Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127568
~ MOTOCROSS e MXFinal ~~~~~~ (1') 0\ 0\ ~ < t--.,.. . . ,-4 J-4 Kevin Windham (511) and Freddie Mitchell (45) diced off the start. Windham won seven of the eight Intermediate class motos. Robbie Reynard (671) and Craig Decker (141) went 1-2 in both the 125 and 250cc Expert classes. Reynard. will tum pro in May. Reynard, Windham wail at Whitney By Chris Jonnum LAKE WIDTNEY, TX, MAR. 19-21 f FBI agents really want to bring an end to their protracted standoff with cult-leader David Koresh, they should try enlisting the help of Robbie Reynard and Kevin Windham. In the GNC Finals at Lake Whitney Cycle Ranch, just 30 miles north of Koresh's fortified compound in Waco, the two Kawasaki Team Green riders handled I 24 their fellow competitors in the Expert and Amateur classes with enough ease that getting the best of one self-proclaimed prophet should pose little problem. Moore, Oklahoma's Reynard, who will be turning pro on his 16th birthday this May, had the least trouble with his competition, riding to easy wins in all four motos of the 125 and 250cc Expert classes. Windham had a little more work cut out for himself, as he was entered in no less than four different divisions at Lake Whitney. The 14-yearold rider from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who just last year was competing aboard minis, won seven of eight motos in the highly competitive 125 and 250cc Intermediate and Stock Intermediate classes, earning overall wins in all but the 125cc Intermediate class. A first-lap pile-up in his final outing was the only thing that kept Windham from a perfect weekend. "This is really my kind of track, because it starts getting rough towards the end of the day," said Windham. HI try to ride smooth, and that really helps when it gets whooped out. "I've been training a lot and I can't wait to tum pro," said Reynard. "I was trying to ride hard out there to get in shape. I wish I was 16 now, so I could race at the Dallas Supercross and all the other ones. I feel like I'm ready." Beginner classes ran under a deluge of rain on Friday, but GNC's Liz and Jerry Surber had the track prepared in time for the Novice, Intermediate and Expert divisions to be run on Saturday and Sunday. LOw clouds and cool temperatures prevailed for the first round of motos, which was run on Saturday, but the sun crept out from behind the clouds in time for Sunday's second motos. The event at Lake Whitney traditionally serves as the year's first major meeting of Amateur racers from aU over the country, and with appro~tely 1150 entries, attendance was the highest it has been for several years. On Saturday, many classes were so large that they had to be split into two divisions in order to accommodate the 36-rider starting gate. The first 15 riders from each division automatically qualified for Sunday's second moto, and the remaining riders competed in a single, threelap consolation race that transferred the top six riders. Expert classes ran ninelap first motos, while some mini classes only went four laps. Other divisions were somewhere in between. One lap was added for most of the second motos. In Reynard's first 250cc Expert outing, the Team Green/Fox/ Asics/Mike Taylor Designs/lOO%/CTi/NGK/ Tsubaki /Pro-Circui t/PP/ Renthal/ Dunlop/ All Sport/Uni/MXA/Bell/ Scott/PCI-sponsored rider gave a preview of things to come. Honda-mounted Grayson Goodman nabbed the holeshot and led at the completion of lap one, but Reynard took over the point in a wooded section of the track on the second circuit. Once in front, Reynard simply pulled away and Goodman was left to fend off the charges of a poor-starting Jason Upshaw. Goodman held on to finish in the runner-up position, and Kawasaki rider Upshaw was third. HI got around him (Goodman) and tried to ride smooth and not make mistakes," said Reynard. Team Green's Craig Decker put on a display similar to Reynard's in the other 250cc Expert division, and the two were set to face off in moto two. Reynard led from the start, and immediately began to pull away from Team Green/ Sinisalo/AXO/Scott/Bill's Pipes-backed Decker. Goodman finished a distant third in the moto for third overall. "I like to get the holeshot, because it makes it a lot easier (to win)," said Reynard. A typical understatement for the soft-spoken youngster. "Robbie's riding really good; I have to give him all the credit," said Decker. Reynard rode another perfect race in his first 125cc Expert moto, which ran on a whooped-out track late on Saturday. Reynard again led from start to finish, while Decker worked his way up from a fourth-place start to secure second place by the sixth lap. Reynard was the only rider who remained smooth on the rough track, missing the worst spots by taking muddy inside and outside lines through the corners.