Anaheim Stadium Motocross : Johnson Opens With Win Before Only 38,000 Fans

The 1988 stadium motocross series opened Saturday night at Anaheim Stadium with high expectations for a competitive season after riders Rick Johnson and Jeff Ward had dominated for three years.

Instead, a small crowd estimated at 38,000 saw Johnson pass Ward on the 11th lap and go on to win the Coors Super Crown of Stadium Motocross. So much for parity.

Ward, the defending series champion, finished third when he fell moments after Johnson passed him. Micky Dymond ultimately passed Ward on the 15th lap and placed second.

Johnson opened the 20-lap race with a quick burst of speed out of the starting gate and held the lead for nearly two laps. Ward passed Johnson near the end of the second lap and maintained the lead for eight laps before Johnson took control.

Johnson, who earned $5,000 for the victory, finished five seconds ahead of Dymond. Johnson said he was anticipating a race with Ward similar to the one he had with David Bailey in 1986 at Anaheim.

“I felt relieved when I heard Jeff go down, but then the crowd got real quiet,” Johnson said. “I was hoping for another race with Jeff like I had with Bailey two years ago.”

Johnson also earned a $500 bonus for the best riding move of the night for passing Ron Lechien on the final lap of his heat race.

Dymond was making his debut on a Yamaha after winning two national 125cc titles with Honda. Dymond said he was satisfied with second place.

“I had ridden a couple of stadium races in Europe for Yamaha, but this was the first big test,” he said. “That was my best finish in a supercross (stadium motocross), so I’m real excited.”

Mike Kiedrowski of Canyon Country won the 125cc support class race. The support riders use an inverted starting system in which the top riders started far behind the starting gate. Jeff Matiasevich of La Habra Heights was second.

The crowd, the smallest turnout for a motocross race at Anaheim since the stadium was expanded in 1980, was disappointing. The event had traditionally lured sellout crowds for the past five years but fell far short of capacity under the new promotion of Mickey Thompson.

“I’m not disappointed with the crowd; this is what I expected,” Thompson said. “This is a new promotion for us and we have to build up a mailing list. It will come in time.”

Only a week ago, Thompson promoted an off-road race that drew 65,000 at Anaheim. A week earlier, a truck and tractor pull drew 47,000 to the facility.

It was up to Johnson to provide most of the excitement in the opening heat races. The 23-year-old rider followed Lechien for five laps and then began pursuing him on the sixth.

Johnson narrowed the gap on the seventh lap when Lechien had to slow down to pass a slower rider, and then he finally caught and passed Lechien on a sweeper turn in the last lap. Johnson carefully set up Lechien on the long straightaway and made his move just before the start of the triple jump.