Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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eam Red Bull KTM's Josh Hansen came into the final 125cc Eastern round at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, with one thing on his mind: a main event win that would hopefully create a championship, Coming into the final round with a seven-point deficit to Kawasaki's Grant Langston, Hansen knew that he would have to win the main event and hope that Langston would finish worse than fourth. Well, Hansen did his job by winning the final, but Langston did his job, too. The South African finished fourth in the final and tied Hansen in points, but just held on for the championship by virtue of a tiebreaker that was settled by "most wins." Langston's three wins edged out Hansen's two, and Langston left the upper-Midwest with his first-ever Supercross title to add to his 125cc World Championship and a 125cc National Championship here in America. KTM 2S0 SXF-mounted Hansen was on the gas at Pontiac. He won his heat race hands down and won the final after taking the lead on the fifth lap and never looking back. He actually thought for a moment that he won the championship as well. "I looked over a few times and saw [Davi] Millsaps and Langston during the race, then I didn't see Langston," Hansen commented. "I thought for a second that 1had won it, then reality struck." Although he lost the title by a tiebreaker, Hansen took the championship defeat well and is looking forward to the EastWest Shootout in Vegas and the upcoming outdoor Nationals. "Langston proved to be the better guy," Hansen said. "He had a good lead coming in, and he's been consistent and deserves it. I rode my own race and had a great season and a great year and had a lot of fun this year. I've been up here safe and sound and did all 1 can do. I'm happy. I need to thank the fans for cheering me on and being behind me." And what did he think was his trouble of last week? "Last weekend was out of control and I thought I was going to jail," Hansen jokingly said of the Josh Grant incident after the races. "If I could take last week back, I would." Langston, on the other hand, won the title but was not real happy with his Pontiac performance. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider started in sixth, moved up to third and dropped back to fourth after being passed by Suzuki's Millsaps. While in fourth in the closing stages of the race, Sam sung Wireless Honda's Steve Boniface was closing in and was setting his Sights on Langston. Had Boniface caught and passed Langston, the scenario would have been quite different and Hansen would have won by a point. "I wasn't riding my own race tonight, and that's not how I wanted to win it, T Hansen wins the battle, langston wins the war By DAVE DERINGER PHoTOS BY STEVE BRUHN CYCLE NEWS • APRIL 20, 2005 29