AMA National Motocross Series Preview for Troy, OH Event
22 July 1997
R97081 July 22, 1997 For Immediate Release EMIG LOOKING FOR FIRST 250CC AMA MOTOCROSS WIN AT TROY WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Defending American Motorcyclist Association 250cc National Motocross Champion Jeff Emig has accomplished just about everything in his racing career, but one thing missing from Emig's portfolio is a 250cc outdoor national victory at Kenworthy's Motocross Park in Troy, Ohio. This Sunday Emig will have a solid chance to add the Troy 250cc national trophy to his case. Emig, riding a factory Kawasaki, is favored this weekend in round nine of the 13-event AMA 250cc National Motocross Series. He is just off his third outdoor win of the season last weekend in Unadilla, N.Y. That victory moved him past legends Pierre Karsmakers and Jim Weinert into 10th place on the all-time AMA 250cc National Motocross win list, with eight-career wins. A two-time 125cc winner at Troy, Emig's riding style is well suited to the Supercross-like Kenworthy's track. Built on a relatively flat piece of wooded river-bottom acreage, track designers have turned Kenworthy into one of the wildest circuits on the outdoor tour, complete with double and triple jumps, table-top jumps and other difficult obstacles. Emig, the defending AMA Supercross Champion, should feel right at home on the circuit located just north of Dayton. Riding a two-race winning streak at Troy is Suzuki of Troy's star Jeremy McGrath. The all-time winningest rider in AMA Supercross history and holder of fourth place on the all-time 250cc motocross win list, McGrath is ranked third in the series coming into Troy and very much in the title hunt. If McGrath manages to win his third straight Troy race this weekend, it would be his first outdoor national victory of the season. Perhaps the most surprising rider of the '97 season is 31-year-old Yamaha rider John Dowd. Dowd won two straight 250cc nationals earlier this summer and is second in the standings coming into Troy. Riding at an age considered by most to be past the prime of motocross riders, Dowd is proving that thirtysomethings can still have a place in the sport. The 125cc series has suddenly become a free-for-all. After being dominated in the first half of the season by 17-year-old Kawasaki sensation Ricky Carmichael, the series has been spiced up by Yamaha's Kevin Windham's return to form along with defending 125cc national champ, Steve Lamson, who rides for Honda. Windham is riding a two-race winning streak coming into Troy, while Lamson won the 125cc race there in 1995 and '96. Carmichael can afford to lay back a little after building a huge series lead earlier this season, winning five of the first six races on the smaller bikes. PAST WINNERS KENWORTHY'S MOTOCROSS PARK Troy, OH 250cc Motocross Date Winner, Hometown Machine July 28, 1996 Jeremy McGrath, Menifee, CA Honda July 16, 1995 Jeremy McGrath, Murietta, CA Honda July 24, 1994 Mike LaRocco, South Bend, IN Kawasaki July 25, 1993 Mike Kiedrowski, Canyon Country, CA Kawasaki July 26, 1992 Jean-Michel Bayle, France Honda July 28, 1991 Jeff Matiasevich, LaHabra Heights, CA Kawasaki July 29, 1990 Jeff Ward, San Juan Capistrano, CA Kawasaki July 16, 1989 Ron Lechien, El Cajon, CA Kawasaki 125cc Motocross Date Winner, Hometown Machine July 28, 1996 Steve Lamson, Pollock Pines, CA Honda July 16, 1995 Steve Lamson, Pollock Pines, CA Honda July 24, 1994 Damon Huffman, Saugus, CA Suzuki July 25, 1993 Jeff Emig, Highland Ranch, CA Yamaha July 26, 1992 Jeff Emig, Highland, CA Yamaha July 28, 1991 Guy Cooper, Stillwater, OK Suzuki July 29, 1990 Jean-Michel Bayle, France Honda July 16, 1989 George Holland, Kerman, CA Honda July 31, 1988 George Holland, Kerman, CA Honda August 9, 1987 Donny Schmit, Bloomington, MN Suzuki Contact: Connie Fleming Phone: (614) 891-2425 Fax: (614) 891-7368