Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Lamson kicked off his weekend on· Friday with a win in the Open Expert class. Since Suzuki no longer produces an Open class motocrosser, the factory Suzuki rider campaigned a Klemm Research-modified RM250 that was converted to 300cc. Team Peak Pro Circuit's Jeremy McGrath was fastest at the drop of the gate and led Rich Taylor, Lamson and Jeff Pestana up the long uphill start. Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes gated lOth, but quickly began to slice through the field. On the first lap, McGrath parted company with his bike and remounted nearly last. "I just swapped out," said McGrath. "I knew it was a long race, though, and I'd have time to catch back up." Lamson was quick to take advantage of McGrath's misfortune, and quickly worked past Taylor for first. Once into the point Position, Lamson began to open a lead that would stretch to 15 seconds by the race's end. Suzuki's Damon Huffman also displaced Taylor and ran second for the first half of the race. Like Lamson, Huffman raced a modified RM250, his bored out to 340cc by Cycle Engineering. The first rider to challenge Huffman for the runner-up position was Hughes, who slowly but surely overcame his poor start. Hughes· passed Huffman on the downhill on lap seven and took over second, but all eyes were focused on McGrath, who had bliued back after his opening lap crash and motored up into fourth. McGrath passed Huffman and set his sights on Hughes. McGrath passed Hughes on lap eight, but Hughes struck back with a strong-arm pass in the next turn. McGrath again swooped past on the next lap, but this time Hughes had no answer. Though McGrath was arguably the fastest rider on the track, Lamson's lead was too large to overcome. Lamson greeted the checkered flag 15 seconds ahead of McGrath, who in tum enjoyed a six-second lead over Hughes. Huffman finished a distant fourth, well ahead of Taylor and Scott Myers. "Once I got out front it was smooth sailing," said Lamson. When questioned about his overbored 250, Lamson said, "I was definitely slower on the uphill, but I made up for it in the corners. The track wasn't very rough, so I. think overall I was at a disadvantage. " "I don't have much 500 experience," said Hughes. "I wasn't aggressive enough, and Lamson and McGrath have had more time on Open bikes." While he may have lacked Open class experience, Hughes has spent plenty of time on a 125, and dealt Lamson his only defeat of the meeting in Saturday's 125cc Expert final. Hughes led McGrath, Suzuki's Phil Lawrence, Erik Kehoe and local rider David Barrett off the line at the start of the final, while Lamson struggled with a ninth-place start. Barrett crashed on the opening lap, while Lamson -did his best to work through traffic. McGrath's race came to a sudden halt on lap two when his bike's countershaft snapped. "I was right on Hughes, when I swapped real hard," said a disappointed McGrath. "All of a sudden it went "bing" and my chain flew off." McGrath returned to the pits while his mechanic Skip Norfolk walked into the woods in search of the derailed chain and countershaft sprocket. .With the demise of McGrath, Hughes enjoyed a four-second lead over Lawrence, who suddenly found himself under attack from Lamson. Lamson only followed Lawrence for a lap before forcing his way past, and quickly closed the gap that separated him and leader Hughes. Lamson was breathing down Hughes' back by the halfway point, while Lawrence circulated the track a distant, but secure third over Kehoe and Buddy Antunez. Lamson tried repeatedly to pass Hughes, but each time he would find the door slammed shut. At one point, Lamson nearly went down when he plowed into the rear of Hughes' machine in a .tight tree tum. "His brakes were getting pretty sticky out there," said Lamson. On the last lap, Lamson pulled out the stops and went for it, but it was Hughes who emerged from the back section of the track with the lead. Lamson spun out in a turn while trying to get the upper hand, and remounted out of contention. Hughes crossed the finish line six seconds ahead of Lamson. Two seconds later followed Lawrence, while Antunez worked past Kehoe to gamer fourth. "All the training I did while I was hurt made the difference," said Hughes, who spent most of the 1991 season sidelined with a broken wrist. "I just tried to keep my cool. Lamson is a great, clean rider; I left the door open a couple of times but he never slammed me." "I just grabbed a handful. I guess it was too much," said Lamson of his last-ditch-e£fort crash. "It was a great race, though." There would be no last-lap crashes for Lamson in Sunday's 250cc Expert final, but a crash on the third lap while he was leading kept things interesting. Honda's Drey Dircks grabbed the holeshot at the start of the main with Taylor, Hughes, McGrath and Lamson were in hot pursuit. Lamson berzerked his way past his competitors and into the lead by the start of the third lap, but lost his front end in the turn just after the finish line. "It was like in the cartoons - I saw $5000 flying away," said Lamson. "I was taking a different line, and the front end just washed." Fortunately, Lamson was able to remount quickly and allowed only Hughes and McGrath past. Hughes was happy to inherit the lead, and quickly established a four-second lead over McGrath. The next lap saw McGrath lose his balance in a long rut near the mechanic's signal area, and the Weitern Regional 125cc Supercross Champion found himself on the ground. Lamson wheelied out of the rut and avoided McGrath, who remounted quickly enough to maintain third. Lamson began to reel in Hughes, but his job was made easier on lap 13 when Hughes crashed at the top of the uphill. Lamson motored past the downed Hughes and into the lead, which he maintained to the finish. Hughes picked himself up in second and crossed the finish line 10 seconds ahead of McGrath, while Taylor finished well ahead of Kyle Lewis for fourth. "All three of us crashed," said Lamson, referring to himself, Hughes and McGrath. "The track was the roughest today." Reynard grabbed the holeshot in the lO-lap 125cc Intermediate final and for all practical purposes, the race was over. Reynard breezed away with the wins in his two qualifying motos, and the final was no different. By the fifth lap, he had established a 15-second lead over Suzuki's David Pingree, who circulated the track three seconds ahead of Reynard's Kawasaki teammate, Craig Decker. Casey Johnson (16) topped the Mini Expert class, while Ricky Carmichael (19) suffered a seized crank and carded a DNF in the fiilal. Jeremy Chisum (78) led winner Todd Sweaney (89) early in the Open Junior main. Pingree's race came to a sudden halt on lap eight, when his leg rubbed the airbox boot off of the carburetor. Decker inherited second and second overall, but could do little to reel in Reynard. Steve Andrich ran a lonely fourth throughout the race, and moved into third when Pingree retired. Greg Schnell finished fourth in the final, but his qualifying scores edged Andrich's for third overall. "This track really suits me," said Reynard. "The rougher it gets, the better I like it, especially on a 125 I can really throw it around." Things weren't as easy for the 14year-old rider in the 250cc Intermediate final. As he did in the 125cc class, Reynard blasted the competition in his qualifiers and won by large margins, but at the start of the main, with Kevin Geyer the first man up and down the start hill, Reynard and Pingree were involved in a pileup in the second tum. Pingree recovered quickly, while Reynard completed the first lap in 28th place. ' Geyer and R.C. Bennett battled over the lead while Pingree and Reynard did their best to work their way through the pack. Decker ran as high as third, but a crash late in the race relegated him to 12th and ninth overall. Pingree and Reynard blasted through the field and by the fifth lap had muscled their way into fifth and ·sixth, but Reynard crashed back to lOth while trying to pass Bill Sauro in the mechanics' signal tum. Reynard set a torrid pace after remounting, and on the eighth lap had snuck back into fourth, behind Geyer, Bennett and Pingree. While Geyer had pulled out a 12-second lead, Bennett, Pingree and Reynard ran in close formation. Pingree found his way past Ben'nett on lap nine, but it took Reynard until the last lap to do the same. While Geyer crossed the finish line with the win, Pingree and Reynard blasted down the back straight for the last time. "I got a good start. That made the difference," said Geyer. "Once I got free of Bennett, it was easy." Pingree enjoyed a 10 bike-length cushion on the straight, but Reynard sailed off the last jump and landed within inches of Pingree. Reynard dove to the inside and after making contact with Pingree, powered across the finish line second. "I knew it was now or never," said 13

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