Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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J eremy McGrath proved he was still the man to beat at the 2006 Ford Mammoth Motocross. Nearly 2000 Pro, Vet and Amateur racers came to Mammoth Mountain for the 39th annual motocross, which, in a r e f r e s h i n g c h a n g e o f p a c e , wasn't r u m o r e d t o b e t h e l a s t o n e . M a n y thought the classic race was doomed after the special-use permit expired in 2004, but thanks to the hard work of many, and a partnership with the Inyo National Forest, Mammoth Motocross h a s s t a y e d a l i v e , a n d n o w b o a s t s a renewed facility and a bright future. McGrath once again bookended the week with wins in the opening Vet week- end and in the final 250 Pro class. He also took Thursday's Open Pro win, giving him a total of three titles for the week. Only one rider outshined McGrath as the winningest rider of the week. Ben Lamay from Alaska walked away with a record four Amateur motocross titles. The Mammoth classic kicked off with the Dunlop Vet National. Suzuki's John Dowd, fresh off his sixth-place finish in Southwick, pulled double duty over the weekend, racing both the Senior Expert and Vet Pro classes. He raced back-to- back motos twice each day for a total of eight over the weekend, making his sweep of the Senior class even more impressive. Terry Fowler and Willy Musgrave kept him honest, but it didn't stop Dowd from ending with a 1-1-1-1 score to take the overall. Fowler and Musgrave filled out the podium with solid twos and threes, respectively. Race promoters held the start of the Vet Pro class long enough for Dowd to gas up and rush to the line. Privateer Rusty Holland surprised everyone by leading the first moto from start to finish aboard his CRF450R. McGrath was closing in fast, but was halted when a rock jammed his shift lever. He pulled off and fixed the problem but was only able to salvage fourth place in the remaining laps. McGrath was able to dominate the remaining three motos to clinch the overall. Dowd was consistent with four runner-up finishes and had some great battles with Yamaha's Doug Dubach, who wound up third overall. Olympic downhill skier Daron Rahlves was impressive as he dominated the Vet Junior class. IRS suspension guru Matt Mammoth Motocross Mammoth Lakes, CA June 17-25, 2006 JULY 12, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 48 2006 Ford Mammoth Motocross BY MURRAY MILLER PHOTOS BY KINNEY JONES Wallace turned some heads with a fifth- place finish aboard a 1993 Honda CR125. The HotCams Open was host to an impressive field. McGrath turned a pair of second-place starts into comfortable leads, taking the overall in the Open Pro class. YZ-mounted Josh Hill s t e a d i l y worked his way t h r o u g h the field to take second in both motos. ZipTy Racing's Bobby Garrison had his work cut out for him, working his way through the pack in each race, ultimately winning the tiebreaker with Michael Lapaglia for third overall. Kevin Rookstool and Ryan Dungey ran upfront in both motos, but various prob- lems kept them both off the podium. The HotCams Women's Pro class had some of the closest racing of the day. Yamaha's Tarah Gieger took the overall with a 1-3 finish. In the second moto, Gieger and Kawasaki's Elizabeth Bash tan- gled and went down hard. Bash won the moto with Gieger finishing second behind the DVS Honda of Jacqueline Ross. But a ninth-place finish after a crash in the first race kept Bash out of the title contention. Ross finished second overall with a 3-2 fol- lowed by Katie McGuire (2-5), with Vanessa Florentino (5-4) next. Bash would round out the top five with a 9-1. A sweet-sounding chorus of two- strokes filled the air as the 125cc Schoolboy class took to the track. Lamay led the charge wire to wire on his Casey Stewart-tuned Suzuki. Trent Pugmire was the only one able to keep Lamay's RM in sight as he piloted his CR125 into second. Third place came down to a photo finish with Travis Baker stealing the final podium position from Tyler Wharton. Lamay followed his Schoolboy win with another in the Open Intermediate final, giving him his second title of the day. The Fritz Pflock/TRE 125 Day show- cased a lot of young talent making their way through the ranks, among them Hill and Dungey who are rumored to be headed for the factory teams in 2007. The rumors are easier to believe after watch- ing Hill top the podium of an impressive 125 Pro-class field, and Dungey taking the runner-up spot in his first Pro race ever. Daniel Sani rode his MB1 Honda to a convincing win in the first heat race, fol- lowed by Dungey and Hill. The second-heat win went to Suzuki's Jarred Browne, who cruised to the finish over CRF-mounted Wil Hahn and a hard-charging Ricky Dietrich. Saturday's events culminated with the 125 Pro main. Kevin Rookstool took one of his many holeshots of the weekend and Jeremy McGrath enjoyed his week at Mammoth where he came away with three class championships.