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/128614
A MA/Chevy T r u c k s National C h a m p io n s h ip M o t o c r o s s S e r ie s Round 1 : G len H e le n R a cew a y T ortel l i fi nished seco n d i n both matos, and des pi te th e' fact t hat he didn 't have an y th in g for Carm ichael on t his wa rm , br eezy Southern Cali forn i a day, T ort ell i h a s g o t to b e happy t o be o utsi de agai n. F ellow Frenchman D avid Vuillemin had fared ' better than his co untry m an in th e sta diums, but he show ed in h i s d eb ut N at ion al th at he ca n ho ld his own on t he States' roug h o utdoo r c irc u i t s . T he T eam Yamaha rid er led briefl y in m ota on e and notch ed co nsist ent 4 -4 pl a c ing s for th e fin al step on th e podiu m. Wh at of th e cha m p? Suzuki's Greg A lb e r t yn , incre di b ly a l re a dy b ack fro m a sna p ped femur (see sideb ar ) , rod e amazi ng ly well and was fourth o n the d ay w ith a 3-5 showing . T he hea ler sho ul d be con te n t just to be walki ng , but he wants to defend his title. Fi nishi ng fifth with a recovery of hi s own was Team Ho nda 's Kevin Windham , who rebounded after going back wards from the front in mota o ne to ride a race-long third in mota two and collect fift h -overall ho n o r s . A s fo r McGrath him self, th e Chap arral/Mazda Yama ha ace was six th in wha t is to be his only N ation al of the yea r, th e result of 5 -7 mota finishes . MOT01 B Y C HRIS J ON NUM P HOTOS BY K INNEY J O N ES SAN BERNARDINO, CA, ~y 14 ee k in and week o u t f or the pas t four month s , Jerem y McGrath has re inforced his pos ition as th e K ing of La te Nig ht , notching 10 stadium w in s and a seventh SX title and - j ust da y s before the Glen Hel en Na ti on al - eve n downing T ra vis Pa str ana f or Ja y Len a' s c ov et ed Ton ight Show Cup. But impressive as t h at ea rl y - m illen n ium p erforman c e was , w e're o u tside in th e da yl ight now , and the AMA /EA Sp orts Sup er cr oss Seri es is hist or y (albeit recent) . D ominat in g a fresh o ut d oo r r ealm that is as ragged as its indoo r coun t erpart is m easur ed and pr ec ise, was W 6 MAY 24, 2000 ยท cue I e Ricky Carmi chael , w ith a tw o -mota w inning performance as ma sterful as any of McG rath 's 2000 stadium accomplishments. Th e d ifferen c e is that this is Carmichael's fir st year in th e 250cc division . " I' m going to be p is sed if I don 't win out doo rs : Carmicha el had said ju st tw o we eks earli er during th e Supercr oss Ser ies , wh er e th e Ch ev y Tru cks /Kawasaki p ilot had strug gl ed mu ch of th e tim e. He's anythi ng but pi ssed now , th e wei ght of hi s own and ot he rs ' expect at ions now , at least in some p art , removed from hi s sho ul d e r s . Th at we ig h t m a y h av e n o w shifte d in some ways to his ri vals, as th eir worst su spicions have now been verifie d - th e kid can ride a 250 ou t do or s. n e uv s Though he struggled in the Supercross Series, Ricky Cannlchael k icked off the outdoor circuit i n fine f a sh i o n , romping to a 1-1 overall at Glen He len. " I co u l d ha v e had th ird i n th e Supercross Series, and I cras hed and threw that away: said Carmicha el. " I kind of turned it ar ound tod ay . It's a lon g series , and you ca n' t base noth ing off of this first win , but I' m go ing t o try a n d c a rr y so me m om en tum from th is week end. I thin k I'm o ne of th e stro nges t." Of h is rivals, t h e closes t to Carmichael 's pac e at Glen Helen was Te am Honda 's Sebastien Tortelli , th e Frenchman who had a shot for last year's crown before inj uring his wrist. Wi ndh am put his CR250 in fron t at the sta rt of the firs t outing , fo llowed by Shayne K ing's booming KTM fou r stro k e. Next was Albertyn , chased by Vu illemin a nd T ort ell i. Ca rmi cha el was in ei g hth at th e half- lap mark , whil e M cG rath wa s n inth and Mi k e laRocc o was near th e ba ck of th e 40 rider p ack . Windham and K iw i K ing were soon goi ng oppo sit e d irect ion s , with the former pull ing aw ay from the pack an d th e latter suc cumbing first to A lb ertyn and th en t o se vera l more riders . "The pa ce is pretty norma I to the res t of the world : said K ing , "but I was getting a bit of arm pump. I had to slow down; othe rw ise I wou ld ha ve su r e c rashed ... Thi s i s way rougher than we have in Europ e. Esp ec ially the first m ota - thi s is wh at u su ally happens halfway through th e second m ot a." Carmic hae l began slicing hi s way forward , pu lling al ong sid e Albert y n up M t. St. Hel en s an d sh ut ti n g the do or at th e top to c la im third. Wind h am had a fiv e - s e c ond l ead o n Vu ill emin at th e three-l ap m ark , but he made a mi stake and w as p assed o n th e next circuit. Vu illemin then