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/128348
.. . October 17; 2004 1 , ROAD RACe ~ Toyota 200 Barnes grabs a quick drink during one of his two pit stops. His Cany Andrewsbuilt Suzuki was o ne of the few bikes in the field with a quick-change setup. Oliyer was so much fa ster than the rest of the fie ld in the roadracingworld.com 250/50 GP that it was a lmost scary ta watch . The second race on Barnes, Hayes and Attard on the podium. 44 NOVEMBER 3, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS the tw in bill with the Toyota 200 was the revival of 250cc Grand Prix racing in America , the roadracingworld.com-sponsored 250/50 Grand Prix. With over 50 riders qualifying for the event, it should have proven to be an exciting race . The only problem was that Rich Oliver, the most dominant 250cc Grand Prix ride r in AMA history, was on pole position , proving in practice that unless his TZ250 suffered a mechanical hiccup, the race was his for the tak ing. And it was. Oliver was quickly in the lead at the start of the 20-lap, 50-mile race, immediately leaving the field in his wake . After not racing for a fullyear, and not since last year 's Toyota 200, Oliver hardly loo ked rusty at all, keep ing sharp by running his Mystery Schoo l training camps . "I was interested to see how I wo uld do after not racing for a year," Oliver said. "I guess it's a good test of the Mystery School training, as I participated in my ow n five-day Pro Camp along with my four students the week before this race . I did all the drills and exercises that we teach , and to tell you the truth , I felt great at Willow. I even missed practice Sunday morning and had to go out cold in the race , but we actually have a dr illfor that situation in our Pro Camp , so it was no big deal." Oliver pulled out a huge lead right away over Michael Montoya, who planned on also running the Toyota 200 later in the day, and Mark Watts - both mounted on YamahaTZ250s. Th e wind was start ing to pick up but was n't nearly as bad as it got later in the day for th e Toyota 200 . "We improved the bike qu ite a bit duri ng the week e nd," O liver said. "It' s a shame it was so windy tha t the con ditions woul dn't let us really go for the track record of 1:21.6. We got close on Satu rday, w ith a I:22. 1, but Sunday everyo ne was just happy that the rain let up and we cou ld race in the d ry." After 50 miles, it was Oliver taking the win over Montoya and Watts , with Nobi Iso, Ed Marchini, Ral ph 5tarpoli , Rodger Baker, Wes Totsubo , Billy Dalu and Darr en Fulce rounding ou t the to p I O. "Last but not leas t, my mo m was relieved that I was somewhat forced to retire last year," Oliver said. "So I only told her that I was racing again a few days before this race , wh ich happened to be on her birt hday! So, happy birthd ay Mom! I'm now retired again - at least tillnext October." 40th Anniversaru