Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eMOTOCROSS e NMAWorld Mini Grand Prix R ic ky Carmichael (167) led Jeff Willoh (216) and Ryan Clark (130 ) at the start of the first Super Mini moto. Windham, Decker sparkle in Vegas By Donn Maeda LAS VEGAS, NV, APR. 24·26 ouneen-year-old Kevin Windham and If-year-old Craig Decker may have been too young to play the slots, but that didn't stop them from winning their share of the gold at the National Motosport Association's World Mini Grand Prix. Now in its 21st year, the event was held at Las Vegas Motocross Park, just minutes from the "Strip." Louisiana's Windham was with out rivals in the 80cc Stock (14-16- year-old) class, and posted consisten t 1-2 fini shes to also score the Super Mini (through 16) class win aboard his Kawasaki Team Green / AXO /Dunlop/Scotl/Maxima/ H amm erh ead /Rentha l/Bel l/FMF/ WOR·backed m inis. Kansan Robbie Skaggs led Windham across the finish line in the second Super Mini rnoto, but a first-moto fourth hurt him in the final stan dings. Decker was the most successful Intermediate motorcycle racer of.the weekend , as he scored overall wins in three of the four Intermediate classes. The wellmannered Californian emerged victorious in the 125cc Stock and MOdified, and 250cc Modified classes aboard his fleet of Kawasaki Team Green/Pro CircuitlSinisalo/ AXO /ScottlMaxima/ Ren tha l/CT iiN -S t y le / VP / M X A/ Dunlop-backed green machines. David Pingree stopped the Deckersweep of the Intermediate classes by scoring the win in the 250cc Stock class. Entering the event, many tagged Robbie Reynard as the rider to watch in the F 22 Intermediate ranks , but crashes and bad lu ck plagued him throughout th e weekend. All was not lost for Reynard, though, as he blitzed the competition in the 125ccOpen (through 16) class. Last year was the first time that the event was held at the all-new Las Vegas Motocross Park. But riders and specta tors alik e were disappointed in the event , as poor track preparation and drasticallysho rtened, three-lap motos tainted the weekend. "We were up against quite a bit last year," said NMA President Ron Henricksen. "We had to change the location of the track at the last minute and didn't have time to prepare it properl y. We really didn't know what to expect." This year, IOns of dirt and sand were trucked in to improve the track, and the schedule that included practi ce Frida y morning, racing Friday afternoon and throughout Saturday and Sunday, was followed in tight order. Though the track was shortened considerably, riders were treated to fulllength motos throughout the weekend. Just under 1100 entrants battled on the revised course, and most agreed that it was an improvement over last year's circuiL . Many classes followed a traditional two-mote format, but classes that boasted a large number of entrants required multiple divisions and a final runoff rnoto that was comprised of the top finishers from each division. The Pro class motos were run on Friday and Sunday, so they wouldn't conflict with Saturday night's Cam el Supercross event in the nearb y SilverbowL Windham kicked the weekend off by cruising to a pair of easy wins in Division One of the 80cc Stock (14-16) class. Windham scored both moto wins and overcame a pair of crashes early in the second moto. Brad Woosley finished second in both motos, while j eff Willoh pos ted 3-4 finishes to transfer into the runoff moto with third-place points. " I'm riding really good, but I'm falling a lot," said Windham. "The track is difficu lt to pass on, but it can be done. " Topping Division Two was Skaggs, who ran and hid from the competition in both outi ngs. Fin ishing second and third both times were Caseyjohnson and Dustin Nelson, in that order. In the six-lap runoff rnoto, Windham had to battle with Skaggs, who assumed the early lead. Once Windham made his way past, though, he was able to pull out to a comfortable lead and score the moto and overall wins. Skaggs held on to second, well ahead of johnson, Ryan Clark and Woosley. "I have a good line in the whoop section that I gained a lot of ground in," explained Windham. "The turns were kind of slick, so you had to be extra carefuL" Windham continued his winning ways aboard his Super Mini. The Super Mini class is open to riders up to 16 years of age, and allows the larger Kawasaki KX80 Big Wheels, along with other minis bored out up to 112cc, to compete. In the first rnoto, diminutive Ricky Carmichael grabbed the holeshot and led Willoh, jason Parnidge and Windham for the first few laps. Windham worked his way to the front of the pack by lap five, while johnson, Partridge and Skaggs fought to get past Carmichael. They eventually did, and finished in that order, behind Windham and ahead of Carmichael. "I didn't get a great start and had to work past some guys," said Windham. "But once I got out front I just cruised." "No, I wasn 't intim ida ted," said IIyear-old Carmichael about racing against older riders. "I just look at it as another race." Carmichael duplicated his first moto holeshot in the second go-round, but was able to fight off Skaggs and Windham for only one lap. Once Skaggs got out front, he held hi s lines and was able to keep a hard-charging Windham behind for the remainder or the rnoto, Carmichael thwarted the passing a ttempts of Woosley and Johnson throughout the race and finished third. Windham's I2 scores bettered Skaggs' 4-1 for the overall, while j ohnson rounded out the top th ree. "I think I could have 'won the overall if I'd gotten a better start in th e first moto," said Skaggs. " I felt strong in the second moto." Decker dominated every 125cc Intermediate race that he entered, whether it was in the Stock or Modified class. In the first Stock Division One qualifying moto, Decker battled early in the race with Mike Metzger, but was able to establish a comfortable cushion by the time the checkered flag flew. Meager came home seco nd, ahead of Clint Latham and Steve Andrich. Moto two saw Decker run and hide from the field, while Latham led jasonMcMurrich and Ty Kady across the finish line. Pingree used consistent 2-2 finishes to top Division Two, while Terry Parsons and Larry Linkogle transferred into the runoff with second and third place credits, respectively. Joe DePatlO grabbed the holeshot at the start of the runoff moto, but surrendered the lead to Pingree before the completion of lap one. Decker gated miserably, but by the end of lap one had motored into fifth. As he began lap two, Pingree already held a sizable lead but lost his front end in a slick tum and went down. "I can't beleive it, I had it (the win) in the bag ," said a disappointed Pingree. "They watered the track right before my race and my front end slid out from under me." DePallo assumed the lead, but was only able to enjoy it for two laps as Decker blitzed past, Once out front, Decker began to establish a lead that would stretch to 15 seconds. On the same lap that Decker took over, Reynard crashed hard over a jump while running fifth. " I landed in some mud, and tried to gas it out of it," said Reynard, who was shaken but unhurt, "But it slid sideways and I ended up flying off the track. " Def'atto continued 10 run second unti l the last lap, when he slid out on the face of a jump and crashed back to sixth. Andrich inheri ted second, ahead of Parsons and Greg Schnel l. Decker was uncontested for the overall, while Parsons earned second. Latham, Andrich and DePatto rounded out the top five. 'Things are going well," said Parsons. "I'm finishing every race and staying consistent," . Things went just as well in the 125cc Modified Intermediate class for Decker,

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