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/128369
Continued 'rom page 15 But then again, you have to go out and do your thing. I'm looking forward to seeing how Bubba's going to do and try to learn some things from him if he is going to be as good as he is supposed to be." Team Yamaha's reigning THQ World Supercross Champion Heath Voss was absent from the action. During the week leading up to St. Louis Voss reportedly crashed, while practicing, and was injured. Honda's Jeremy McGrath came back last week to try to gain some momentum and get back up to speed after crashing at Anaheim III. Don't expect him, however, to be at too many more races this season, as the champ is finding it difficult to get over his injUries. "This is it for at least a month for sure," McGrath said. "I have to take a break I have to get better. I have to be able to get' better and be able to train more. And ride the bike more. I'm going to try to take about a week or two off the bike so I get healed, and then start riding for two weeks, and then come back and try and race Pontiac probably. I had some great momentum at Anaheim III, and then I just lost it after that crash. I'd like to get back to that point, but now there just isn't enough time left, and' don't want to race the whole series." When asked if he would race next year, Jeremy McGrath replied, "We'll see. Hopefully I'll get this same opportunity next year and put a little more effort into it. Yeah, I'll do a limited schedule again; it's been fun. It's been a little rough with the injury, but it's been fun overall." Always trying to be creative, Dirt Wurx put in a challenging sand section on the St. Louis course, and it gave a lot of riders fits. "I didn't really like it, but I don't think anyone really liked it," Team AmsoiVChaparraVHonda's Kevin Windham said. "I think everybody got a mouth full of sand, or pants full of sand, at some point in the night. The only thing I kept thinking was that it could be something that could turn the race upside down, because Ricky [Carmichael] went down a lot there in culty due to the fact that he has had little seat time aboard his CR250R. Laninovich bobbled in a rhythm section during a 250cc daytime qualifier and twisted his ankle. "I tweaked my ankle under my peg and I doubt if I'll ride any more 250cc races," he said. "I'm really not ready. I have only ridden the 250cc for three days before this race and it was just nor enough." During one of the daytime qualifiers, Moto XXX's Kyle Lewis and Red Bull KTM's Jay Marmont both went down in a heap and neither made the night show. Marmont was actually making a pass on Lewis in a long whoop section when he lost control of his bike and it cartwheeled into Lewis, taking them both out of the show. Team ECC Honda's Bobby Kiniry was hobbling around the pits on crutches at St. Louis because of a broken ankle suffered in Atlanta, but he said that he's going to ride Daytona. "I'm going to race next weekend and try to be a tough guy," he said. When Sean Hamblin won his semi, it was the first time that he qualified for the main in four weeks. Obviously, Hamblin has been struggling and not living up to his capabilities. "It's been a combination of everything," Hamblin said of his struggles. '" can't thank everybody enough from Kawasaki and Pro Circuit. Both sides have done their best to help me out and put me up where I belong, so it's nobody's fault except mine now. I'm the only one riding the bike. My trainer is gnarly. When I see him, it's good, but lately I haven't really been worried about the whole going-to-the-gym thing: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I rode my ass off, and I feel if I put in the time at the track, there is no need to do anything else. I need to put in the time on the bike... that's what I feel is what I lack." Since the pits in 5t. Louis were completely indoors, fuel had to be kept outside. Bikes practice, and there were a lot of people bobbling. There were pretty much yellow nags out the whole night in that section. So, I don't think anyone really liked it, but it was kind of a wildcard section." With Daytona only one week away, Chad Reed already has the race on his mind and feels like he has done all he can to do to prepare. "We've got one week until Daytona, so I should start riding outdoors," Reed said sarcastically. "Daytona, we started [training for] long ago, and you aren't going to make a difference in one week, so the things that I have been doing, just riding a little outdoor here and there, I'm just [going to continue] doing that. I'm actually looking forward to it. It's a fun race, it's a tough one, but I'm looking forward to it. AmsoiV Factory Connection Honda's Billy Laninovich tried to qualify for his first 250cc Supercross race but had some diffi- also could not be warmed up inside the pits. The only places they could be started were inside the stadium or outside by the fuel depot. KTM JUNIOR SUPERCROSS CHALLENGE RESULTS: I. Darian Sanayei (Covington, WA); 2. Trevor Tate (Greenbrier, TN); 3, Chase Petty (Hurst, TX); 4. Nathan Fields (Dorr, MI); 5. Paul Castano (Mt. Juliet, TN); 6. Taylor "T-Bone" Mclaughlin (East Moline, IL); 7. Benny "The B Man" Boudreaux (Harvey, LA); 8. Brock Majchrzak (Knox, IN); 9. Quade Hill (Cameron, MO); 10. Casey Noblitt (New Goshen, IN); II. Zachary Springer (Evansville, IN); 12. Lauren Davis (Granite City, IL); 13. Austin Bollinger (St. Louis, MO).