Ke vin was k il l in g u s the f irs t m o to ," C a rm ic ha el said , "I was trying so h ar d - I t hi n k I w as runni ng 31 s or so m et h ing like t hat. M y board sai d he was running 2 9s! I knew he was goi ng to g o bbl e m e u p , and th at' s w hat h e did , He w a s r id i ng so good, and h e h as been m a k ing m e work ha rd, T h e g uy ca n d efin itely rid e a nythi ng, a nd th at four-stroke o f h is, h e makes that th in g lo ok re a ll y go od , H e uses it t o h is adv an tag e ," H o w e v e r , as C armi c h a e l ha s pro v en agai n a n d aga i n , he k n ows how t o w in , and c a tc h i ng hi m a nd passing hi m a re many times very diffe re n t t hi ngs, Windham w ent in side C armi ch a el on an off-ca mbe r and made a pass early o n l a p nine , but Ca r michael struck r ight ba c k l ike u su al a nd took the spot ba ck , Wind ham mad e an other m ov e t o the inside later that lap , and it stuck for a cou p le o f turns , but then Ca rmichael c am e bac k again , Soon, th e two were into lappers , and W indham bobb led my Own Race: 250cc 1] ~ Dav id Vuill em in ~~ Chad Reed 7th (7- 5) The Cobra had a hard tim e at Steel City with som e bad setti ngs and starts, but he was close to the pace all day , "I got bad starts in both motes, lik e top 12-15 ," he said. "I cha rged hard the first few laps. I did not choose a good fork setup in first m ota, so I sett led for 7th, We changed for the second one, and it was m uch better. I was sixth , but Reed crashed in front of me and gave me the top -five for the second rnoto .i. 7-5 is okay, but not great. I could have done better... Next week!" 4th (4- 7) Yamaha's star Aus sie got started well , but a couple of m iscues may have cost him a shot at the podium. "I got a good start [in the first mota), but I ki nd of went in a littl e too hot and messed up, but I felt good this week end , and I was able to charg e both rnotos." Reed caught up to fourt h in the first mota despite the m iscue. "I crashed twic e: but I got back up and trie d as hard as I could. I had fun this weekend, and usually I don't like this track , but it was a lot better this year than last year." cD Jason Thomas 10th (10 -11 ) Subway's Th om as credited his top -! 0 ride with his ridin g partners I during the week . "I got to ride with Tim Ferry and Troy Ada ms thi s ' week, and the last couple week s I'd been riding by myself," he said, "My pace was better, riding so fast all week, and ' came in with con fidence, and I got two good starts, which was a big thing for sure on this trac k, and ' got 10th. That's pretty good , I thi nk ." 12th (1 3- 9 ) Nick Wey Mach 1 Yamaha's Michi gander had a spill near the start of the first mota and had to fight his way through the pack , "A nd then, the third lap or so, I k ind of got cross-rutte d trying to square up under some body and ju st high sided and crashed really hard ," he said. "I got up, and my bik e was all coc key ed , so , rode a couple turns and str aight ened th e front end out on a bulldozer blad e, and it was stil l reall y crooked , so it took me fiv e or six lap s to get used to riding it like that ," He fought hard for ninth in m ota two. 1]1] Ezra Lusk 6t h (9-4) Lusk fou ght th rough from a second-t urn cras h in th e first mo ta to grab an impressive ninth with a m issing rear fender. He got the holeshot the second time out and lost three spots right away, "so I said to mys elf at that point that nobody else was getting around me ," he said. "It took me a few lap s to get back into the groove and ki nd of feel things out again , but then I started going pretty good." Nobody else did get around Yogi , lJ @ I Larry Ward 9th ( 11 - 10 ) MotoXXX's Ward is called Big Bird for good reason, "I got terri ble starts both motes, and the ruts were over my head," he said. "You know , my legs are so long that deep ruts are terrible for me, and I felt like I was 10 feet tall. I got bad starts, but I still got like 11,9 or Il 10 or something, so I don't know , I passed Joh n Dowd for ninth in the series, whic h isn't great. but I'm the only nonfactory guy up there, so I'm doing the best I can, and hopefully I'll get a cou ple months off and come back stronge r with a better plan next year." .§ Mike LaRocco 5 t h (5- 6) , Iron Mike is having a tough go of it at the beginning of his motos this outdoor season, "I still need some speed, but I defi nitely like making it hard on myself," he said. "I don 't kno w what to do. Starts are terri ble, and I don 't feel bad rid ing, I'm j ust not mak ing things happen ' early enough. I got stuck behind Fonseca for like thr ee or four laps (the first mota, and th en he wasn't going fast enough so Reed caught up, and I think I made a little bobbl e, and Reed got by m e." Ernes to Fonseca 8th (6- 8) Honda's Fonseca has been noticeably improved as of late, "I've just been practicing and trying to get a little bit bett er and stuff , but it seems li ke I always end up in the same spot , you know? Eighth overall ," he said, "Oh well. I think a coup le guys have noticed that I'm getting a littl e bit faster, and that 's the goal: i n a n o ff- c am ber r ut, a n d t hat's all seconds b eh ind W indham . " F o r m e , it wa s a l ittle b it har d er to get t he b ike set u p ," F erry said , " W e j ust h ad t w o short practices , T he t rack w as re ally we i rd to day , It w asn' t the ty p i cal St e e l City , T he tr a c k was n't g roomed as much, and it w as a little more chopp y in th e co rners , Some o f it was j us t flat off-cam bers th at were pretty difficu lt. You definite ly h ad to be o n your toes to ride it." Th e sec ond m oto got u nder wa y with Ch evy Tru c k s Kawasaki's E zra Lusk drop p i ng the ha m me r hard e st Ca r mic h ae l n eed ed. From th e n o n , Carmic hae l stretched his l ead ba ck ou t . e ve ntuall y w inning by ov e r 15 seconds, "lin moto one] l got c au g ht up in a lapper, and Ricky kind o f jumped o ut a nd took the wind o u t of my sails : W indh am s a i d lat er , " T h a t i s o ne t hi n g a bo ut wh en I start ridin g t he b ik e diffe re nt, it st arts rea ctin g di ffer ent , a nd I ki n d of qu it c h a rg ing, That was my b ig down fa ll , W h en you are chargi ng after somebo dy a nd you have th em i n yo ur si g h ts and yo u o n h is KX250 aher spe ndi n g the e ar ly part of m oto o ne on th e ground , " It [the cra sh) was just a com bi n a tion o f thi ngs ," L usk said, " T hey put a sc rew so me t h in g up w it h lik e fo ur laps to go and all of a sud de n he h as go t like t hree o r fo u r seconds o n you be caus e y o u al most w e n t d o wn o r wh atever, it ta k es th e w in d o ut of m y sa ils. Tha t is o n e thi ng that I wan t to work o n for next year ." lot of saw du st in that first turn , and I just got roosted really bad , an d I w as tr ying to get m y tea roff go ing into t he co rn e r, a nd t h e p a ck w as going i n there, and I lost my fron t w hee l - but it proba bly had a lot to do w ith my o n ly h a v ing on e hand on t he hand le b ar a n d maybe h it t i n g so m e b o d y . An d th en wh en I crashe d , I fell rig ht in front " I had a p retty good g ap o n h im , and he closed it rig ht in ," C arm ic hael c o n fi rmed , " He got by m e and overjumped a jump , He was always co m ing up near m e o r around the o uts id e , he ha d a littl e b it b ett er lin es . H e got beh ind m e, and we got into some lappers . All of a sudden I d idn't hear hi m ." of e ve ry bo dy I th ink , and M ik e [La Ro c c o ) ra n ove r m e . He ca m e up to m e afterward to tell m e he was the o ne who h it me, so my ribs h urt and F erry h eld o n for third. over 30 cue I ... n ... vv S • S EPTEM BER 1 0 , 2003 29