Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Jeff Emig (8) scored his fourth win of the year in the 125cc class via 2-1 mota scores. Erik Kehoe (20) had his best ride of the season, posting a 3-4 tally for third overall. 500cc Stanton led the pack of riders into the tight first turn and grabbed the early lead in the first 30-minute plus two-lap moto. On his tail were Kawasaki teammates Kiedrowski, Jeff Matiasevich and Ward, and Team Noleen's Larry Brooks on a Yamaha. Bayle gated poorly, but was in sixth as the pack completed the first of 15 laps. Local rider Kurt McMillen found himself in eighth, while Dowd finished the opening lap in 14th. Ward displaced Matiasevich for thi~d near the finish-line jump, while Ki~drowski began to hound Stanton, showing his front wheel to the leader in several turns. Stanton managed to fend off the charging Kawasaki through the first two laps, after which Kiedrowski dropped back slightly and gave Stanton some breathing room. By the second lap, Ward had dropped back about four seconds from second-place Kiedrowski. Bayle continued his drive through the pack as he first passed Brooks, then Matiasevich for fourth place. Two laps later he shot around Ward in a comer for third. By that time, though, Stanton and Kiedrowski's battle had carried them far ahead of the rest of the pack. They were already' beginning to lap the slower riders, and had a 12-second advantage on Bayle. Kiedrowski again moved up to challenge the leader, and took over the lead when Stanton bobbled in an S-curve. "I was checking out his (Stanton's) lines and I lost a little bit of time," said Kiedrowski. "My mechanic said to stay with him, so I got back with Jeff and when he made a mistake I took advantage of it." Once out front, Kiedrowski was able to put a slight cushion on Stanton.. With the moto only one-third over, the top five positions were already set. The Qnly rider to add any excitement was Dowd, who by lap six had only passed two riders to sit in 11 th place, but Dowd suddenly wicked it up and began to pass riders at a rate of almost one per lap. "I got a bad start," said Dowd. "Then I just sat there for a while. I thought, 'I've got to get going,' and worked my way up pretty good. I wish I'd have started a little earlier, before everyone got all strung out." With three laps to go, Dowd was on the rear fender of Brooks, who was running sixth. Dowd tried to get around Brooks in several turns, then almost went down when he crossed lines with the Yamaha YZ360 pilot over a downhill jump. Dowd managed a save by pulling his front end up over Brooks' rear fender, then made the pass a few turns later. Brooks retaliated on the same lap, but his shock broke and Dowd passed him back on one of the many downhills. Brooks soldiered on despite the fact that his bike was swapping badly on the hills, but Dowd pulled slightly ahead. Stanton attempted a couple of charges at Kiedrowski, but each time lapped traffic ended any hope of a moto win. Kiedrowski crossed the finish line first with about a three-second cushion on runner-up Stanton. Bayle was by himself in third, with Ward in fourth. Matiasevich was fifth, and Dowd was able to maintain sixth. Brooks was seventh, while McMillen rode a rela-' tively lonely race to finish eighth, tbe same position in which he started. "I felt like I was just a little bit faster than Stanton," said Kiedrowski. "The track is a little one-lined, so I want to get a good start in the next moto." Kiedrowski's wish was granted as he powered his big Kawasaki to the second moto holeshot. Stanton was hot on his heels in second, followed by . McMillen, whose third-place start got the crowd on its feet. Ward again gated fourth, but was passed on the first lap by Bayle. As Kiedrowski charged at the head of the pack, Bayle passed McMillen to take over third on the second lap of the 14-lap moto. This time, Bayle was within striking distance of the two leaders, but Kiedrowski and Stanton again begaJl to pull away. "I tried my best to catch them, but the track was rough and they were too fast," said Bayle. Matiasevich, Brooks and Dowd had suffered poor starts and were mired back in the pack. Up front, Kiedrowski put the hammer down in an attempt to pull away from Stanton. Stanton stayed about two seconds behind him, not really challenging for the lead, but not falling back either. "I knew he (Stanton) was back there, but I felt confident and didn't get excited," said Kiedrowski. Ward moved up into fourth on the second lap, setting up what would be the top four positions in the moto. As the leaders' battle carried them away from Bayle, he in tum began to leave Ward behind. With the field stringing out, the crowd's attention was once again turned to the midpack battles. Brooks passed Matiasevich and began to tow him through the pack. Dowd was a few positions back, but he too soon hooked onto Matiasevich, and the trio reeled in one rider after another. By lap five, Brooks was in sixth behind the fading McMillen. "It was kind of hard to pass," said Brooks, "But at least I had a shock this moto." Kiedrowski (3) followed Stanton in the first moto before passing him for the win. Up at the front of the pack, Kiedrowski was riding a flawless race. Stanton followed a few bike-lengtM back, waiting for a mistake. At about the midpoint in the race, Kiedrowski misjudged a tum and Stanton closed up to his rear tire. But Kiedrowski recovered before Stanton had a chance to get by, and again opened up a small cushion. "I was charging the whole time," said Stanton. "I closed on him when he made a mistake, but he recovered in time." After that, ·Stanton appeared to be content with the runner-up spot, though he didn't fall more than a few seconds behind Kiedrowski. Bayle cruised in third, far enough back not to worry Stanton, and Ward was well behind Bayle in fourth. Back a few positions, Brooks, Matiasevich and Dowd were still providing most of the close action in the race. Having teamed up to work through the pack, the three riders now turned their attention to each other. On the eighth lap, Matiasevich passed Brooks for sixth. Apparently no longer content with being the caboose on the three-car train, Dowd also passed Brooks and then Matiasevich one lap later. The trio's dice had pulled them past the tiring McMillen and with two laps remaining, Dowd, Matiasevich and Brooks were fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, and that's where they finished, with McMillen eighth. "I usually don't like hard-pack tracks like this," said Dow.d. "But I guess you have to learn sometime." Kiedrowski clinched the overall victory with a start-to-finish win, about three seconds up on Stanton. "I said I wanted to get a good start and that's what I did," said Kiedrowski. "I felt pressure from Jeff for the whole race, but I like to have someone behind me because it makes me concentrate and push. It's especially nice to have Jeff behind me, because he's really hard to catch if he's in front of you. He rode good, but with a 500 there's a lot of roost." Stanton patted Kiedrowski on the back as they left the track. "Kiedrowski rode a hell of a race," .said Stanton. "I made a· couple of surges, but didn't feel real comfortable so I decided it would be better to slow down and accept second than to crash .and not get any points." Bayle crossed the line in third, with Ward a distant fourth. 125cc LaRocco got things started off in mota one with a rare holeshot, leading Emig into the first turn. Kehoe followed a close third, with Suzuki's Steve Lamson in fourth. Tichenor rounded the first lap in the number-five spot. Emig made several attempts to pass LaRocco for the lead on the first couple of laps, but the Kawasaki rider held him off and pulled slightly ahead on the third lap of the 15-lap mota. Just as the 500cc motos had, the race quickly turned into a shoot-out.between the top two riders as LaRocco and Emig's battle began to carry them away from' the pack. Kehoe was approximately six seconds back in third. Team Peak/Pro Circuit/Honda's 7

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