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AMA: Lusk Chases McGrath to San Diego

3 February 1998

WESTERVILLE, Ohio -- Four-time Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath was in the midst of a 13-race winning streak when the American Motorcyclist Association's Supercross Series last visited San Diego in February of 1996. This year McGrath comes to San Diego with a more tentative lead. He will defend a 12-point margin over series second-place Ezra Lusk at round five of the Thor/Parts Unlimited AMA Supercross Series at Qualcomm Stadium, Feb. 7, in San Diego, Calif.

Yamaha rider McGrath, of Menifee, Calf., took the series lead at the Jan. 24 round three in Tempe, Ariz., where he earned enough points to break his first-place tie with 1997 Supercross Champion Jeff Emig.

McGrath entered round four in Seattle last weekend just four points ahead of Kawasaki's Emig. Emig, of Riverside, Calif., finished a disappointing 14th in Seattle and dropped to third in season points, giving McGrath a little breathing room and opening the door for Honda's Ezra Lusk.

Lusk, of Bainbridge, Ga., is the winner of rounds two and three and surely felt entitled to series second-place, but he was sandbagged by his 16th-place finish at round one in Los Angeles. A second-place finish in Seattle placed Lusk 10 points ahead of Emig and 12 points behind McGrath. With just four of the 16 season races complete, a win in San Diego would give Lusk an opportunity to launch an all-out assault on McGrath.

The AMA 125cc Western Region Supercross Series will provide an added thrill for San Diego fans. Frenchman David Vuillemin has won the last three rounds of the 125cc Western Region Series and leads his Yamaha teammate John Dowd by a slim two points. Dowd, of Chicopee, Mass., won the season opener in Los Angeles and has finished on the podium at every event.

PAST WINNERS, SAN DIEGO, CA

YEAR    RIDER, HOMETOWN MACH.

1996    Jeremy McGrath, Menifee, CA     Honda
1995    Jeremy McGrath, Menifee, CA     Honda
1994    Jeremy McGrath, Murrieta, CA    Honda
1993    Jeremy McGrath, Murietta, CA    Honda
1992    Damon Bradshaw, Mooresville, NC Yamaha
1991    Jean-Michel Bayle, France       Honda
1990    Jeff Stanton, Sherwood, MI      Honda
1989    Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA      Honda
1987    Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA      Honda
1986    Rick Johnson, El Cajon, CA      Honda
1985    Johnny O'Mara, Gardnerville, NV Honda
1981    Broc Glover, El Cajon, CA       Yamaha
1980    Mike Bell, Lakewood, CA Yamaha