Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

"I was really slow in the whoops tonight," McGrath said. "I was being really, really cautious." Plus, Windham wouldn't let him escape. "I could hear him right behind me," McGrath said. "Once I got by him it seemed like he got real excited and stayed right behind me. And then I just wanted to stay in front of him as long as I could, because I was hoping that he would drop off a little and he did." Windham's fitness has been an issue all season, but he seems to be gaining strength with each round. "He's getting stronger every week," McGrath said of Windham. "He's getting a couple more laps out of each main event every weekend." Tonight he lasted until the halfway mark. From lap 10 to 11, McGrath added over three seconds to his lead and was gone, from Windham, at least. Windham hung around for a while, but couldn't challenge, and would come under attack from LaRocco. LaRocco was away fifth on the first lap in a group, which included Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael, American Honda's Sebastien Tortelli, and Yamaha's Vuillemin. He wouldn't be there long, though. By the fourth lap, LaRocco was up to third with Vuillemin chasing him and Carmichael a constant threat. It wasn't until the halfway mark that LaRocco was able to ease away and set out for Windham. And it wasn't until the 15th lap that he made his way past Windham in the whoops. When lap 15 ended, McGrath had about 'a 4.3-second lead, and LaRocco, who wasn't thinking win when the race began, was charging. The gap closed, but time ran out, and LaRocco came up 2.003 seconds short. "I didn't think I could catch McGrath a few laps into the race, but I was marking him and I was making ground on him," LaRocco said. "I made a few mistakes there at the end, trying to go a little too fast. He didn't really pull away from me those laps, but I didn't keep gaining. I think I could've caught him if there was though his own riding baffled him. "Last week I rode excellent, I just made a big mistake and it cost me," Carmichael said of the Minneapolis crash, which damaged his left ankle. "And this weekend it was like I had no speed. I don't think you lose speed from being injured in one week." The top group got away, and Carmichael had his hands full with Tortelli, who managed to get by him on lap eight. Tortelli made a move that inspired the Kawasaki rider. "When he was behind me, I was like, 'There's no way I'm letting another person pass me,'" Carmichael said. "I kind of put an aggressive pass on him, and I started to put on a little charge so he wouldn't Kevin Windham (14) gave McGrath a run for his money in the main. Windham led for a while but would eventually finish third. get me." Tortelli kept pressing and hoped to make a last-lap pass, but he botched a jump approach. "I caught back to him, and the last lap I was expecting to try to pass him on the big jump," Tortelli said. "But in the section before, I hit some bumps and that threw me on the front end and I almost crashed." Tortelli admitted that sixth place wasn't great, but he was happy that he was riding" ... more aggreSSive than I was riding the couple last races," he said. Behind Tortelli raced a couple of lonely riders, first among them was Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's John Dowd. Dowd was in no-man's land more time." Windham held on to third, though Vuillemin, who had troubles passing Windham, was making him work for it. "I was riding with LaRocco and I almost passed him in the corner," Vuillemin said. "But I stayed behind him, and we were catching Windham. Kevin Windham has a bad habit of fading like a swap meet T-shirt. but not tonight (at least not in his heat). Not only did he win the second of two heats, he did it under the relentless pressure of Jeremy McGrath. who was doubling and tripling jumps in a vain attempt to pass the Honda rider. If anything, the pressure energized Windham. His heat was nearly nine seconds faster than the first heat. "I forgot how it felt to be up there, I felt the pressure from McGrath," Windham said. "I put my head down and rode the eight laps. I've been struggling a lot, been in that slump, and I've been doing everything I can except for beating my head against the wall to get out of it." McGrath said he was happy to get second. "We we.re nine seconds faster than the other race, so I was like, 'Hey, we were together,' McGrath said. "It was almost like me winning the heat race as far as it goes mentally." Ricky Carmichael was third in front of teammate Larry Ward. Yamaha's David Vuillemin won the first heat after avoiding a crashing Sebastien Tortelli. then running Kevin Windham beat down Robbie Reynard. Reynard had gotten away better Jeremy McGrath to the and held on until the fmal tum before the end of the sixth finish line In the second of eight laps. Vuillemin ran up the berm to go around the 250Cc heat race. outside of Reynard and take the lead to the end. "I did a top-three start and Sebastien (Tortelli) just crashed in front of me and I lost a little bit of time," Vuillemin said. "I have a good rhythm in the sand, and the other parts of the track I was not so confident. Hopefully the confidence will be back for the main event. The track is very tight and hard to pass on." Tortelli finished third the hard way. The Frenchman crashed on the first lap and finished the lap in 10th before mounting a charge that carried him into third on the penultimate lap with a pass of Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's John Dowd. Dowd ended up fourth in front of Mike laRocco. who had to ride the semi. "I stalled it early," laRocco said. "They had done the track up and it was loose and I just rode tight." laRocco's main race in the semi was with two privateers, Plano Honda's Grayson Goodman and James Povolny. The trio ran together until the fourth lap when laRocco and Goodman both passed Povolny in the whoops. laRocco leaving the pair on the next lap. Povolny ended up second with Goodman third and Planet Honda's Isaiah Johnson fourth. Semi number two was a scrap LaRocco passed Windham in the whoops easily, and I just had big mistakes. I passed Windham and maybe one lap later, he passed me back. I left the door open. "I'm pretty mad, because could've finished at least second, but that's racing," the Frenchman added. Carmichael was riding with a bum ankle, but he wasn't making excuses, Still feeling the affects of a crash at the previous round, Ricky Carmichael ignored a sore ankle to finish fifth. David Yulllemin won the first 250Cc heat race, but lost ground to McGrath in the main event where in placed fourth. cue I e n ... from which Great Lakes Aviation's Heath Voss emerged victorious. To do so, he had to vanquish Team Suzuki's Damon Huffman, who took over second on the final lap, passing Motoworld's Michael Craig. Craig's teammate Greg Schnell and Moto XXX"s Kyle Lewis got the final transfer spots. The final two riders to make the main were Answer Racing/Planet Honda's Jean-Sebastien Roy and Lineman Cycles Jason Thomas, the pair transferring out of the Last Chance Qualifier. _ S • APRIL 12.2000 13

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