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/128312
DCMINATICN DARCY LANGE GOES FOUR FOR FOUR IN IlKLAHOHA STORY AND PHOTOS BY STACY SMITH optimistic about his ret urn. "My rehab is good : I'm spe nding time with my family," Demuth said. "Just gett ing better eve ry day and stuck in the wheelchair for a couple months. I have a rod in my leg and some pins holding everything together. I should get back o n the bike at the end of the summ er and be ready for next season." FRIDAY Jeff Willoh grabbed the holeshot in t he I25cc main wit h Hofmaste r alongside . Willoh quickly dropped off, giving the lead pos ition to Hofmaste r. Dowd and Lange followed while Willoh slippe d quickly into the fourth position. "Igot a grea t start, felt like a good break, and tried to set a good pace out fro nt," Hofmaster said. "I think I might have went out a litt le too hard at the beginning, and with this being a little longer race, that may have been a mistake: ' Hofmaster was indeed setting a good pace out front, and with Dowd between himself and points leader Lange, it looked like a good opportun ity to pick up some much-needed points. Lange was pushing Iiara, ana soo n lie maae it past Dowi:l in tlie rhythm section and focused on catching Hofmaste r. ' . -L '" went down for a second in . that first lap, just tipped over in a o J' he Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okl ahoma, is the largest venue on the sch edule, fea turing very supercross-Iike laptimes that hovered around a minute - much longer, in fact. than the same weekend 's San Francisco Supercross track . It was much more like a supercross T than an arenacross . No matter, though. Darcy Lange proved over the course of the weekend that the title was going to have to be taken from him, as he seemed determined to win - not just to protect his points lead en route to the finals later this month in Kansas City. "So me nights. I just can't sleep," said Lange, who finally admitted he was starting to think and dream about the possib ilityof :10 FFRRIIARY?.'i ?OO.d • winning the championship. John Dowd also proved he was beginning to "get the hang of this Arenacross thing," as he grabbed three second-place finishes and only really faltered in Saturday 's 250 main, where he finished eighth . "Igot decent starts all weekend, and the dirt suits me here," said the former 125cc Supercross Champion. "It feels good to be on the podium , but I'd really like to squeak out a win at one of these. I feel like I'm pretty close to doing it.n Josh Demuth made an appearance to support the Shogun team , and he was still confined to a wheelchair from his crash in Baltimore. He signed posters for fans at Saturday night's track party, and he was CYCLE NEWS 40th Annlversaru comer, and I had to work hard to get up front," Lange said. Lange soon passed Hofmaster, who seemed to have just run o ut of gas the last few laps. Dowd made his way around amaha rider Hofmaster too, although the Y hung on fo r third. Matt Barnes finished fourth, and Phil Law rence rounded o ut the top five . Hofmaster again got a great start in the 250cc main along with Dowd and Lange, but disaster struck in the second corner and Hofmaster we nt dow n, handing the lead to Dowd with Lange and Brad Hagset h follow ing closely. "I was nervous, and I made a few mistakes here and there... I knew Darcy was right the re," Dowd said. Dowd hung on for the first few laps, but the mistakes added up, and soon Lange flew by Dowd and on to his second victory of the week end. Chad Johnson also got by Hagseth, moving him into the third position. Lange, who was used to checking out when he moved into the lead, couldn't lose Dowd , and for a few laps it looked as if Dowd may make a move on the ~ints leader to try to regain the position that eluded him all weeke nd. "I didn't know he was that close to Good thing I didn't make a mista ke,"