AMA: Red Rider Kevin Windham rides to victory
1 September 1999
1999 AMA 250cc National Motocross Series Round 11: Broome-Tioga Sports Center Binghamton, New York August 29, 1999 Red Rider Kevin Windham rode his Alley Semar-tuned CR250R to two moto wins Saturady at the Broome-Tioga Sports Center to take the overall victory. It was Windham's fifth win of the season, more than double the victory tally so far of any other rider, and it was Honda's fifth win at the track. Honda-supported Factory Connection/Jack in the Box rider Mike LaRocco rode to 2/6 moto finishes to take third overall. Windham's teammate Ezra Lusk had another day he'd as soon forget, placing ninth in the first moto, then getting caught up in a first-turn pileup in the second moto and battling his way up to 11th for 10th overall for the day. Windham got a decent start in eighth, and wasted little time in going straight to the front, followed by Ward, series points-leader Greg Albertyn and Mike LaRocco. Windham quickly put a 12-second time cushion between him and his pursuers, and except for LaRocco muscling past Albertyn for second, that's how they rode to the checkered flag, with K-Dub winning easily under threatening skies. Moto two followed much the same pattern as the first. Windham gated well in third, missing the first-turn pileup that collected Lusk. LaRocco quickly moved into fifth, with the order early on as Doug Henry, Larry Ward, Windham, Jimmy Button and LaRocco. Within five laps Windham picked off Ward for second, then made a run at Henry two laps later to snatch the lead. As before, he was never headed for the rest of the moto. At the halfway mark, he led from Henry, Button, a charging Albertyn and LaRocco. As before, there was little change in the tightly bunched pack, except for Robbie Reynard, who shouldered past LaRocco and Albee to take third. At the flag it was Windham, Button, Reynard, Henry, Albee and LaRocco. "The first moto was great. I got out front and was just able to leave those guys," Windham said. "The second moto I had to really fight. The pace up front between Doug Henry and Larry Ward for the first half the race was really fast, and I had to fight my way up to pass Doug, and then keep that pace to keep those guys from coming up on me and passing me again. "All I can do now is what I did today, and that's win every moto. I'm 21 points behind Greg Albertyn, and I know it's going to go down to the last moto of the last race. All I can do to beat him is win both motos and hope something happens to Greg." As the series heads for the final round at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pennsylvania, on September 5, only Windham and LaRocco have a mathematical shot at taking the title away from points leader Albertyn. With 406 points to Albee's 427, Windham has the best chance, but he has to win both motos and Albee has to finish seventh or worse in both. Just the same, remember that Honda's Red Riders have dominated the season so far, taking 12 moto wins, and six overall victories out of 10 races. Moto 1 top-5 finishers 1. Kevin Windham-Honda 2. Mike LaRocco-Honda 3. Greg Albertyn-Suzuki 4. Tim Ferry-Yamaha 5. Jimmy Button-Yamaha Moto 2 top-5 finishers 1. Kevin Windham-Honda 2. Jimmy Button-Yamaha 3. Robbie Reynard-Suzuki 4. Doug Henry-Yamaha 5. Greg Albertyn-Suzuki Overall top-5 1. Kevin Windham (1/1)-Honda 2. Jimmy Button (5/2)-Yamaha 3. Mike LaRocco (2/6)-Honda 4. Greg Albertyn (3/5)-Suzuki 5. Robbie Reynard (6/3)-Suzuki AMA 250cc National Motocross points standings 1. Greg Albertyn-Suzuki-427 points 2. Kevin Windham-Honda-406 points 3. Mike LaRocco-Honda-379 points 4. Ezra Lusk-Honda-315 points 5. Doug Henry-Yamaha-290 points 11. Sebastien Tortelli-Honda-245 points Final round: Round 12-Steel City Raceway, Delmont, Pennsylvania, September 5 _______________________________________________________________________________ 1999 World Superbike Championship Series Round 10: A-1 Ring Zeltweg, Austria August 29, 1999 Castrol Honda pilots Colin Edwards and Aaron Slight turned in a pair of strong rides today at the 2.7-mile-long A-1 Ring in Austria, with Edwards taking the win in the first 25-lap leg, and Slight riding to third in the second leg. Edwards- victory was his third consecutive win, his fifth win this year, and the eighth of his career. Unfortunately, Slight crashed while he was threatening Edwards for the lead with just over a lap to go in the first leg, and Edwards struggled to finish eighth in the second leg. In fact, treacherously slick, rainy conditions at the Ring meant only 13 riders out of 30 finished the first leg, with many factory stars hitting the tarmac. Starting off on a drying track, Slight took the lead early on in the race, pursued by points leader Carl Fogarty, Superpole winner Edwards and second-race-winner Pier-Francesco Chili. On the eighth lap Chili swept into the lead, followed by Edwards, but it was to be a short-lived time in front. Chili fell on the 13th lap, leaving Edwards well ahead of Slight, Troy Corser and Fogarty. As the rain started to come down four laps from the end, though, so did more riders. Slight and Corser both had a run at Edwards, with Corser actually taking the lead briefly, but the Castrol Honda pair forced back by. Then with only a couple of laps to go, Slight crashed, and then so did Corser a lap later, leaving Edwards to cruise home with 20 seconds on Fogarty. "Once it started to rain again I knew it was going to be difficult with a slick tire on the rear," Edwards said. "It was moving around all over the puddles. I just concentrated on keeping on two wheels and getting to the finish line and staying in front." "I couldn't see a thing," Slight said about his crash. "My visor was misting up when it started to rain, and I had to lift the visor to let some air in. I lost my concentration and grabbed the front brake too hard. The front tucked under and I went down." With more rain for the second leg, everyone lined up on full wet tires. Gregorio Lavilla led the pack for seven laps before eventual race-winner Chili stormed by, with Corser and Slight in tow, and Edwards back in eighth. The three leaders were never headed, and raced in that order to the checkered flag in an uneventful race. "I just didn't feel comfortable in the second race at all," Edwards said. "The machine just didn't feel right. At least I managed one win, but I've really got to look to Assen to make a dent in the points advantage Carl [Fogarty] has." "I simply went as fast as I was happy with," Slight said. "The conditions were bad, but at least it was wet and not mixed conditions like the first race. I knew Chili would be coming past and I wanted to stay with him and Troy [Corser], but I was also chasing a finish after the first race nightmare." With three races remaining, the series heads to Assen next weekend. Race one, top-5 finishers 1. Colin Edwards-Honda 2. Carl Fogarty-Ducati 3. Vittoriano Guareschi-Yamaha 4. Robert Ulm-Kawasaki 5. Gregorio Lavilla-Kawasaki Race two, top-5 finishers 1. Pier-Francesco Chili-Suzuki 2. Troy Corser-Ducati 3. Aaron Slight-Honda 4. Carl Fogarty-Ducati 5. Robert Kellenberger-Honda WSC points standings, top-5 1. Carl Fogarty-Ducati-363 points 2. Troy Corser-Ducati-302 points 3. Colin Edwards II-Honda-301 points 4. Aaron Slight-Honda-252 points 5. Akira Yanagawa-Kawasaki-215 points Upcoming rounds: Round 11-Circuit van Drenthe, Assen, Holland, September 5 Round 12-Hockenheim-Ring, Hockenheim, Germany, September 26 END
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