McGrath Is Looking for a Difference at Supercross

When Supercross riders show up Saturday night at the Coliseum for the second round of their stadium motocross series, they will find a different course from the one used last week.

Four-time champion Jeremy McGrath is hoping the change will also mean a change for him. In his first ride on a Suzuki after switching from Honda, he finished 15th, his worst placing since becoming a professional. Twice on the first lap he tangled with Steve Lamson, his former Honda teammate, knocking both of them out of contention.

“I got a good start, the bike was working great, it was just one of those nights where things didn’t go right,” McGrath said. “I’m glad we’re coming back to the Coliseum next week. I want to win there.”

Saturday night will be the first time in four years that McGrath has gone into a race without leading Supercross standings. Last year he won 14 of 15 races.

Surprisingly, it is another Suzuki rider, Greg Albertyn, a three-time world champion from South Africa who moved to Corona two years ago to ride against the Americans, who won the opening race and tops the standings. It was Albertyn’s first Supercross victory after a succession of disappointments.

“It’s like winning a world championship,” Albertyn told Cycle News. “To come over here and be a world champion and then not do anything is really de-motivating. To finally prove to everybody that I am a Supercross rider and that I can win, it is elation.”

RACE AT A GLANCE

* WHAT: AMA Supercross, Round 2 of a 15-race series.

* WHERE: Coliseum.

* WHEN: Saturday. Gates open at 6 p.m.; opening ceremony, 7; first race, 7:30.