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RACE WATCH

Kocinski third in 250cc GP standings

Former class title-holder John Kocinski got off to a good-but not over-whelming-start in his bid to capture the 1993 250cc GP world championship title. The Team Lucky Strike Suzuki rider finished second at the Australian GP, but had to settle for a disappointing fifth in Malaysia. Kocinski originally finished seventh there, though time penalties given to Honda riders Max Biaggi and Loris Capirossi for jumping the start moved him up to fifth.

Riding a thoroughly revised Suzuki 250, the former Team Roberts YZR500 rider got poor starts in both races and talked later of a horsepower disadvantage. The Australian GP was a four-man battle, with Capirossi, Biaggi, Kocinski and eventual winner Tetsuya Harada dicing early on. Biaggi’s tires eventually faded and Capirossi crashed, leaving Yamahamounted Harada and Kocinski to duke it out. The Japanese rider followed Kocinski until the final corner, where he drafted past on the exit to take the win.

Another poor start in Malaysia put Kocinski back in the pack early, and he had trouble keeping the leaders in sight. “It’s just a horsepower problem that showed up more than I thought on this track,” he said. “We just didn’t have the power today to compete. It’s a little disappointing, but we tried our best. Suzuki did a great job over the winter, but I guess the other factories made a bigger jump than we’d expected.”

After the time penalties were assessed, the rostrum was an all-Japanese affair, with Honda-mounted Nobuatsu Aoki, Harada and Tadayuki Okada on another factory NSR Honda finishing 1-2-3. Malaysia winner Aoki is aboard an NSR sponsored by Erv Kanemoto, the man who has had such a positive influence on the racing careers of Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner.

After two rounds, Harada leads the series with 45 points. Aoki is second with 36 points, five points ahead of Kocinski, with 31.

McGrath closes in on Supercross title

IVith just six races remaining, Team Honda sensation Jeremy McGrath has put himself in the driver’s seat to capture the 1993 Camel Supercross title. What’s surprising is not so much McGrath’s thorough domination of the season thus far (he’s won six of 10 events), but the fact that he’s a rookie. Since the very beginning of supercross racing in the U.S. back in 1972, no rookie has ever won the title.

McGrath’s fifth and sixth wins of the season came in late March and early April at events in Dallas, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina. In Texas, McGrath did what he’s done on a number of occasions this year: Holeshot the main event and wheelie away for the win. At Charlotte, McGrath got only a fair start, yet he methodically worked his way to the front, passing top-level riders such as hometown favorite Damon Bradshaw and reigning champ Jeff Stanton in the process. He won easily.

“Coming from behind...that was an important win for me,” McGrath said after the race.

At this point in the series, 21-yearold McGrath leads series runner-up Mike Kiedrowski by 24 points, 224 to 200. Bradshaw and Stanton lie third and fourth with 191 and 190 points, respectively, while Kawasaki’s Michael Craig is fifth with 139.

A lot can happen in six races, though it’s clear that barring an injury or a landslide of bad luck, Jeremy McGrath has a solid shot at becoming the first rider ever to win a supercross championship in his rookie season.

Ayers, Smith take Pro-Stock openers

If the results of the opening NHRA Pro Stock drag-race nationals are any indication, the new weight and displacement rules implemented over the winter are having a significant effect on results. This year, each machine/rider combination must weigh at least 600 pounds, with slight displacement advantages given to those running older-tech motors with less radical cylinder-head designs.

Suzuki-mounted Ron Ayers and John Smith-formerly without a Pro Stock victory between them-took top honors in the two opening NHRA events, while established veterans like Dave Schultz, ’92 champ John Meyers, and Byron Hines were displaced early.

At Houston Raceway Park, Ayers reached the final round along with Lance Boyer, winning with a 7.88second/171-mph pass. Two weeks later at the Gatornationals in Florida, ’92 NHRA Rookie of the Year John Smith took home the gold, with a super-quick 7.68-second/173.7-mph run over runner-up Dave Schultz, who rode with a badly injured hand, the result of a horrendous crash at the Houston opener.

After two rounds, Smith leads in points over runner-up Ron Ayers, 1964 to 1634.

Can the vets catch up? Yamahamounted Byron Hines, who had ignition problems in the opening two races, thinks so. “The racing’s definitely better,” he said, “but it’ll even out eventually.” □