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/128607
AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series Round 1 1 : Metrodome on Jeremy in each of the remaining five races, well, I'll be there," Vuillemin said. "That's my goal, to win the championship." On a track that many riders agreed was hard to pass on, the start became a big issue before the gate even dropped for the 20-lap main event. "Everything [the track obstacles] is really easy and one-lined," McGrath said. "The track is slick and easy, it's the perfect track if you get a good start - you just ride." And that's exactly what VuiLiemin did. After passing Ricky Carmichael for the lead on the first lap, Vuillemin took off and said good-bye to the rest of 20-rider field, finishing roughly eight seconds ahead of second-place finisher Mike LaRocco. "The start was the key, because it was a very tight track," Vuillemin said. "I was behind Ricky [Carmichael], and I passed him on the first lap in the whoops. After that, I just tried to ride smooth, tried to ride fast and take a lead." Vuillemin made the win look easy, but looks can be deceiving. "It was hard," Vuillemin admitted. "I did not relax because everybody's riding ] 00 percent. I got a little tight at the middle of the race. When they threw out the halfway flags, I said, a series within a series, so to speak. Before the 2000 Supercross Series began, three rounds were chosen for the Vans Triple Crown of Supercross, and if a rider wins all three of these specified events - Phoenix, Minneapolis and Las Vegas - he pockets a check worth a half-million dollars; after his Phoenix and now Minneapolis wins, Vuillemin is two-thirds of the way there. Even though he's one win away from winning the big dough, Vuillemin is playing down the money thing. "I don't race for the money," Vuillemin said after his Minneapolis victory. "I race because motocross is my passion, it's my life. I've been racing motocross since I was eight years old. I am happy tonight because I won a race in the best championship in the world: Everyone wants to win a U.S. Supercross." "He's thinking about the money," joked a Yamaha team member. But for now, Vuillemin is, in fact, By KIT PALMER PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES MINNEAPOLIS, MN, MAR. 25 hat would you do if someone handed you a million dollars, or even half a million dollars for that matter? Okay, so this is a fantasy question that you've probably answered ... welJ, a million times, but for David Vuillemin, this question could very well become a reality. After scoring a seemingly easy win in front of 56,477 fans at Minnesota's Metrodome, the Team Yamaha rider has put himself in a very real position to pocket $500,000 by the time the AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series wraps up on May 6 in Las Vegas. Compared to Jeremy McGrath's seven Supercross wins so far this year, Vuillemin's three wins may seem a little modest, but at least the Frenchman picks the right ones to win. Two of Vuillemin's three victories have been manufactured in the Vans Triple Crown of Supercross rounds - W 6 APRIL 5, 2000' cue • ... n ..... s Mike laRocco (51 chases down Kevin Windham en route to a second-place finish. quite happy with his win at Minneapolis, which was the ] lth stop on the AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series circuit. The win keeps Vuillemin in the title hunt, albeit bareIy. With five rounds still left in the series, Vuillemin is 25 points in back of the series leader Jeremy McGrath, who finished third in Minneapolis. "If somehow I can gain five points 'Hey, only ]0 laps?' It took me two laps to get my concentration back." This year's Minneapolis track had a fairly short start chute, and LaRocco liked that. A notoriously bad starter, LaRocco took advantage of the situation and reeled off a thirdplace getaway, which is extraordinarily good for him. Kevin Windham did pass him before the first lap was