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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127252
- - -- -- ~ - - - - ---------- MOTOCROSS CMC Golden State Nationals: Final Round ~ Mike Healey leads Dan Berg (2) on his way to the 500cc Pro class win. Healey became the first rider to win Golden State National titles in all three Pro classes. Greg 'Tirheirner (I) grabbed the holeshot in the first 125cc Pro moto ahead of Jon Nelson (133) and Scott Takacs (52). Nelson was the overall winner. Healey completes title sweep at Glen Helen By Donn Maeda Photos by Todd Pisano SAN BERNARDINO, CA. f'F.R 25 ike Healey may have on ly wo n the 500cc Pro class at the final ro und of the CMC Golden State Nationals at Glen Helen OHV Park, but he ' earned a place in the CMC record books. Healey was the first rider in the l 4-year hi story of the Golden State Nationals to capture championsh ips in all three Pro classes. " It feels really good to be th e first to sweep all three classes," said Healey. "This is a nice way to end the orr seaso n, especially since I'm leaving for Europe th is Tuesday." , Jon Nelson piloted his HSY Ra cing/Pro CircuitiFox/Shoei/Maxima· backed Suzuki to a convincing first moto win and backed it up with a third in moto two to claim the overall win M 22 in the l25cc Pro class. Healey opted to sit out the l 25cc competitio n since he wra pped up the series title two weeks earlier. European rider Don Pa tton roos ted th e 250cc Pro cl ass, push ing his Yamaha well ou t in front in both rnotos , Heal ey rode to two seconds, making sure to beat Lowell Thompson who was a threat fo r the cl as s championship. In the 500cc Pro class, Healey won both motos in th e sam e fashion that he has dominated the en tire series, pos ting 1-1 scores. Greg Tierheimer stole th e hol eshot in the opening l25cc Pro mo to ahead of Nelson and Scotty T akacs. On lap two, Takacs forced his way past Nelson and set h is sights o n T ierheime r. Takacs pulled alongside the H onda ride r but misjudged a double j um p and crashed. Once Takacs went do wn , Ne lson turned up the wick and swoo ped past Tierheimer and into the lead. Meanwhile, Eric McLear, Ran dy Moody and Phil Lawrence argued over the runner-up spot, McLear prevailed, and event ually worked into second - p lace and onto Nelson's rear fender. Nelson hung tough, and crossed the finish line ahead of McLear, Moody and Lawrence. " I got a good sta rt and was able to get out fro nt early," sai d Nelso n. "McLear pressured me towards the en d but I just held my li nes." . Lawrence stormed out of the ga te in the second mo w , but sha do wing h im were Mik e Ch amb erl ain , T revor Meagher and T akacs, La wrence and Ch amberl ain set a blazin g pace and pulled aw ay from the rest of the field. Nelson worked his way up from a ninth place start and into third p lace. Ch amberlain stuc k to Lawrence's rear fender and on th e last lap made a calcu lated pass to tak e the lead and th e moto victory . Nelson too k the overall ah ead of La wrence and McL ear , who finished a close fourth in the second mo to. "I've never won a Golden Statel" said a sm ili ng Nel son. " Once I was in third I real ized tha t I co uld have the overall, and settled int o a pa ce tryi ng not to make any mi stak es." Patton timed the gate perfectly in the first 250cc Pro moro, bu t right on his tai l were T erry Fo wler and Lawrence. Healey suffered a sixth place start, bu t by the th ird lap ha d worked his way into seco nd place. Patton continued 10 extend his lead , while Lawrence and Ryan Ca rlis le argued over th ird pl ace. Also in the thic k of th in gs was Pete Mu rra y, who nudged bo th Carl isle and Lawrence a t tim es. Patton crossed the finish line ahea d of Heal ey, Lawrence and Carlisle. " I go t the holeshot and rode hard," said Patton. " I kn ew Heal ey was there, but I felt stro ng and smooth." '" go t a bad sta rt and rode on ly as ha rd as , had to," sai d Healey. " Why shou ld I pus h and risk go ing down when the championship is at sta ke?" ' jeff Pestana powered his SCR tuned Suzuki o u t front in th e second rno to : with Patt on and Fowl er in tow . Patton forced his way into th e lead on lap two a nd pulled away again. Heal ey sta rted in fifth, but was breathing down Pestana's neck by lap three. H ealey took over second , but was kept on hi s toes by Pestana , who stuck to his rear knobs. Patton took th e win over Heale y, Pestana, and Carlisle. " I liked th is track, " said Patton. " It is a little like the ones we race on in Europe. So me say it is too easy, but when you go this fast it becomes diHicult enoug h." " Piece of cake !" shouted H ealey as he rode back to the p its. " I had to fini sh ahea d of Thomson in both motos." Dan Berg snatched th e holeshot in the first 500cc Pr o moto. Close beh ind were Rex Sta ten , Heal ey and Cra ig Davis. Healey quickly pas sed Staten , then found h is way pa st Berg in a series of tight turns and opened a lead that was quite large by th e mote's end. Staten and Davis found th eir way past Berg, but could do little to reel in Healey. Davi s powered hi s FMF Honda to the second moto holeshot, but was quickly displaced by Healey, Staten and ATK's Greg Zitterkop£. Healey duplicated his first rnoto perform ance and pulled away from th e pack. Meanwhile, Staten and Zitterkopf engaged in a heated dice that carried th em away from Davis. Heal ey crossed the fin ish line fir st , wh ile Staten topped Zitterko pf for th e ru nner-up spot. " I' d li ke to tha nk KTM, Roxy, Fo x Ra cing, Oakley, Gaerne, Arai, Ren thal, F&L Fuel , Agip O ils, JoJos and K Sty le for all their help l" said an ela ted Heal ey. Sta ten led Pete Murray at the start of the opening Vet Pro moto and set a blisteri ng pace in an attempt to pu ll away from the Cycle Service/Sinisalo/' P ro Circuit/S hoeilE nzo R a ci n g spon sored Suzu ki rider. Murray hounded Staten , but couldn't find a way arou nd th e 36-year-old ri der. Staten took the win over Murray and Scott J ohnson. Murra y g ra bbed the holeshot in rnoto two and held o rr the advances of Staten for th e durat ion of the rnoto. Staten camped ou t on Murray's rear fende r, but ra n o ut of time. Johnson rod e to ano ther th ird place finish for third overa ll, while Murray topped Staten for th e overall. "I ran out of time," said a dejected Sta ten , " four laps is bull. " Damon Huffman put his Kawasaki o u t front in th e first 80cc Expert moto with Spud Walters, j eff Dement and Michael Brandes in tow. Dement was on th e move, and scoo ted into the lead by the third lap. Walters looked for a way around the Suzuki rider, but ran out of time. Dement took the checkers ah ead of Walters, Andr ich and J esse James. Moto two saw Dement take th e hol esh ot ahea d of Wa lters and Huffman. Dement rode a steady race, and hel d the lead to the fin ish. Walters shado wed Demen t for the entire race, wh ile Huffman and J ames traded p osit io n s throug hout the moto. Dement too k the mo w and overall win ahea d of Walters and Huffman, wh o topped J ames o n the last lap. Kawa sak i Team G reen 's Andy Grider captured the cha mp io ns hi p in the 500cc Intermedia te class after a series-lo ng battle wit h Yam aha rider Eddie Reed. Grider rode 10 the first mow wi n over Reed and Gl enn Co mmans. Reed took comma nd of th e second mot o, whi le Grider settled into a conservative second that was good eno ug h to take the cha m p io nship. Reed took the day's overa ll ahea d of Grider, Commans and Bob J ohnson . Steve Lawler too k command of the first Vet Junior mo to and never loo ked back. Ken Winston stayed close to the leader throughou t the mo to, but never had a chance to take the lead . Gary Shoemaker worked his way up from a mid-pack start to finish third. Moto two was a carbo n copy of th e first , as Lawler took th e holeshot ahead of Winston and Bob Wagner. The top three riders set a speedy pace, and pulled from the rest of the field. La wler hel d o n for the mow and overall wins over Winston and Shoemak er. The Vet Interm ediate class saw Rob Healey take the early lead in the firs t moto ah ead of J ay Irwin and Dave Donaldson. Irwin stu ffed past the Honda rider and rode to the checkered flag, while Rich ard Boiteau-worked up from a poor start to pressure Healey, who held on to th e runner-up position. Irwin grabbed the second moto holeshot, but with the cham pionsh ip on his mind, Healey blasted into th e lead and took the moto win. Irwin held off Boiteau, who worked up from another mediocre start. Healey took the da y's overall ahead of Irwin and Boiteau. Healey's victory also clinched the series title, while Boiteau fin ished a very close second. Jason Shirey buzzed out of the gate first in the opening 60cc (9-11) moto, but close behind were Jimmy Varis and