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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128610
laps; eighth after three laps; sixth after four Laps; fourth after six laps; and third after eight laps. But that was as far forward as he could get and he later admitted that Roncada and Sellards were setting a pace he simply couldn't match. Going into the final round, Pastrana knows that anything less than a victory will make it awfully tough for him to take the title. He is, after all, six points behind Sellards and Roncada. "I really appreciate everyone cheering me on," the affable Pastrana said. "I kinda just ruined my hopes for the championship, but I felt like I rode pretty well. Stephane Roncada and Brock Sellards were riding ... I had a chance to catch them, but Roncada just motored me. I just couldn't quite catch 'em, and I hope I can get 'em next weekend." FollOWing Pastrana home was SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Nick Wey. The Michigander was consistently the fourth best rider on the night, and that's right where he finished. He started third and stayed there, giving way only to Pastrana, to finish just off the podium - the position in which he sits in the championship point standings. Wey, though, was well clear of fifth-placed Ryan Clark on the Demarini Suzuki at the finish. Behind him, the pack was strung out over the Superdome track, with Plano Honda's Paul Currie, who had to transfer to the final via a victory in the Last Chance Qualifier, holeshotter Branden Jesseman on the Bill's Pipes Suzuki, Stiffie/Suzuki's Charley Bogard, SplitFire/Pro Circuit's Nathan Ramsey, and KTM-mounted Joseph Oehlhof rounding out the top 10 finishers. Roncada's Yamaha of Troy teammate and defending champion Fonseca saw his race ruined right away when he stumbled in the first section of the course on the opening lap, holding up Pastrana in the process. While Pastrana was able to recover, AMA 1 25cc Eestern Regional Super-or-oee Ser-ies Round 7: Louisiana Super-dome Stephane Roncada pulled oft a big win In the 125cc East Coast main. He Is n_ tied with Brock Sellards for the eerles points lead with 0_ race to go. By PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOS BY KARL OCKERT NEW ORLEANS, LA, APR. 15 lthough they've arrived at the same destination, Stephane Roncada and Brock Sellards have taken distinctively different paths to get here. Deadlocked with 150 points apiece, the duo will go into the final round of the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series in the suburbs of Chicago with the title hanging in the balance - this after a fourth victory for Roncada and yet another second· place finish for Sellards. Fittingly, Roncada's fourth win on the season came just a few miles from the French Quarter of New Orleans at the Louisiana Superdome. Like the rest of his season, the win didn't come particularly easy for the Frenchman. He had to fight through from deep in the pack after a firstturn altercation to finish fifth in his heat race. Then, in the final, he came from fifth on the opening lap to work his way past the competition until he A was able to comfortably pull away, coasting to a 2.5-second victory after leading by as many as six seconds. Based on past performances, Roncada appears to be in the catbird seat for the title. Over the course of the season, he has been the fastest rider the most often, though there have been some bumps in the road. If he stays out of trouble, however, he and his Yamaha of Troy YZ125 seem pretty difficult to beat. "It was very tactical, this race, and I guess now we are tied," Roncada said. "Now for this next race, it will be pretty hard, I think, so that's one thing you don't want to miss. I don't remember where I did it [passed Sell· ards], but I was in fifth place and he was in the lead, and I was like, 'I've got to catch him because he has the points lead.' I knew if he won the race, it would be very hard for the next race. Tonight, everything went good for me." If Roncada's path to victory was a microcosm of his season, then Sellards' second-place finish was a carbon copy of his past 2000-season performances. Sellards started second on his FMF Honda, moved into the lead on the third of 15 laps, then gave way to Roncada just a few laps later. From there he held his ground, holding on to second pLace for the sixth time this season. In order to take the title in two weeks' time, he may need his first victory of the season. "I got a great start, but I needed to get around [Branden] Jesseman a little sooner to try and gap myself a Little more because Roncada had a really fast line," Sellards said. "He had a fast line before that triple over there, and I couldn't do it. I tried all day, but there are some things I have a tough time with. I snuck in there and now the points are tied. All I have to do is beat him [Roncada]. If I would have been worse than second, I would have had a hard time because he would have the lead. We'll go in there and I'll try to win a race finally. These seconds are getting a little tired. I'll try and win the race. I've been trying to win one all year. Just some things don't work your way. I had a lead, and I lost it. I rode a great race, but he IRoncada) just rode a better one. L'1l just have to outperform him in Joliet." Third place went to Suzuki's Travis Pastrana - another with a shot at taking the crown when the series culminates in Chicago. Pastrana was a runaway winner of the first heat race, but his final was a tad more hectic. A victim of defending champion Ernesto Fonseca's problems in the first turn, Pastrana was held up behind Fonseca and finished the first lap in 12th place. From there he started a methodical march to the front. The Maryland resident was 10th after two The gate drops for the stlIrt or the 125cc: main. . . .MIen J.s••_ hoIeshot and the MOO - . . d - - . that ..... with It. cue' e n e _ S • (44) got the APRIL 26,2000 11