MOTOCROSS : Stanton Wins, Heads Toward Third Title

Supercross champion Jeff Stanton made an impressive move toward a third consecutive title when he rode away from a strong field to win the Coors Light Challenge Saturday night before 56,029 at Anaheim Stadium.

Stanton, a Honda factory team rider from Sherwood, Mich., fought off a challenge from two-time Supercross champion Jeff Ward of Capistrano Beach for the first eight laps and then pulled away. Ward, who missed last week’s race in Houston after suffering sprained wrists in a crash, came back strong to finish second on a Kawasaki.

Jeff Matiasevich, Ward’s Kawasaki teammate from La Habra Heights, finished third after battling Mike Kiedrowski, a third Kawasaki rider from Canyon Country. Jean-Michel Bayle, winner of last week’s Houston race, finished fourth.

The victory moved Stanton into first place in the point standings ahead of Bayle, 64-63. The season champion will receive a $100,000 bonus.

Rick Johnson, the winningest rider in Supercross history, announced before the race that this would be his final season in motocross. Johnson, who has won 28 stadium main events, failed to qualify for the 20-rider final when he finished seventh in his heat, but he came back in a semifinal to finish second and qualify.

Johnson, 26, is still favoring a wrist that was shattered in a crash two years ago in Gainesville, Fla. One of a group of riders from El Cajon, a San Diego suburb, who had dominated motocross for a decade, Johnson has won two Supercross and five national outdoor championships.

In the 20-lap main event, Johnson was in seventh place when he fell and dropped far back.

Stanton started the night the way he finished it as he ran away from Larry Ward and defending Anaheim champion Damon Bradshaw to win the first heat. “I knew Larry Ward was close for a few laps, but I knew he’d drop off because he’s not in as good a shape as I am,” Stanton said.

Kawasakis ran one-two in the second heat as teammates Matiasevich and Jeff Ward, who train together, easily outdistanced Bayle.

Ron Lechien, another former national outdoor champion from El Cajon, was a surprise starter after missing the 1990 season because of injuries and personal problems. Lechien got off to one of his usual fast starts in his heat and was running third behind Matiasevich and Jeff Ward when he fell on the third lap of the eight-lap race.

Lechien’s luck was even worse in the semifinal as he fell in a three-bike crash off the starting line and suffered a wrist injury.

Honda teammates Jeremy McGrath of Sun City and Steve Lamson of Pollock Pines, Calif., waged a seesaw battle in the 125cc main event before McGrath pulled away to win the 15-lap race. Michael Craig of El Cajon finished third on a Kawasaki.

During afternoon qualifying races, Tadakazu Otsuka of Japan, an independent Honda rider, crashed in a 250cc heat when he failed to negotiate a triple jump and tumbled head over heels into the third base dugout. Otsuka was hospitalized with a broken elbow and broken collarbone.