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US Open in Las Vegas

Published October 12th, 2002

October 12, 2002

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Joy – Mike LaRocco wins! Sadness – only 5,651 see it.

Las Vegas is Sin City. Eat, Drink, Gamble, Party, Money, Tourists, Lights, … oh yeah … and there is a race.

Mike LaRocco is the winner of the 2002 US Open. He won Friday night’s main event, and then followed that up with third on Saturday night to take the overall championship. He rode a Honda CR 250 two-stroke. Ricky Carmichael finished second overall. He was the early leader on Friday night, but fell and finished fifth. He came back strong to win Saturday night’s main event. Third overall went to Tim Ferry on the big four-stroke Yamaha. He rode to finishes of second and fourth.

Technically, the race is an arenacross (see location above) and lap times are just over 30 seconds. Is this event important? No. It’s not for any points or championship series. And it certainly seems to have lost some of it’s luster since it’s inception a few short years ago. For the die-hard fans that attend, it’s a chance to party and rub elbows with some of their heroes. David Vuillemin, Jeremy McGrath, James Stewart, Travis Pastrana, Stephane Roncada, Sebastien Tortelli, Sean Hamblin, and others did not participate.

Notes: Chad Reed rode a Yamaha YZ 250 two-stroke. #54 Broc Helper dominated the 125 class, winning all four motos over two nights of racing. Mike Alessi was the overall winner in 85cc racing, and Marco Dube won the Four-Stroke class overall.

Friday was a sad day for the sport as a whole. A number tells the entire story – 5,651. That’s how many fans were in attendance. Saturday night’s attendance was not announced, but guesses put it at 9,000.

250 Overall Results:

1. Mike LaRocco – HON – 1/3

2. Ricky Carmichael – HON – 5/1

3. Tim Ferry – YAM – 2/4

4. Chad Reed – YAM – 6/2

5. Ivan Tedesco – YAM

6. Ernesto Fonseca – HON

7. Ryan Clark – YAM

8. Ezra Lusk – KAW

9. Michael Byrne – HON

10. Grant Langston – KTM

Television: October 27 – 4pm Eastern Time – ESPN2 – US Open

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