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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/146704
a two-day event, only the first night
(Friday) counted towards the series
point standings. The event became the
series fmale when the round planned for
Genoa, Italy, on December 13, was cancelled. In fact, of the originally sched- ,
uled nine series events, only six were
run. Of the six events Stanton won four
of them.
The difficulties faced by the organizer of the late-season European supercross races was evident, as the Geneva
race presented its weakest-ever lineup
of star riders. No less than eight of the
pre-entered Americans withdrew at the
last minute, and nearly as many GP
stars also failed to show. Of the 49 riders
who had scored points in the previous
five rounds, only 17 were present in
Switzerland.
Friday's racing got underway with
16-year-old Mikael Pichon of France
beating American Guy Cooper in the
first heat race. This was Cooper's first
race since breaking his leg in August.
Craig ran away with the second heat
race win, while Stanton looked to be a
sure winner in the third heat before his
Honda threw its chain, handing Larry
Ward the win.
Craig grabbed his second win of the
night in the first semi, while Cooper finished second. Stanton, Ward and
Guedard finished 1-2-3 in the second
semi.
In the feature, Craig jammed into the
early lead, but Stanton was close
behind. The Kawasaki rider maintained
control of the lead until the third lap
when Stanton shot by and immediately
pulled clear of the 17-rider pack.
Stanton would eventually win the 16lap race with ease, lapping all but the
top six finishers. Craig crossed the finish
line 20 seconds aft of Stanton, and had
plenty of cushion between himself and
third-place Guedard. Brooks emerged
on top of a race-long battle with Schmit
for fourth. Cooper, took the checkered
flag in sixth.
Stanton withdrew from Saturday's
race after learning ·that his bride of two
months, Sarah, was admitted to a
Michigan hospital with a severe case of
strep throat and infections in both ears.
Stanton took the first flight home
Saturday morning and would miss, not
only the second event in Geneva, but
three days of racing at the Bologna
Supercross in Italy, where he reportedly
was due to be paid $100,000 in start
money.
Larry Ward came back and won
Saturday's non-points paying feature.
Craig was the early leader, while
Ward spent the first half of the race
recovering from a back-of-the-pack
start. The Suzuki rider eventually
weaved his way to second, passed
front-runner Craig and motored on to
take the win. Craig held on to second,
while Brooks finished third. Pichon
and American Cliff Palmer rounded
out the top five.
(;N
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SA N CTIONED
CONGRATULATIONS 1'0 OUR CHAMPIONSI
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Jay Springsteen
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Results
MAIN (FRIDAY): 1. jeff Stanton (Hon); 2. Mike
Craig (Kaw); 3. Yann Guedard (Kaw); 4. Larry Brooks
(Yam); 5. Donny Schmit (Yam); 6. Guy Cooper (Suz); 7.
Kyle Lewis (Yam); 8. Cyril Porte (Hon); 9. Erik Kehoe
(Hon); 10. Thierry Bethys (Yam); 11. Steve Lamson
(Hon); 12. Axel Holvoet (Kaw); DNF: MikaeJ Pichon
(Hon); Larry Ward (Suz); Frederic Vialle (!