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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eSUPERCROSS e AMA Amateur National SX Series: Round 3 Jason Ciarletta (12) zipped past Nick Alvarez (189) for the Pee Wee Modified win. Kelly Quinn (26) and Trent Bragg (8) had a heated battle in the 8Scc 12-13 year-old class. Larry Linkogle won two out of three classes that he entered with relative ease. Overall winner Clint Willis (88C) led Tim Reeder (38) and Ryan Pursley (9) off the line and into tum one in the second 250cc Novice Division IV moto. Linkogle awesome atAnaheim By Tony Alessi ANAHEIM, CA, JAN. 24 oung LarQ' Linkogle stole the show at the Anaheim Amateur Supercross at Anaheim Stadium, held the day after the Camel Supercross Series visited the facility. The 15-yearold rider competed in three classes and ended the day with two wins and one runner-up finish. He swept the 125cc Youth and 250cc Intermediate classes, and finished second in the 125cc Intermediate cl.ass behind Greg Schnell. Traditionally, amateur supercross events have given lesser-skilled riders a chance to experience the feel of stadium racing, but have disappointed many with the simplicity of the track. This Y year, though, the track was practically unchanged from the previous night's course and the 400 rider entries on hand were delighted. "The track was easy to work with and we didn't really have to do much in the way of changes," said GFI's Goat Breker, who oversaw the event that was promoted both by GFI and Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. "The track was pretty tight, so we didn't need to worry about many people trying to do big skyshots over the jumps." The track presented many obstacles, including step-up jumps, stadium rockers and numerous double-jumps. Linkogle got the ball rolling by spanking the competition in the opening 125cc Youth moto. While Linkogle was flying high out front, a good race for second developed between Jason Matthews and Swede Mike Litzell. Matthews proved to have a little more speed, though, as he gradually inched -away from Litzell as the eight-lap race wore on. Travis Preston was trying to make up for a terrible start and caught the pack near the halfway point. Cory Seivers and Erik Anderson had a close battle going over fourth, but Preston passed them both and crossed the finish ~einfu~hbehindwinnerLinko~, Matthews and Litzell. The second moto was little different . from the first, as Linkogle again romped away with an easy win aboard his Pro Circuit/Roost America/CTi/VP / Showa/Sunnyslope Honda/CEET / Tsubaki/Shoei/White Bros./Castrolsponsored Honda CR250. Litzell ran second early in the moto and hoped to earn runner-up honors, but Matthews again ruined the Swede's chances. Matthews motored past Litzell and on to an eventual second. Litzell held on to third, while Preston was again fourth after starting poorly. After both of his You th motos, Linkogle rode directly to the starting ~e for his 250cc Intermediate races. "I wasn't really tired, my legs just felt a little weak," said Linkogle as he caught his breath. At the start of the opening 250cc Intermediate moto, Joe Tuttebone blasted into the early lead while E.J. Wright and Chris Cooley scrambled over second. Linkogle rounded the first tum in the middle of the pack. When the race reached the halfway point, Linkogle was fourth and was poised to make a move on Cooley for . third. Linkogle smoked past Cooley and soon passed Wright. Linkogle then set his sights on Tuttebone, who was enjoying a lo-second lead. Linkogle closed in on Tuttebone, but ran out of time and had to settle for second. Wright was third and Cooley fourth. Linkogle raged back with a vengeance in the second moto and rode away with a convincing win. Tuttebone rode well, but was no match for Linkogle and finished a distant second. Third once again went to Wright, who finished just ahead of Cooley. Linkogle's 2-1 edged Tuttebone's 1-2 for the overall win, while Wright and Cooley rounded out the top four overall finishers. Linkogle met his match in the 12Scc Intermediate class, namely Race Tech Suzuki rider Greg Schnell. "Next year at this time, I plan to be doing this for real with the pros," said Schnell. Schnell was unstoppable in the first moto after a brief battle with Angelo Ingrande in the early going. Once in the lead, Schnell pulled away and posted the win with 30 seconds to spare. Ted Campell and Linkogle both started poorly, but raced into second and third,