Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Chris Coleman (47) won the first 125cc Pro moto after chasing down Mike Brown (483). Jay Mann (216) and Billy Silverole (706) . Gene Naumec (98) was the overall winner in the 250cc Pro class at Gatorback. but John Dowd (49) took the class championsh ip. together [or a change and the n let . th em co me after me." Naumec brok e a points tie with Brian McEl roy for the day's overa ll wit h a better fin al mo to. McEl ro y lost the class title by a single point to Dowd, wh o finished thi rd overall. The fina l ro u nd of th e ser ies attracted 565 rid ers from numerous states, Ca na da , Swi tzerland, Peru , South Africa, Engla nd and Ger many, wi th the nat ionally renowned Gat orback Cycle Park being a fitting location for the finale. At the series awards show Wo rldsports' J erry West prese nted the Freddie Eph rem Trophy to Colema n an d Dowd saying, " Freddie was a par t of th e Winter AMA Series for 20 years , and th ese young riders will be the first names on th is trophy given in his memory. Ser ies cha m p io ns were loaded wit h giant trophies and merchand ise fro m spo nsors Scott USA, Kal-Gard, Powerm ist, Gear , Boyesen , Dunlop, An swer, Tsuba ki and Wiseco. Pros that com pe ted in all five events sha red i n a doubl e purse a t Gatorback. T hroug ho u t th e series, riders were ente rta ined in th e evenings by Videos By Pro fessor Bailey. Bob and Lu Field and their Mobi le Machine Shop sa lvaged many a broken fram e, sco red cylinder or bent pipe. Bo b Field said, " We have enjoyed helpin g riders ever since we di rt tracked in th e 60s." Motorcycle Stuff , a Dunlop di stributor, also helped riders with th eir tire needs . In the 125cc Pro opener, Bill y Silvero le popped th e hol eshot to lead Kevin Wa lker, J ay Mann , Vince Devane, Mike Brown and Coleman. Series leader Carsten was last. " I hooked sorneo ne's bar on the star t a nd went down, rod e hard, hit a'pole, cras hed aga in and finally got back to 16th, " said Carsten. Devane took the lead o n lap two a nd rode h is best of th e season , hold in g the lead until Todd DeHoop moved by for th e win on lap eig ht. DeH oop said, " I wanted to lead. T hey made me work too hard catchin g up." Co le man , wh o duel ed with Devane before ending second, said; "V ince had all the good lines. I tri ed everything before finall y getting by." Devane agreed, " We had a good close battle and bumped a few times. All just good racing." . Devane roo sted th e second start again with Carsten in tow arid set th e pa ce until lap 10. Coleman was II Bret Beauchamp (6 1 3 ) dueled w ith Jamie Hacking in the 1 2 5 cc B class and won the 125cc (12-15) championsh ip. Florida Winter AMA MX Series: Final Round Coleman, Dowd crowned at Gatorback By Mike and Anne Adair GA IN ESVILLE, FL , J AN. 27-28 Kawasaki riders Chris Coleman and John Dowd earned Pro class titles at a suspense filled final round of the 20th Annual Florida Winter AMA Motocross Series at Catorback Cycle Park. KawasakilPowermist/Hi. SCI . P o i n r z Bar r s Z cott l yc e Sport-sponsored Coleman , who decided a close; month-long 125cc duel with Barry Carsten and J ay Mann, said, "Last week I had ~ flat ure and lost th e lead . TodaX It was Barry who go t th e bad break . Pro rooki e Gen e Na umecupsetthe Do wd/Brian McEl ro y 250cc duel with his best ride of the seaso n. Naumec said ; " I put two holeshot s determ in ed and worked his way from fifth for th e pass. Bill y Whitley, wh o join ed the series this week, charged hard for a sixth place start, pas sed Col eman and brought hi s Suzuki in for the mo to win. J ay Mann, wh o was th e series runner-up aboard a Team Green l Barrs/PJ l/O.A. Sm ith / Po werm isti Kawasaki, sai d, " I was up there racing wit h those guys. I almost lan ded on Devan e once , I'm happy to get secon d in th e series." Carsten . ended up thi rd in me tally. The first 250cc Pro moto saw title con tendersDowd and McEl roy on the o u tside of the gate with bad starting dra ws. "They used to let th e series leaders ga te first," comp lained Dowd. G ene Naum ec , J eff Fr isz, DeH oop , Mike Stahlman, Carl Vaillancourt and Ross Pederson starred in th e ear ly laps, bu t Sta h lman took the lead and co nt ro lled the pa ce for the win. Stahlman sai d, " I passed everyo ne o n the sweeper at th e north end of the trac k. It was like a speed way up there." Del-loop's quest for the lead ended with a cra sh. He exp lained, " I was in second and Frisz jumped and landed on me." McElroy rode his strongest moto of the series and sliced through half th e pack for second. Frisz recovered from th e in cident [or third. Dowd ended seventh , and needed a mi racu lous fin al mo to to catch McElroy for the crown. T he start of mo to two saw Frisz, DeHoo p and Gar y Paul dicing for the lead wit h Na urnec, Vaillancourt, Ross Pederson and Dowd in th e hunt. McElro y was near last o n la p o ne a n d wo u ld en d , fifth. H e exp lained, " I was sixth out of th e pit, so me guy fell, and a loo se bike took me ou t." Naumec's T eam Green /AXO/Pro Ci rcu it/S cott/Maxima /Midtown Kawasak i took the lead and owned it for seven laps. Dowd pushed and reeled in Vaill an court, Pederson and then mad e his pass on Naumec to ta ke the win. Pederson was tenacious and on th e final lap charged beside .Dowd on m e triple in a pass tha t would have earn ed the Canadian th e day's overall win. Dowd held hi s line, and Pederson crashed hard, bu t rem ounted to salvage second. Ped erson sa id, " I got a m ild concussio n , I'm embarrassed to say that I don 't remember much at all abo u t the rnoto .'

• Cover