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/128637
limite r it's o bso let e, so I'd ra th er just go for it and go on aro und th ere and see if th ey ca n ge t by m e. Luck ily , it was m y t eamm ate who go t by m e th e first tim e." Moo r e w a s a c lose th ir d , t hen c am e Pegram w ith th e top fo ur covered by .667 of a second . Acree finished fifth about 5 .5 sec ond s ba ck , wi th Sp ies and Barnes in hi s shadow, th e tr io c overed b y .1 72 of a seco nd . " I m ad e a co u pl e of bo b bles and w as o u t of the d raft and cou ldn ' t make it back up," Acree sa id of h is mistake in the first horseshoe. "T he bikes were pretty cl ose , it 's just if y ou were in t he draft you we re there , if you we ren 't, you weren't." RACE TWO Pegram go t an oth er ho lesh ot in the seco n d leg , but the ra ce w as re d flagged du e to a crash and o il sp ill in th e first hor seshoe, Th e cl ean up took the better part of an hou r and it turned o u t t o be a good thing fo r Pegram, who'd slowed soon a f te r g oing through the first horseshoe. The co nce n t r ic c ha i n adjuster i n h is rear wheel had apparently co me loos e and he made it back to the p it s to repa ir it . Ag a in o f f th e sta rt Pegram got t h e j ump - four for four - and s t a r te d e d g i n g away, th ough not at quite as speedy a rate . After th e first leg , he admitted th at he might have gon e out too fast and needed a change of strategy, It seem ed to be working , Pegram able to stretch out nearly a thr ee-sec o nd lead w h ile th e pack behind him b attl ed fo r p o siti on , despite aga in chunking a rear t ire , th is t ime o n the fi ft h la p . It all ende d on the ninth lap wh en he pulled over after exiting t he firs t horseshoe, th e victim of an electri c a l problem . " T he se c ond le g , the same t h ing happen ed, but I just k ept rid ing it hard anyway ," Pegram said of the repeat tire failure, " but we had like a three-sec ond lead with three laps to go and some thing electri cal broke on the bike ." "I th ou ght I had a pr etty bi g lead . but th at ev a po r a t e s p r ett y q u i ck her e ," Mo or e s a i d. " I was h op in g somebo dy would co me u p and m ak e a m ove o n m e so I had a tow to the fi nis h li ne, bec ause I knew if I di d n't I' d just be in a world of hurt. I put my head down, you never kn ow, maybe y ou ' re going to get awa y one of thes e tim es and nobod y c an do anything . I th ink th at wa s wi shful thinking . We 're still not q ui t e up there in the horse power numbers as th e other gu ys and I had to rid e m y ta il off to stay with th em . I was hop ing I co uld pu ll it off . but it ju st d idn 't work . I could feel th em drafting me arou nd t he b owl ov er th er e and I knew it was over. I di d n ' t kn ow h o w man y sp ots I 'd lose." It wou ld be three, Hopkins , Lopez, an d Ba rn es ge t ting past w ith Moore finishing fo urth in front of Spies - the last ri der in th e lea d qu intet. " I got a bad start," Hopkins said . " We sta rt ed p ick ing them off one b y on e. At th e end of th e ra ce , Pegram still had th e le ad . I k new I had to run h i m d own . I t ho ug h t h is tire s w ere actua ll y goi ng to m ak e it. Fortunately f or m e , hi s bi k e broke down . I Pegram sa id he'd slo wed down in th e fir st o ne because he was afraid the ti re wou ld come apart. According to Pegram , Du n lop 's Allen told h im : "' N o don 't worry ab out, it wo n 't co me apart.' So the seco nd one I kn ew it was chunke dl j ust k ept hammering it and we did 53s wi th it the wh ole ra ce w ith it chun ked ." " It' s no t like a c lassic failure , the ca sing is sti ll sound, the ti re still ho lds a ir. Other than redu c ed gr ip , it 's not a pr oblem to ride o n th e tire." Dunlop 's Alle n said . " A n d w e k ne w befo r e ha nd he was th e only guy do in g 53 s in bot h ra ces ." Hop k in s i n he ri ted th e l ead wh en Peg ra m d e part e d , w ith M o or e , Barnes , Lopez, and Spies in tig ht formation . Th en c ame Higbee, Acree, and Ho ot er s Suzuk i' s Bri an Gibbs far ther back . Moore took th e lead on lap 10 and held it aga in o n I I and 12 , an une n via ble positio n cu e . e n e VIr S N OVEMBER 1, 2000 7