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/1540383
sa H e E H ia If, C\t O) O) .d C\t U) b/l Jr .fi Sr&toD (2) won thc ovcntl in .bG 500cc cl*r bur Mit f,icdrorrlti (t) ricd him on poir6 Al..r two rcufllr, ihc dtrl. ric dcedldt.d lor rhc !cri.6 Lrd. Stanton was able to continue on, but at a much slower pace, and Kiedrowski quickly capitalized by mpving back into first and pulling awaY for the moto win. "I think I've adapted well to the 500," said Kiedrowski, who was com- peting in only his second race on an open machine. "Some people thought (my win at) Washougal was a fluke, bui I'm staying consistent. The uack's the roughest I've ever seen it, but I like that." Luckily-for Stanton, he enjoyed a 30-second lead over Bayle and was able to maintain the second spot for the remainder of the moto. Bayle cruised home in third Place, while Dowd held onto fourth ahead of Brooks. "I cdme and rode at press day, which I hardly ever do," said Dowd. "I think that helped me a lot, because I didn't have to learn the track during the race." The Honda pits were a whirlwind of activity between motos, as Stanton's mechanic Dan Betley, team manager Dave Arnold, Roger DeCoster and even Stanton's father pitched in to swap motors in his bike. They easily com- pleted the work in time, and as the iecond 500cc moto roared off the line, Stanton was first into turn one. Kiedrowski was a close second, and oassed Stanton for the lead on the first iap. Dowd rounded lap one in third, while Bayle and Ward were fourth and fifth, respectively. On thi second lap, Kiedrowski and Stanton traded positions twice before Dowd got the crowd on its feet bY passing the two front-runners for the lead. "The track seemed kind of like Southwick, which is my home track, so t felt really comfortable," said Dowd. "When I got in front, I got neryous, though. It was like, heY, what am I doing here?" "When Stanton and Dowd both passed me, I thought, 'Man, I must be loing slow or something,"' salq Kiedrbwski. "I figured Dowd would fade, though." Kiedrowski was right as Dowd's stint at the front lasted for only one laP before Stanton passed him back for the lead. Kiedrowski and Bayle then got around Dowd and the New Englander was left alone in fourth, with Ward a short distance back in fifth. Kiedrowski pressured Stanton and looked for a way around at the halfway point of the l6-lap moto, but Stanton iontinued to hold the lead. Their battle again began to carry them clear of third place Bayle, who held a comfortable lead,on Dowd. Ward sat in fifth ahead of Brooks, who started the race in seventh. With five laps remaining, Kied' rowski began to fade and Stanton started to pull away, intent on making up for his bad luck in moto one. The top six positions remained the same to the finish, with Stanton putting about l0 seconds on Kied- rowski by the moto's end. "The second moto went a lot better than the first one," said Stanton. "I followed those guys for a while, then just passed them and slowly startQd pulling away." Kiedrowski cruised in a comfortable second, good enough for second over- all and equal points on the day. "I started to get a little tired towards the end," said Kiedrowski. "At least I tied hirn (Stanton) on points." Bayle crossed the lirie about 12 seconds behind Kiedrowski, with his pair of thirds good for third overall. Dowd and Ward rounded out the top five in the moto, with Brooks in sixth. l25cc National A short in the track's electrical system caused a brief delay before the first l25cc moto, but the starting gate was finally released manually and LaRocco led the eager pack to the first turn. As the riders completed the first lap, LaRocco held the lead ahead of fast- starting Kawasaki Privateer Mike Roth, with Kehoe in third. Kehoe passed Roth for second in the sandy whoop section, and Roth quickly began-to fall back through the pack.' Team Peak/Pro Circuit/Honda's Buddy Antunez sat in third after two Jeff stanton (2), John Dowd (42), Mike Kiedrowski (3) and Jean-Michel Bayle (l) put on a crowd-pleasing battle in the early laps of the second 500cc moto. 7 gv,fr ry. ffiA ,W W;ffi 7l. W Y w3 W Vfr Y:, Y7j1 Y.,1 *.,1 Y/a,t ryffi LT W V ;ffia \41 t. 'r1&' \