2000 AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series, Round 3: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
24 January 2000
Mike LaRocco moved to within four points of the 2000 AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series lead at the third round of the championship, held at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Amsoil/Jack in the Box/Factory Connection Honda rider LaRocco passed Red Rider Kevin Windham three laps from the end of the 20-lap main event to take over second spot, with Windham finishing third. Defending World Supercross Champion David Vuillemin from France scored his first American supercross victory at the San Diego event. A stadium-record crowd of 61,244 watched as Windham put his CR250R into fourth off the start, trailing Vuillemin, Larry Ward and LaRocco. Ward went down in a 180-degree right-hand bowl turn on lap three, however, with LaRocco hitting the ground as well when he couldn't avoid Ward. That put Windham into second while LaRocco quickly picked his bike up and restarted in third place. Windham then set out after Vuillemin. "I thought I could catch him, but I could feel the heat coming from LaRocco," Windham explained. "I started tightening up just a little bit." Windham rode a steady race as the laps wore on, and he began to narrow the gap on Vuillemin, but then lost a little ground, with LaRocco moving in to take advantage. When Windham bobbled in a whoop section, LaRocco capitalized and claimed second spot, thus earning his third podium finish in as many weeks. LaRocco also moved closer in series points behind Jeremy McGrath, who was unable to make it three wins in a row when he got a bad start and could only climb up to fourth at the end. Though disappointed at losing second in the race, Windham saw positives from his performance, which put him fourth in points: "It was better than the first two [races] for me. I just keep getting a little stronger and a little stronger every weekend. I felt good this weekend, and I'm very excited for [next weekend in] Phoenix." Fellow Red Rider Sebastien Tortelli came out on the wrong end of a first-turn melee but fought through the pack for sixth, moving into fifth in series points. Ezra Lusk continues to recover from the shoulder injury suffered in practice for round one. He spent the day at home in Georgia fishing. San Diego Supercross 250 Main, top-5 finishers 1. David Vuillemin-Yamaha 2. Mike LaRocco-Honda 3. Kevin Windham-Honda 4. Jeremy McGrath-Yamaha 5. John Dowd-Kawasaki Supercross 250-class point standings, top-5 riders 1. Jeremy McGrath-Yamaha-68 points 2. Mike LaRocco-Honda-64 points 3. David Vuillemin-Yamaha-63 points 4. Kevin Windham-Honda-53 points 5. Sebastien Tortelli-Honda-45 points Upcoming rounds: Round 4-Bank One Ballpark, Phoenix, Arizona, January 29 Round 5-Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas, February 5 Round 6-RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana, February 12