U.S. Mx Gp
U.S. MX GP
AMERICA’S BEST TAKE THE WEEKEND OFF, SOME GUY NAMED YVES WINS
DAVEY COOMBS
THROUGHOUT THE 1980s AND early `90s the United States round of the 250cc World Motocross Championship was the place to go for patriotic, flag-waving American fans. When the stars of Europe came across the Atlantic for this annual meeting, they simply were not equipped for America's best. Starting in 1983, U.S.-born riders had won every version of the 250cc United States Grand Prix.
But the U.S. streak ended abruptly this summer when the race was moved from the old-school motocross track at Unadilla, New York, to the beautiful and spectacular Budds Creek circuit in southern Maryland.
By all rights, American riders should rule this track, which features several stadium-style double-jumps and table tops-once rarities on the grand prix circuit. But second-generation Belgian racer Stefan Everts warned of the arrival of a faster, more competitive generation of European motocross heroes. “We have become much faster in the last five years, maybe now we’re just as fast as the Americans,” Everts said.
The fact that the American contingent was at less than half-strength certainly didn’t hurt the European cause. 1993 National Champions Doug Henry (125cc), Mike Kiedrowski (250cc) and Mike LaRocco (500cc) were all absent. Team Honda’s Henry was fighting an obscure intestinal virus that’s sapped his endurance all season. Kiedrowski and his Kawasaki teammate LaRocco let it be known that they did not want to take part in a race where they might jeopardize fellow Kawasaki rider Everts’ chances of winning the marque its first-ever world motocross title. (Kiedrowski ended up breaking his finger two weeks before the USGP and would not have been able to race anyway.)
U.S. Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath was another go-fast American who decided to stay away from Maryland. “Jeremy is very protective of his off-weekends,” explained Honda Team Manager Dave Arnold. “In his contract it said that he had to ride just one GP this year and it’s very important to the Japanese that he ride at the Suzuka round in a few weeks. He saw the loophole, chose Japan and bailed out the window on this race.” So did Team Suzuki and Team Noleen/Sizzler.
“No one seems to care about this race,” said British rider Kurt Nicoll of the smattering of Yanks on hand. “I just get the feeling that when the Americans run a grand prix, it’s just a play race to them and the nationals are the real races. The spectators don’t even care.” Hard to argue otherwise as a lower-than-expected turnout of approximately 4000 fans greeted the riders that did enter the race.
“Supercross is what matters most in America right now, then the nationals,” admitted Team Yamaha USA’s Jeff Emig who marked his first major 250cc outdoor ride at the USGP. “I’m here because I want to show everyone that I can ride a 250 outdoors against anyone.”
With that in mind, Emig set about winning the first GP of his career. A freak accident helped in the first turn of the first moto when an absent-minded photographer stepped into the path of leader Werner DeWit of Belgium. DeWit caught the man on the front fender of his bike and momentarily carried him around the comer.
“I had the holeshot, but the guy standing on the inside wasn’t paying attention,” said DeWit. “I hit him right between the legs and got stuck. I couldn’t believe it!”
The incident triggered a mini pile-up, and Emig escaped the melee with the lead. From then on, Emig was never challenged by any of the international entrants, though DeWit’s teammate Mamicq Bervoets finished a not-too-distant second. Team Boyesen-Penske’s John Dowd was third while the gutsy Everts, still recovering from a broken collarbone, crossed the finish line fourth. Just behind him rode Team Pepsi-Honda’s Yves Demaria, who wore a look of disappointment as he carded fifth in the first race.
The snarling Demaria, renowned bad boy of the world
championship tour, came into Budds Creek with nothing to lose. Having blown several early rounds in his rookie 250cc GP season, Demaria caught fire at the eighth round of the series in England. He won three of four GPs going into the U.S. round.
In the second moto, he put on a tactical display of speed and stamina that helped overcome a mediocre start. Demaria was easily-and somewhat surprisingly-the fastest man on the track. He passed upstart leader Talion Vohland, a super-fast but woefully inconsistent American racing in Europe, on the
last lap to clinch the victory. “This is the biggest win of my career,” said Demaria through an interpreter as he accepted his trophy. “To come from so far behind and win a race against these riders is very good. I wanted to win two events bad this season; the U.S. and Japan. Now I’ve won the first of those races.”
As for Everts, his good fortune was doubled at Budds Creek. A fine performance (4-3 in two races for second overall) arrived just as the luck of his title-rival Greg Albertyn changed for the worse. Thirty points ahead when the day began, defending-champ Albertyn was a lackluster 10th in the first heat and then suffered an ignition failure in the second. He lost a total of 22 points on Everts in the process.
“The pain was almost too much and I was ready to quit after the first moto but I saved some energy and just tried to finish the second race,” said the jubilant-if clearly hurting-Everts. “I had to go on. Now I’m back in business!”
The same can be said for
European MXers. Just five years ago, the top Americans were running rings around them. But the results of this race will show that just three riders from the U.S. finished in the top 15 overall. A delicate mixture of motocross and supercross has allowed the Euros to even the playing field with their American counterparts.
Actually, it might even be tilting their way.
“The American riders had better wake up,” warned Honda rider Jeff Stanton, who earlier this year announced his retirement at the end of the ’94 season. “The young guys see how easy it all comes for someone like McGrath in supercross and think they don’t have to put in the work.
Well, not everyone is Jeremy McGrath. In fact, the depth of American motocross right now is the lowest that I’ve ever seen. If our young riders don’t get back to the basics of training and riding and working out more, it’s only going to get worse.”
