With a second place start behind fellow Yamaha rider David Vuillemin, who led for the first several laps, Jeremy McGrath again took the lead and pulled away to a comfortable victory at round two of the AMA Supercross series at Anaheim, California. Looking just as dominant as he did in round one, McGrath cruised the last two-thirds of the race ahead of second place Vuillemin and third place Mike LaRocco (Honda).
Chevy Trucks Kawasaki team member Ricky Carmichael finished fourth and appears to be getting stronger. Carmichael broke his collarbone just weeks before the start of the season, and was unable to practice until just prior to last week’s race. AMA Outdoor National motocross champion Greg Albertyn (Suzuki) landed short on a huge quadruple jump. Although not officially confirmed, Albertyn appeared to suffer some sort of wrist injury.
Vuillemin and LaRocco are emerging as the strongest challengers to McGrath. Vuillemin matched McGrath’s pace for several laps during the middle of the race, and LaRocco charged hard through the pack from a mediocre start.
For the second week in a row, Honda’s Kevin Windham easily won his heat race only to later ride a mediocre main event. He finished in eighth place.
Yamaha’s Jimmy Button looked very fast at times on the YZ426 four-stroke. After winning a semi-final heat, Button stalled his bike while running in the top five during the main event. Button finished in seventh place.
The best race of the evening was the West Coast 125 main event won by Kawasaki’s Tallon Vohland. Vohland battled closely through most of the race with Honda’s Danny Smith. Smith was one of the few 125 riders to consistently jump the quadruple, and he led much of the race before crashing and letting Vohland by with about five laps left. Smith finished ahead of third place Robbie Horton (Suzuki).
Last week’s 125cc winner, David Pingree (Suzuki) nearly made the podium (finishing fourth) after being in a first-turn crash. Pingree was clearly the fastest rider on the track as he picked his bike up and charged to nearly pass Horton on the last lap of the race.
Kawasaki’s Billy Payne got the holeshot in the 125 main and led several laps before a crash put him back in the middle of the pack. Payne was also jumping the quad early in the race.
125cc Main Event
1. Tallon Vohland (#711)
2. Danny Smith (#32)
3. Robbie Horton (#61)
4. David Pingree (#35)
5. Jori Dostell (#717)
6. Casey Lytle (#30)
7. Greg Schnell (#63)
8. Rodrig Thain (#120)
9. Travis Elliott (#716)
10. Christopher Gosselaar (#55)
250cc Main Event
1. Jeremy McGrath (#1)
2. David Vuillemin (#934)
3. Mike LaRocco (#5)
4. Ricky Carmichael (#4)
5. Tim Ferry (#15)
6. Larry Ward (#10)
7. Jimmy Button (#12)
8. Kevin Windham (#14)
9. Sebastien Tortelli (#21)
10. John Dowd (#16)
