Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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eM OSS OloeR e Florida Winter AM! MX Series: Final Round ~- T immy Ferry (77) O1t un der Ron Tichenor (23) at the start of a 250cc Pro moto, Ferry was the overall winner and series champion. Gary Peak (2) was the overall winner in the +40 class, but Barry Mayo (123) went home with the class championship. DeVane, Ferry crowned at Gatorback By Mik e and Anne Adai r GAINESVILLE, FL, JAN. 25ยท26 im my Ferry walked.away with the 250cc P ro class overall win and class championship at the conclusion of the 22nd Annual Florida Winter AMA MX Series at Gatorback Cycle Park. "My day didn't start very well, " said Kawasaki Team Green/RRP/Yokohama/B el l/EK /Bel - Ray /Sunoco / Fox-backed Ferry. " At the start of the first 250cc Pro moto, I fell and was T 20 run over. " Despite the bad start, Ferry charged back to finish third, then won th e second moto to edge out Jeff Curry for the overall victory. Ferry al so won the second 125cc Pro class moto, but a 15th-place finish in rnoto one left him seventh in the overall sta ndi ngs. Suzuki's Ezra Lusk won the 125cc Pro class with a pair of runner-up finishes to Tuf Racing's Ron Tichenor and Ferry , but it was Vince DeVane, wh o fini shed fourth overa ll, wh o took home the class championship. For winn ing the Pro class titles, DeVan e and Ferry had thei r names add ed to the Freddie Epherem Memorial T ro p hy, a perpetual award given in memory of the late AMA pro referee. The Winter AMA Series ended with clear, crisp weather. At the WorldSports awards ceremony following the event, trophies and merchandise were prese nted to th e top finishers in each class by event sponsors White Brothers /Tw in Air, Pow errnist R acing Fu el s, Dunlop, Scott USA, Cycle News , Barr's Competition, Tuf Rae- ing, Pro Circuit, AXO, Renthal, Pro Action Suspension, Pit Stop Racing, Dirt Shirts, Boyeson Engineering, Chariot Trailers, Discount Trophies, MotoSports, Hammerhead Graphics and Rad N Bad. Ferry led the start of the first 125cc Pro moto ah ead of Tichenor, Lusk, Brett Beauchamp and Tony Lorusso. Tichenor's Tip Tipton-prepped Oakley/ Arai /DunloplTuf Ra cing-backed Suzuki took the lead on lap three as Ferry 's expansion chamber came loose and he slowed down, eventuall y lim ping in with a 15th finish . Honda Suzuki Marine/ Barrs/ Pro Action/ AXO/Oakley/Dunlop/ Rentha l/Motocycle Stuff-sponsored DeVane and Lusk closed in on Tichenor and the three Suzuki riders staged th e race of the day. Lusk jammed by DeVan e to lock up second on the final lap. L usk said, "I went outside DeVane on a double and when he squared off the next turn, we hit. By then, Ronni e was too far ahead to catch." Moto winner Tichenor said, "My air boot came loose at the halfway mark. The engine sucked sand and I wa s lucky to win." Finishing beh ind Tichenor, 'Lusk . and DeVane were Barry Carsten, Kurt McMillen , Bill y Schlagg, Chris Brown, Lorusso, Beau ch amp and Carl Vaill ancourL Mik e Brown led early in moto two with Ferry , Lusk, Lorusso, Carsten and Grayson Goodman in tow . Ferry passed Brown on lap three and rode away with the lead . " Mike tried to brake check me, but I dodged him and had the drive to get by," said Ferry. At the midpoint it was Ferry ou t front foll owed by Lusk, Tichenor, Cars ten and Mike Brown. DeVane was further back battling behind Chris Brown. " I had a hard time getting by Chris, I tried to jump by him once and landed in th e banners," said DeVan e. DeVan e event uall y pass ed Brown and his sixth finish was good enough for the series titl e. Ferry, Lusk and T ichenor finish ed first through th ird, respectively, with Lusk's second-place finish breaking the tie for the overall win with T icheno r. "The competi tio n was good today and it was a good chance to race the track before th e National in March," said Lu sk. " I was riding with the hand that I broke in Italy," said Tichen or. " It felt good in the first motos, but the track go t hard packed in the final. I was taki ng a bea ti ng and 1 didn 't want to push my lu ck with the Seattle Supercross coming up. " At th e start of the first 250cc P ro moto, Tichenor grabbed th e lead ahead of J eff Curry and Brian Carroll wh ile Ferry and Mike Brown were on the ground. " My wheel jumped a rut, I bogged and Mike Brown ran over me," said Ferry. "We both got up last," Tichenor rode flawlessly for the moto win. Curry maintained the runner-up spot to the finish with Perry eventually charging back to finish . third after passing Ross Pederson , Kurt McMillen and Brian McElroy la te in the race. In moto two, McMillen beat Bro wn and Ferry to the first turn and owned the first lap while Justin Jackson, Curry, Carroll, Michael Treadwell, Brian McElro y and Pederso n closed on the top three. Ferry took over first on lap two and stayed ahead to the finish for th e overall win. Ferry said, "Mike Ro ssinni did a great job of prepping my bikes for the series ."