Clipboard

Clipboard

RACE WATCH

DuHamel, Turkington take Supersport titles

Miguel DuHamel and his Rob Muzzy-backed Kawasaki ZX-6 proved nearly invincible in this year's AMA 600cc supersport class. DuHamel clinched the national championship at the penultimate Mid-Ohio round, his sixth win in nine outings. Rather than take a holiday, the French-Canadian-who last year rode for Yamaha France in 500cc GP competition—capped off the '93 season in grand fashion with supersport win number seven at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma. California. Then, riding a Kawasaki ZX-7, DuHamel won his first Superbike race of the year, beating newly crowned AMA Superb ike champion Doug Polen and local favorite Scott Gray. In 600 supersport action, DuHamel finished the season with 335 points, 60 more than runner-up Britt Turkington.

Turkington had better luck in the 750cc supersport title chase. Riding a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750. the Texan came to Sears Point with the championship all but wrapped up. determined not to do anything foolish that might cost him the title. Class Racing’s Jason Pridmore won the race, beating teammate Fritz Kling, but Turkington's strategy paid off; his 12th-place finish gave Suzuki its first 750 supersport title in four years. Muzzy Kawasaki rider Takahiro Sohwa finished second in the championship, with third place going to

Suzuki-mounted Gerald Rothman, who was also awarded the AMA/CCS Top Expert title in both 600cc and 750cc competition.

Outdoor motocross champs crowned

Prior to the final round of the AMA 500cc Outdoor National Championship, Kawasaki-mounted Mike LaRocco held a slim, 9-point lead over factory Elonda rider Jeff Stanton. AMA 250cc outdoor champ Mike Kiedrowski won both motos at the Delmont, Pennsylvania, facility, but

LaRocco managed second and third, respectively, giving the Indiana native his first national title. Unfortunately, LaRocco won’t be able to flaunt his number-one plate in competition; citing a lack of interest and support, the AMA has dropped the class for ’94.

In 125cc action, Honda’s Doug Henry recovered from a first-race crash and a poor start in the second moto to place sixth and third, good enough to outdistance Yamaha’s Jeff Emig in the championship. Sixteen >

year-old sensation Robbie Reynard was the day's overall winner, record ing sixthand first-place finishes.

Graham clinches double dirt-track titles

Eleven years after winning his first AMA Grand National Championship, Ricky Graham is back on top.

The 33-year-old Salinas, California, native locked up his third dirt-track title with a win at the Springfield Mile, his 36th career national victory. Veteran Steve Morehead was second, having charged past fast-qualifier Scott Parker and reigning national

champ Chris Carr in the closing moments of the 25-lap main event. Will Davis rounded out the top five. Graham also took top honors in the fivelap Camel Challenge, riding his Johnny Goad-tuned Honda RS750. With three events remaining in the 21-race series, Carr, is second with Parker third. In manufacturers’ points, Honda holds a slim, 16-point lead over Harley-Davidson.

Graham also clinched the HarleyDavidson 883 championship at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, scoring an all-but-uncontested win over Kenny Coolbeth and Jim Sumner. After 10 of 1 1 rounds, Jay Springsteen leads Jason Fletcher for second in points, 132 to 112.

American wins World Speedway Championship

For only the fourth time in history, an American has won the World Speedway Championship. At the World Final in Pocking, Germany, Californian Sam Ermolenko scored victories in four out of his five heat races enroute to his first-ever world title. The 32-year-old Ermolenko faced stiff opposition from triple world champion Hans Nielsen of Denmark. During the 15th heat, the two favorites came together, causing Ermolenko to fall and the race to be stopped. The referee ruled Nielsen to be at fault, thus disqualifying the Danish rider from that round.

With his victory, Ermolenko joins 1937 champion Jack Milne and Bruce Penhall, who won back-to-back titles in ’81 and ’82, as the only Americans to have won a world speedway championship.

USA triumphs at Motocross des Nations

Led by Team Yamaha’s Jeff Einig, the United States entry of Einig, Mike Kiedrowski and Jeremy McGrath were victorious for an unprecedented 13th time at the Motocross des Nations. The American win streak almost ended when Kiedrowski got a poor start in the final moto. Fortunately, the AMA 250cc outdoor champion was able to pass several riders in the closing laps to finish third in class and secure the win. Belgium was second, with Sweden in third. A record 29 teams participated in the event.