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Part of the track at Willow; hay bales. cones and banners mark the course on the tire test skid pad. The course is designed to keep speeds down so that crashes only look serious. There is usually very little damage to both rider and bike. 20 The YSRs raced are basically stock. although many riders add fancy paint jobs to emulate the factory GP bikes or full-sized FZR sport bikes. : to back off when getting squeezed in a comer. "It's like anything," says Billingsley . "Some people will take it seriously." When the first Race of Champions heat for the advanced riders left the line everyone got down to some serious racing. Californian Dennis Ray Horton, who placed second to Salaverria in the Lightweight Advanced class in regular SMX action, jumped out with the lead , followed by Salaverria and another southern Californian, Jim Mihal. Horton went down near the end of the second lap and lost several places, giving -Salaverria the lead. Mihal chased Salaverria to the checkers, but couldn't get by. Texan Chris Watson was third followed by teammate Vernon Davis. Salaverria nabbed the holeshot at the start of the second ad vanced riders , as runner-up Jaques Buteau demanded a restart of the final heat when he ran. out of gas on the first lap while running up front. Apparentl y an opponent reached over and shut off his petcock as they were staging on the starting line. Chris Roldan was third overall. Most of the nine new YSRs used for the Race of Champions were thrashed afterwards. Only three came through unscathed, the rest all had various abrasions, bends and broken parts. . If sales 'in 1988 are as good as they were this year, the YSR50 circuit should grow. Why tal is already negotiating to have a special track built at Glen Helen OHV Park in San Bernardino, California, where he expects to stage races twice a month. " I don 't know where the future heat and led JR Hess to the checkered flag. Utah rider Brock Roberts started out third, but Horton passed him before the finish. The final heat was another Sala verria show as he got the lead off the line and held Hess at bay for the entire race. Horton started out third but crashed a few laps later, giving' the position to Chad Bangertes. Roberts was fourth, once again and Watson finished fifth . ' Salaverria locked up the Race of Champions crown, while Hess's 52-2 fin ishes earned him runner-up honors. Roberts took third overall via 6-4-4 scores and Billingsley took fourth despite a DNF in the last heat. Watson was the top Texan in fifth . Mark Gumz won the Race of Champions title in the Novi ce division with perfect scores. The novices were just as serious as the will go," said Why tal, " bu t we want to keep it fun. " • Results ROC ADV: 1. AI Salaverria; 2. JR Hess; 3. Brock Robens: 4. Jim Billingsley; 5. Chris Watson. ROC NOV: 1. Mark Gumz; 2. Jacques ButlNlu; 3. Chris Roldan; 4. Mika Sokoloff: 5. Michael Hedrick. VW NOV: 1. Dan Grott; 2. Michaal Hedrick; 3. Chad MOrTison; 4. Juan GOIWIles; 5. Stephen Blanchard. MIW NOV DIV 1: 1. Gary Garn8l'; 2. Chris Rolden; 3. Mark Gumz; 4. Arden Fri...n; 5. Scon Aikins. MIW NOV DIV 2: 1. Joseph McRae; 2. Steve George; 3. Monte Rock; 4 . Rick Young; 5. Scon Small. . HIW NOV: 1. Mike Sokoloff; 2. Jacques ButlNlu; 3. Clill Gerhard; 4. Ross Nash; 5. Gene Borgia. VW ADV: 1. AI Salaverria; 2. Dennis RayHonon; 3. Henry Rodene; 4. Steve Dyer: 5. Brock R-.u. MIW ADV DIV 1: 1. JR Hess; 2. Rick Ritch; 3. Jim Billingsley; 4 . Will Sorenson; 5. Russell Olney. MIW ADV OIV 2: 1. Nick lenatsch; 2. Ched Bongenes; 3. Willie Amaradio; 4. Mark Peterson; 5. Eddie Brojn ikoll. HIW ADV: 1. Milch Boehm; 2. Joel Randel; 3. Jim Mihal; 4. W. All ison Sees; 5. Mark leGrand. WMN: 1. Colleen McCoy; 2. Patti Kadlec; 3. VICky Jockson; 4. Lynda Donovan; 5. Tora Sesizr.