It was the first supercross race of the season. 37,706 fans packed into the Los Angeles Coliseum, all waiting for the gate to drop. Could McGrath win on a Suzuki? Would Jeff Emig beat McGrath with the confidence he gained after winning the �96 250cc National Championship? Would Steve Lamson have a good race on the controversial aluminum-framed Honda CR250? All the questions and opinions people had eventually led up to one question, what the hell happened? McGrath, expected to win, brought total disaster to the series opener as multiple crashes held him to 15th place. As the race started Mcgarth managed to pull an awesome start, grabbing the hole shot with out a problem. Lamson fell into the first turn causing his bike to tip over on McGrath�s rear wheel. By the time McGrath got up he was only ahead of Lamson and Bradshaw.Entering the third turn Mcgrath had some more bad luck and crashed all by himself. Lamson and Bradshaw both passed McGrath while he was on the ground. After getting up McGrath soon passed Lamson and Bradshaw again. It wasn�t over yet. Headed into the very next corner, out of no where Lamson launched into McGrath taking them both out one more time. In the end a disappointing loss for McGrath, but an amazing victory by Greg Albertyn. Once known for his out of control riding and all too frequent crashes, Albertyn raced an amazing race that lead him to victory.