Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127177
Rod ney Reber (124), Michael S t o rmawr (6) , John Choate (21 ), Bra ntley (7 ) and winner Billy Si lvero le (7 0 6) start a 250cc B moto. 1: Kitsch led Beckington across the finish line in both 125cc Expert class motos to collect a share of the $1000 Semi-Pro purse. Kitsc~, Foley & Boyesen rule Marion MX By Mike and Anne Adair REDICK, FL , JAN. 29 Joh n Kitsch, Kevin Foley and Dag Boyesen shared the $1000 semi-pro purse in th e opening round of the Florida Supercross Countdown Series at Motocross of Marion 16 County. The AMA /WorldSport-sanctioned Sco tt USA ' I . ;' G ear Racewea~, D u~ op TIre, Bo yesen En g Ineenng-sp o n - . sored series attracted 236 riders fro m 20 sta!es, ~anada, . England and At;tstrat. S~nes coordinator Bob West said, "This senes provides an opportu nity for east coast pro and amateur riders to sha rpen their rid ing skills for the upcomi ng Miam i, Atlanta and Daytona Supercro sses. Yamaha has added a sign ificant co nt ingency program for this series." Ken Blackburn's motocross facility features an easily viewed one mile longtrack of hard red clay , however the high-speed surface caused a rash of accident s during practice. Referee Dave Aubry commented, " Riders were not used to the higher speed riding and some were trying multiple jumps th at they were not ready for. After practice , we shaved down several of th e jumps to try to reduce th e chance of injuries." In th e 125cc Expert action, Kitsch wedged into the first turn ahead of j eff Beckington, Chris Co leman, Carl Vaillancourt and Barr y Carsten. Kitsch's TUF/SCOll/ PJ-I / Bel1/ Apico-backed Suzuki styled high orr , th e grandstand double, with Kitsch maintaining a solid lead. Beckington, who finished second, explained, "J ohn had a great start and used good lines throughout the race. " Texaco Canada and Drummond , Moto-backed Vaillancourt wrested the third spot from Coleman in a fierce duel. Moto two saw Kitsch rule the gate agai n wit h Co leman, Beckington , Brian McElroy a nd David Becki ngton in pursuit. Although it looked like an easy win for Kitsch, he said later, " I didn't know that th e track was so hard. I only brought my Dun lop 990s (sand tires). The sun baked and hardened the track as the day went along and I was sliding way too much in the final moto." Honda/LaRocco Cycle /O 'Nealbacked Jeff Beckington, who picked off Co leman on the white flag lap for second overall, said, '.'My new mechanic, J ohn Grewe, has reall y improved my trai ning program." Seminole Honda/MX Fox /Scott/ MRC-sponsored Foley roosted orr the gate and scorched the first 250cc Expert moto. Gary Pa u l , David Becki ngton, Eric McLear and Co leman provided the action for second spot. Foley commented, " McLear go t a better start than me. I caught h im in a corner though and then I tried to stay out of trouble. My Honda is sti ll stock, but Steve Carter helped me set up the suspension during th e Winter AMA Series an d it was working welItoday." Beckington reeled in Pau l and took over second with a lap to go . Beckington added, "This is really a fast track for Florida. Severa l of us were runni ng about the same speed out there and that makes for hard passin g." , In moto two Coleman's T UF /Hi-