McGrath’s Hold on Anaheim Falters

Jeremy McGrath won his first supercross race in 1993 in Anaheim and kept right on going, winning five of the last six American Motorcycle Assn. Supercross Series championships.

McGrath of Menifee had never lost a race in Anaheim at what is now known as Edison Field.

But in front of an announced sellout of 45,050 where, for once, the rock pile beyond the outfield wall didn’t look out of place, McGrath finally found his match.

Several of them, in fact.

Ezra Lusk of Bainbridge, Ga., led a Honda sweep of the first four positions in the 250cc main event Saturday as the AMA Supercross Series began its 25th season.

The series goes to San Diego next week and returns to Anaheim on Feb. 6.

McGrath, riding for Team Chaparral Yamaha, finished seventh overall.

Lusk overtook Larry Ward of Florence, S.C., on Lap 7 of the 20-lap main event and smoothly negotiated the 10-turn layout that covered all but the baseball infield.

Ward, on a Suzuki, fell off the pace as Mickael Pichon (France), Mike LaRocco (South Bend, Ind.) and Kevin Windham (Baton Rouge, La.) followed Ward across the finish line.

McGrath, who won seven of 16 races last year to win the series title, collided with his heir apparent, Ricky Carmichael, on Lap 8. Carmichael, the first rider to ever sweep a 125cc season last year, was running fourth at the time.

Carmichael, 19 of Havana, Fla., fell back and finished sixth.

“I was doing good, but McGrath and I collided and it cracked my throttle housing,” said Carmichael, who was making his 250cc debut.

“I’m disappointed. I wish I could have been on the podium.”

Riverside’s Jeff Emig, who broke up McGrath’s streak of Supercross titles in 1997, finished eighth in the main event for Team Kawasaki.

Emig went to the brink just to qualify for the main event. He broke his exhaust, rear sub-frame and bent his handlebars in a heat crash with Windham, failed to advance in the semifinal and needed the last-chance qualifier to reach the main event. He won that and advanced with Kawasaki teammate Damon Huffman, who won last year’s U.S. Open of Supercross.

In the 125cc main, Lake Elsinore’s Casey Johnson lost the lead on the 14th of 15 laps, but grabbed it back after taking the white flag in the Turn 8 right-hander and held off Santa Clarita’s Casey Lytle. They are Yamaha of Troy teammates. Johnson finished 22nd in last season’s West Region point standings.

Michael Brandes (Primal Impulse/Suzuki) of Quail Valley, Ca., was third.