On a cold night in Anaheim, California, Yamaha’s Jeremy McGrath won the opening round of the AMA Supercross series in front of a large crowd of screaming fans. After a fifth place start, with all of the fast guys in front of him (including Carmichael, Windham, LaRocco and Ward), McGrath worked his way into the lead quickly and pulled away for the victory. Second place in the 250 race was taken by Honda’s Mike LaRocco, who was clearly the fastest man on the track besides Jeremy McGrath. Honda’s Kevin Windham finished third — just ahead of his teammate Sebastien Tortelli.
Kawasaki’s Ricky Carmichael took the hole shot and appeared to be pulling away during the first few laps, but faded badly during the remainder of the race. Ultimately Carmichael finished eighth.
The opening round of the West Coast 125 Supercross series was won by Suzuki’s David Pingree, with Casey Johnson (Yamaha) second and Greg Schnell (Yamaha) third.
During practice before today’s race, Ezra Lusk (Honda) crashed with Greg Albertyn (Suzuki) and John Dowd (Kawasaki). Although Dowd and Albertyn were able to race this evening, Lusk suffered a separated shoulder and sat out. Lusk stated he would be back racing quickly, but didn’t indicate how quickly.
250 Main Results (Top 10)
1. Jeremy McGrath (Yamaha)
2. Mike LaRocco (Honda)
3. Kevin Windham (Honda)
4. Sebastien Tortelli (Honda)
5. David Vuillemin (Yamaha)
6. Jimmy Buttons (Yamaha)
7. Greg Albertyn (Suzuki)
8. Ricky Carmichael (Kawasaki)
9. Larry Ward (Kawasaki)
10. John Dowd (Kawasaki)
West Coast 125 Main Results (Top 10)
1. David Pingree (Suzuki)
2. Casey Johnson (Yamaha)
3. Greg Schnell (Yamaha)
4. Danny Smith (Honda)
5. Shae Bentley (Kawasaki)
6. Jiri Dostal (Honda)
7. Tallon Vohland (Kawasaki)
8. Jason McCormick (Honda)
9. Christopher Gosselaar (Honda)
10. Billy Payne (Kawasaki)
