eMOTOCROSS
CMC Golden State Nationals: Final round
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Dean Matson (01) won the 125cc Pro class and finished second overall in the 250cc Pro class. Col)' Keeney (23) wrapped up the 250cc Pro class series championship.
Matson, Chamberlain take control atSunrise
Rick Ryan (20) couldn't fend off the charges of overall winner Mike Chamberlain (60)
in the 250cc Pro class. Chamberlain easily won both motos en route to his win.
By Tony Alessi and Scott Hoffman
ADELANTO, CA, FEB. 21
ean
Matson
and
Mike
Chamberlain were the top performers at Sunrise Valley
Raceway, as they romped home the victors in the 125 and 250cc Pro classes,
respectively, at the final round of the
CMC Pepsi Golden State Nationals.
Mother Nature wreaked havoc in the
days before the event and doused southern California with rain, but the desert
sand soaked up most of the moisture
and left the course in prime condition
for the event.
Ty Birdwell pulled the holeshot at
the start of the first 125cc Pro moto.
Steven Kotajarvi ran a close second, followed by former Western Regional
125cc SX Champion Ty Davis, Matson
and Mark Easley. Birdwell, a former top
amateur racer, was making his pro
debut after a two-year layoff.
"I broke my back in 1991, and 1 am
tl)'ing to get back up to speed," Birdwell
said.
D
28
On lap two, Kotajarvi and Davis
moved Birdwell to third and began to
battle for the lead. By the start of the
third 1ap, Davis was out front and in
control, while Birdwell dropped off the
pace and faded back into the pack.
"1 was kind of 'surprised it was that
easy. For a minute 1 thought 1 might
have been in the wrong race," said
Davis. "Riding in enduros and desert
races is much harder than motocross. It
really has improved my riding skills."
Meanwhile, Matson quietly moved
into the runner-up position.
"I've been away in Europe healing
some broken bones and racing in
Belgium," said Matson. "I'm happy to
be back. 1 want to check out the local
scene and tI)' to ride more conservative
this year."
Matson did just that after settling
in to second, as he remained four seconds behind Davis to the finish. Erick
Hilton made an impressive charge from
outside the .top 20 into third at the finish.
"1 saw my pit board after the first
