Track Different, but Lusk Wins Again at Anaheim

Edison Field had a new look when the American Motocross Assn. Supercross Series championship returned Saturday night for its second event at the stadium in four weeks. The track was tightened up and strewn with more obstacles, and the rain that preceded the event left the dirt sticky and compact.

But the change in conditions didn’t affect the performance by Ezra Lusk of Bainbridge, Ga., who won for the second time in less than a month at Anaheim in front of 44,895.

Lusk, who had to battle his way through two qualifying heats after crashing during the first, won by 11 seconds over five-time supercross champion Jeremy McGrath of Canyon Lake.

Several riders had complained about the simplicity of the layout at Edison Field on Jan. 9. The task of reshaping the 600 truckloads of dirt fell on the bulldozer skills of Mark Barnett, the 1981 AMA 250cc supercross champion and three-time 125cc national champion who now builds tracks for Dirt Wirks.

“We tightened it up a little bit, made it a little busier,” Barnett said. “We also put the triple jumps a little further apart this time.”

Lake Elsinore’s Casey Johnson, the 125cc points leader going into the event, broke his right arm after crashing on a triple jump during a qualifying heat.

Nathan Ramsay of Corona won the 125cc main event for the third consecutive week.