Henry, Lusk Lead Big Yamaha Night

Doug Henry, who missed much of last season with a broken back suffered in a fall in 1995, completed two weeks of championship riding by winning the second round of the Supercross season Saturday night in the Coliseum.

Henry’s Yamaha teammate, Ezra Lusk, led off the starting line in the 20-lap main event, but took the lead on the fourth lap and was never seriously challenged.

It was a Yamaha night, as Henry and Lusk were also heat winners.

Jeremy McGrath, coming back after a disappointing 15th last week in his debut on a Suzuki bike, moved quickly from fifth to third early in the final, but could not get past Lusk. At one point, on the 12th lap, McGrath pulled his yellow Suzuki alongside Lusk, but couldn’t get by.

In two Supercross events in the Coliseum, Henry, of Oxford, Conn., won two heats, one main event and finished second behind Greg Albertyn of South Africa in last week’s feature.

Any concern the American Motorcyclist Assn. had that Los Angeles might not support Supercross on successive weekends was put to rest when 47,831 turned out at the Coliseum to watch the second round of the 15-race stadium series. It was 10,000 more than last week’s opener.

Brian Deegan, a Suzuki rider from Canyon Lake, pulled a stunning upset in the 125cc final when he overtook early leader Robbie Reynard on lap 12 of the 15-lap final.

Defending series champion Kevin Windham, a runaway winner last week, fell on the whoop-de-dos in mid-race, but got up and managed to finish eighth.

“I feel like I rode real well out there,” an elated Deegan said. “It took me a few laps to get going. My goal tonight was to get on the podium, but when I saw I had a chance to win, I went for it.”

On the 25th anniversary of Supercross, officials created a wide-open, high-speed course with riders starting in a cavalry charge from the football field’s 20-yard line racing west to a hairpin left turn. The six-floor jump from the peristyle after coming out from beneath the Olympic arches was as breathtaking as ever.