If You're Going To San Francisco…

San Francisco, Calif. ~ Insiders to the world of Supercross have praised the AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda 125cc team since the end of the outdoor season. With rising stars like Josh Grant on board, the young riders are poised for a break out season. In San Francisco it wasn't a rising star that stood out from the pack, it was a holdover from the past two years -- a rider whose better known for his injuries that his podiums. Billy Laninovich proved to everyone that there was another story to tell.

Going into round four, Laninovich had never won a national 125 race. He's spent most of the past year rehabbing injuries and not racing. In San Francisco, he spent most of the weekend leading the pack.

He didn't lead the entire race, however. Yamaha's Danny Smith took the holeshot, but Laninovich quickly moved into the lead. He would keep that lead for the entire race, briefly getting pressured by Honda's Andrew Short. But Laninovich kept the bike out front and grabbed his first AMA Supercross checkered flag of his career.

"This is the first win of my career, so I can't even explain how happy I am," said Laninovich. "I hope this is the first of many. I had a little battle with Danny Smith on lap one, but I was able to move into the lead and ride smart."

The Podium Game

San Francisco, Calif. ~ SBC Park is no stranger to superstars and hype. For the past decade, the stadium has been home to San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds. While everyone knows about his home run records and his possible usage of the steroid Balco, some overlook his record for career walks. A good chunk of those free passes came at SBC Park, but for one January night, walking was not allowed inside the stadium.

The AMA rolled its sideshow into San Francisco last weekend for round four of the THQ Supercross Series. Among the superstars competing near the waves of McCovey Cove were Team AMSOIL/Chaparral/Honda riders Kevin Windham and Mike LaRocco.

Windham came into the weekend second in overall points behind leader Ricky Carmichael. During his qualifying, Windham was out to prove he had the staying power to get back on another podium as he won his heat and clocked the fastest qualifying time of the night. K-Dub would get his choice of starting spots during the 250cc main event.

Meanwhile, LaRocco would get out to a solid start in his qualifier. The 34-year-old finished his heat in second and was dubbed the number three qualifier for the main.

Both LaRocco and Windham have found success in the finals during the first three rounds of the season. During the mud and rain drenched opener in Anaheim, Windham took the checkered flag while LaRocco never dumped his bike and finished in second. Round two brought clearer skies in Phoenix, but it was Windham who continued his podium success with a second. The AMA would return to Anaheim for round three and again Windham grabbed a post-race podium interview with his third. Would K-Dub make it four-for-four in San Francisco? Or would LaRocco find the right groove and get back to the winners circle?

The main started with an unusual occurrence. Carmichael, who had taken the first three holeshots this season, was beaten to the punch by Australian Chad Reed. Carmichael also found himself behind LaRocco, who came out of the first turn in second. Windham found his number 14 Honda in sixth after turn one. For LaRocco, the strong start is something he has been working on.

"Tonight was definitely good for me," explained LaRocco after the race. "I got (second) in the heat race and the main event, so I was definitely happy about that."

LaRocco was able to keep his Honda 250 in front of Carmichael for the first two laps before the reigning motocross champion took advantage of a stutter by "The Rock" through one of the whoops sections. Windham, meanwhile, was moving his way up toward the leaders. He caught his teammate and was battling for third place, when he tried to take an inside line that was closed off. Windham rubbed tires with LaRocco near the finish line turn. The moves sent Windham running from his bike. As he scrambled to get his 450 refired, much of the field had passed by. Once back on track, he found himself sitting in 15th.

LaRocco, meanwhile was running alone in third, about three seconds behind Carmichael and Reed. The ensuing battle for fourth was another four seconds back. For the remainder of the race, the Indiana native would ride by himself and grab his second podium of the year with a third place finish.

"Tonight I felt pretty good," said LaRocco, "The last few races I didn't feel comfortable for some reason. I did feel better tonight and hopefully all of that rust is shaken off and I can have some more good races."

In Anaheim, Windham found himself in the back of the pack early and was able to weave his way to a third place finish. In San Francisco, however, he made a determined effort to get back to the winner's circle, but the 20-lap final came to an end with Windham in ninth.

Windham's top 10 finish keeps him in second in the overall Supercross series points. He currently sits 13 points behind Carmichael, whose 80 points leads all other riders. LaRocco is fourth, another 13 points behind Windham.

Racing returns to Angel Stadium of Anaheim on Saturday, February 5, 2005.

Snow Day

Preston, Idaho ~ Team AMSOIL has had to deal with the elements all season long and it was no different for one of the top Hillclimb teams in the nation, ZBROZ Racing. The season opener in Croydon, Utah (The Widow Maker) was cancelled due to the lack of snow. So the season opener was rescheduled for Preston, Idaho two weeks ago.

ZBROZ begins their quest for another world title in the MOD 700, 800 and Open MOD classes. The first weekend of racing saw ZBROZ bring home two podiums in Preston. Nate Zollinger took second in the MOD 700 class and Anthony Zollinger was right behind him for third. Anthony had a solid day racing. He took fourth in MOD 800 and fifth in the Open MOD class.

Back On Top

Tomahawk, Wis. ~ PJ Wanderscheid has encountered some poor luck this season. After not being allowed to qualify because of starting troubles at Eagle River, Wanderscheid has been on a tear in the U.S.S.A. Pro Star Series that past two weeks.

Team AMSOIL/Wanderscheid racing brought their Arctic Cats to Tomahawk, Wis. last weekend. Wanderscheid shined in the Pro Open class, taking the checkered flag with a win over rival Jeff Moyle. It was pay back for Wanderscheid who lost the previous week's pro open race to Moyle in Watersmeet, Mich.

In the Pro Champ 440 final, Wanderscheid found another podium with a third place finish behind Jeff Ludwig and John VanRite. Meanwhile, Team AMSOIL received another strong start from first year driver Shaun Beilke. The semi-pro driver grabbed fourth place in Pro Champ 440 for the second straight weekend. Beilke also finished second in the Semi-Pro Champ class.

Team AMSOIL/Wanderscheid Racing will play host to the USSA this weekend. The Pro Star Series will be held in Freeport, Minn., which is near Wanderscheid's home town of Sauk Centre.