Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ M OTOCROSS NGKlCMC Golden State Nationals: Round 3 ~ Tommy Clowers ( 178) dives underneath Rodney Smith ( 17) in the firstl25cc Pro moto. Steve Lamson (10) scored the win. Mark McPerry (14) fought off Bri an Pa tterson (24) and Roi Holst er (46) to finish fourth in the Up th e H ill Junior class. Mike Scott was the overa ll winner. Lamson, Healey haul at Marysville By Donn Ma eda MARYSVILLE, CA, JAN. l2·B r ea m Hon da 's Steve La mson and KTM 's Mik e Heal ey ca me a way the big win ne rs in th e Pro classes at ro u nd three of the 15th Annual . Golden Sta te Na tion als, held at Marysvill e's " E" Street tra ck. Lamson used a home tra ck adva ntage to dominate the 125cc Pro class, and in th e 250cc Pro class too k adva ntage o f a spi ll by first-mote win ner T yson Vohland to tak e the overall victory. Heal ey pu t it all tog ether this week , defeati ng Wi llie Surratt, who has dominated th e 500cc Pro class th us far in th e series. Tommy Cl ow er s timed th e ga te perfectly in the ope ning 125cc Pro moto, but Rick Ryan and Lamson were close behind. Lamson wasted no tim e and rai led arou nd Rya n in the third turn . La mson was soo n br ea th ing down Cl owers' jersey a nd sai led past him as th ey negotia ted a tricky jump. Once in th e lead . Lamson rod e the familiar track with precisi o n and p ulled out to a com ma nd ing lead. Mea nwh ile, Dean Ma tson was ripping th rough th e field after a midpack sta rt a nd sett led into seco nd pl ace a head of Ryan. As the rno to p rogr essed, Rya n began LO tire a nd succ umbed to the pressure o f Su zuki-mounted Rodney Smi th. Sm it h scoo ted into third p lace, yet co uldn 't ga in on Matson . Lamson too k an easy win aboard hi s Pea k Anti Freeze/ Pro Circiu t/ AXO backed H onda over Mat so n , Smi th a nd Ryan . "That went pretty good," said a ha p py Lamson. " I got out abo u t th ird , but I kn ew I co u ld wo rk my way u p. O nce I got out front , I j ust set a decent pace." "Steve is goi ng reall y fast," co m ment ed Matson . " I bro ke my finger a t th e Par is Supercross and this is bas ica lly a wa rm -up race for me, since I'm not at 100% yet. Sm ith sto le th e second mota hol eshot, but Ryan , La nce Smail, a nd La tn son we re clawi ng a t h is rear fender . Ryan forced hi s way in to th e lead on lap three as Lamson stormed past Smi th a nd began LO p ressure th e new leader . La mso n bounced into th e lead o n lap five a nd rod e flawl essly to tak e a co n vi nci ng rnoto wi n o ver Vohland, wh o ' worked through th e field. Finishing third in th e mota and second overa ll was Smith. Vohland's seco nd m ota performance ea rned him third overa ll. " I felt grea t," said Lamson, " the bike is running real good, a nd I'm rea lly comfortable on it." Sm it h tim ed th e gate best in th e first 250cc Pro mot a , with Surratt, Vohland a nd Clowers close beh ind. Sm it h a nd Vohland ar gued over the lead , while Heal ey pr essured Clowers for third. Hea ley struc k a do wn ed rid er and went do wn hard, leavin g Clowers co mfo rtably in fourth. Meanwhile, Lamson rode like a man possessed after go ing down in th e firs t turn, passing 34 riders to move into fourth . Vohland sn uck u nder Smi th a nd too k the lead on the penultim ate lap, a nd was a ble to maintain it to th e fini sh. " I felt rea lly good!" said Vohla nd, " Eve ry t hi ng went well. with n o p ro blems." " T yso n rode a good race, " said Smi t h , " I felt p retty good, bu t I co uldn' t get him back." Scott Myers grabbed-th e hol eshot in th e second mo ta with Clow ers, Broc Gl over and La mso n in tow . Gl over raged into th e lead within a few turns a nd began to ex tend his adva n tage. Lamson was next to force hi s wa y tow ard th e front as he swooped past both Clowers and Myers in th e far secti on of th e co urse. Lamson th en ch iseled a way at Gl over 's lead, a nd by lap th ree was br eathing down his jersey. Lamson tried and tried, but Gl over rod e a smooth, calcu la ted race a nd left no open ings for La mson. Finally, o n lap eigh t, La mson dove to th e ins ide o f a fast turn a nd forced Gl o ver wi de . On ce in to th e lead, Lamson o pe ned a sma ll margin over Glover, who had a huge lead over Surratt and that's th e wa y they crossed th e finish lin e. Cl owers finished fourth and Kell y Andris rounded out th e top five. " It too k me a long time to ge t by Broc ," said Lamson. " H e' s a real sma rt rider a nd d idn 't lea ve a ny ope n ings !" Andy Grider pu lled the hol esh ot in moto one of the 500cc Pro class , bu t Rex Staten and Bria n Wh eeler were close behind. Surratt sta rted in ninth place, whi le Heal ey was tang led in a first turn pileup. Wh eeler too k the lead fro m Grider a nd rode flawl essly for th e first th ree laps. Sta ten wor ked in to the front posi tion o n la p fo ur, whi le Surratt a nd Heal ey muscled th ro ug h the pack. Heal ey o u t -ju m ped Su rratt o n lap seven a nd began to kn ock on Sta ten 's back door. Heal ey a nd Surratt soo n mad e th eir wa y past Staten and began to pull aw ay from th e pack. Surratt o u t-po wered H eal ey on a rough stra ig h t a nd too k th e m oto win, while Stat en held o nto th ird place. " I go t a bad sta rt, " said Surratt. " Mike and I worked through th e pack pret ty easi ly, but Stat en gav e us a hard time." " I had to really push ," exp la ined Heal ey, " I got ta ng led up o n th e sta rt and had to charge fro m last pl ace. Surratt and I had a good race, he was hairb all in g it!" T urner blasted o ff the lin e in the second 500cc mota a head of Stat en , Ryan Carlis le a nd Su rra tt. Carlisle forced hi s way into th e lead o n lap th ree, wh ile T urner d id his best to figh t off Surratt a nd Heal ey. Wi thin two tu rns, Healey motored h is Roxy/ Arai/ Sid i backed KTM past Su rratt and di spl aced Turn er o n a fast stra igh t, Healey th en reeled in Carl isle and inherited th e lead in th e back sectio n of th e tra ck. Next to bump Carlisle back was Surratt as he bounced past on a wh oop-filled straight . Su rratt and Heal ey th en enga ged in a heated batt le that carried them far a head of th e rest of th e pack. Healey prevailed , as Surratt appear ed to tire in the last few laps o f th e mota. Carlis le held onto third ahead of Staten . " I got another bad start!" said Healey. " Bu t this time getting into th e lead wasn't as hard. I was expecting more from Willie, but I think he tired out." Dave Coupe pulled a huge holeshot in th e debut Vet Pro mot o with Jim

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