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
(Above) Lik e Ca rm icha e l, Frenchman Seba sti e n Tortelli (21) appeared to be much more comfortable in the ou1door environs. He finished a strong second in both outings, (Ab ove right) Sha yne King (110) and Greg Albertyn (1) charge up Animal Leap in the first 250cc moto. Behind them, John Dowd, Ricky Carmichael and David Vuillemin give chase. (Ri ght ) Vuillemin chases Albertyn on one of the track's rougher sections. Vuillemin went 4-4 for third overall, while Albertyn finished an inc redi b le fourth in his first race bac k from a broken femur. crashed in a high -sp eed , rutted sa nd sec t io n b el ow th e infla t ab le Ch ev y Tru cks bridg e, and Carm ic ha el fo und himself with th e lead. W indham appea red fluster ed, g et ting zapped by T o rt ell i an d a reco vered Vu ill e mi n i n t h e same l a p , whi le Car michael immediately p ut a gap o n sec o nd -p lac e A lbertyn. He had a n in esecond advantage by the midway point of the 13 - lap p er , a nd he stretc hed it out even more from there on in . T o rt ell i closed to A lbertyn's rea r tire an d t hen went by o n lap ei g ht for sec - Th ough most of the riders viewed Glen Helen as the beginni ng of a new series, Jeremy McGrath saw it as his final race of the season. As he did last year, the AMAl EA Sports Supercross Champi on will sit out the remai nder of the Chevy Tru cks National Motocross Series, though he will be more careful not to schedule too ma ny responsibilities thi s time around . "I just don't want to do as m uch media stuff ," said McGrath , who cl aims to have been more nervous before his recent Ton ight Show appearance than he was prior to his titlewinning Supercross in Joli et, lll inio s. "I just want to chill , play some golf. do whatever.Ask ed if he'd consider ridi ng the MX des Nation s, McGrath says. "I wouldn't want to be the bad leg on the team . If I was in the shape I'm in right now, then of course I'd race. But that [Septem ber] is when I'm just gettin g starte d riding again. I'm not the best guy for the job, and I realize that. " When asked how long he'll k eep racin g, McGrath replies, "Good question . I'd like to thin k anoth er cou ple years, but who knows . I'm goi ng to tak e it year by year. I'm definitely riding next year , and if things go well , then the following year.That said, McGrath's contract with the Chaparral team is up thi s year, and there have been rumo rs of a him jumpi ng ship. "A t thi s point , I don't know," says McGrath of his plan s. "I know there's a lot of spec ulati on out there. I do have offers oth er than making my own team . Of course I'm very happy with Mazda and Chaparral and Yam aha. A t this point I'm very comfortable with what they 'r e doing . I'm j ust going to see how it plays out. It's always a consideration: o nd , but C armi chael a lread y had 13 seconds o n th e pac k by th at po int , and T o rtelli h ad to settle fo r secon d . The South A fri can was th ird , wi th Vuillemin fourth and M cGrath havin g an uneventfu l m oto to place a dista nt fi ft h . cue I e MOT02 T ortelli got away much better in th e day's final o uting , pulling th e holesh ot and splashing th rou gh the water at th e bottom of th e F all s wi th th e lead . Unfortunately for him , Carmichael had also n e 1N S MAY 24 , 2000 7