McGrath Clinches 1999 Supercross Championship; Team Mazda Chaparral Yamaha's McGrath Captures Record Sixth Title

Business Wire, April 22, 1999

IRVINE, Calif.--(BW SportsWire)--April 22, 1999--

Clinching his record sixth Supercross championship with a closely fought second-place finish in Saturday's event at the Superdome in New Orleans, motocross legend Jeremy "Showtime" McGrath firmly established himself as the dominant rider in the sport -- the "Michael Jordan of motocross."

With two events still remaining on the schedule, McGrath holds an insurmountable 65-point lead over second-place Mike LaRocco (313 pts to 248 pts). McGrath and Mazda Chaparral Yamaha teammate Steve Lamson will race again on April 24 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind.

"My goal at the start of the season was to win a championship for Team Mazda Chaparral Yamaha, and I'm proud that we've accomplished that feat," McGrath said. "We've done it with consistency and teamwork. I don't plan to let up in the final two races -- I'd like to close out the season with two more wins."

"Jeremy winning the championship for Team Mazda Chaparral Yamaha is exactly the result we had hoped for when we signed on as the title sponsor of the team," said Jack Stavana, group manager, marketing plans for Mazda. "Jeremy is a winner and that's the image we want associated with our B-Series trucks and the Mazda brand."

With more Supercross victories over the course of his career (60) than the next two riders combined, McGrath's domination has been, on all counts, absolute. This season, he has won seven of 14 events, including a run of five victories in a row.

McGrath recently filmed an upcoming TV ad for the 1999 Mazda Troy Lee Edition truck. This marks the first time that a motocross personality has been used in a national ad campaign outside of the sport and is indicative of how McGrath transcends the sport.

During the past year, Mazda has made motocross racing an integral part of its marketing program for the company's rugged B-Series pickup trucks. Motocross imagery has been used in several television ads and in the B-Series sales brochure.

Mazda also is the title sponsor of the 1999 AMA Mazda Trucks Motocross Nationals series, which begins in May. Mazda has even introduced a special B-Series option package developed by noted motocross and extreme sports designer Troy Lee. The Troy Lee Edition trucks go on sale in Mazda dealerships this month.

Mazda North American Operations is responsible for the research and development, sales and marketing, and customer parts and service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., MNAO has approximately 800 dealerships nationwide and is owned by Mazda Motor Corp., Hiroshima, Japan. For further information on Mazda, please visit www.mazdausa.com. For further information on Chaparral Motorsports, please visit www.chaparral-racing.com.