Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

eSUPERCR~OS__~ S e ( 'f') 0\ 0\ r-t Lance Smail (36) and Terry Parsons (76) shMed the holeshot in the 12Scc Pro main, but Damon Huffman (86) roosted past to the win. Promoter Shane Trittler (left) congratulated Celebrity class winner "Saved by the Bell w star Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Former 12Scc National Champion Ron Lechein (99) topped Brian Manley (44) in the 2G-lap 2SOcc Pro main event. Huffman hammers 'em at Castaic Lake By Scott Hoffman VALENOA, CA, MAY 8-9 eam Suzuki's Damon Huffman, former 12Scc National Champion Ron Lechien and "Saved by the Bell" TV star Mark-Paul Gosselaar put on a show for the crowd at the Shane Trittler Promotions Celebrity Supercross, held at the Lake Castaic Recreation Area. The event was sponsored by Bieffe, Castaic Brick, Yamaha and Suzuki, and a large number of fans were out in force to see a few of the sport's top pros and a number of celebrities bang bars for charity. Proceeds from the race were donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation, a children's cancer research center. Huffman went into the 125cc main event full of confidence after flying to easy wins in the first two heat races. While Huffman styled out front, Scully IXtreme-backed Darrin Hoeft and Suzuki support rider David Pingree swapped second. Pingree prevailed at the finish. "The track was better then most supercross fracks," said Huffman after fhe first heat race. When the gate dropped for fhe 2G-lap 125ce main event, Pingree squeezed into the first spot with Honda-mounted Lance Smail and MMF's Terry Parsons following. Smail quickly moved into the lead, dropping Pingree back one spot. Smail began to pull away during the opening laps, while Suzuki rider Hoeft showed that you can ride a year-old T 32 bike and still go fast by moving into the third spot. On the first lap, Suzuki's teen-sensation Huffman found himself in the back of the pack. "I wasn't ready when the gate dropped, n said Huffman. "It fell real quick." With Smail running up front with a sizable lead, Huffman had his work cut out for him. Huffman quickly began to pick riders off, one by one. Huffman set a blistering pace and had already worked his way up to third by fhe third lap. Huffman was by far the fastest rider through fhe incredibly-tough rocker section. "They were every bit as tough as real stadium whoops, n said Huffman. "1 just kept my rear off fhe back of the seat and kept it pinned." By the fiffh lap, Huffman had pulled to within striking distance of the second-place rider, Pingree. Pingree did his best to fend off the charge of Huffman, but tl;le pressure was too extreme and Huffman moved into the second spot behind Smail. Wifh an open track between himse'lf and Smai'l, Huffman launched his attack. Smail knew Huffman was closing in, and started to push bofh himself and his bike to the limits. Right around the halfway point, Huffman was banging at the back door of Smail. The two riders' battle generated a fast pace that left the back-markers in the dust. Smail and Huffman were side-by-side going through fhe whoops when Smail bobbled. This left the door wide open for Huffman to grab fhe lead. On fhe next lap, disaster struck. Smail pulled off fhe track, claiming that he had pushed his bike beyond its limits. "It just started to seize fhe top or bottom end, and it flat died,n said Smail. Wifh Smail out of fhe race, Huffman rode his own race to the finish. Hoeft tried to close the gap on Pingree, but his endurance had run out. "By lap 15 I started getting tired," said Hoeft. 'Tm used to IS-lap mains." With the closing laps remaining, fhe riders' order remained the same. Across the line, Huffman took the win with Pingree and Hoeft following behind. Yamaha support rider Mark Easley finished fourth. Before and between fhe two Pro main events, the celebrities tried fheir hands at supercross. Celebrities ranging from soap opera actors to rock stars, and even a professional snow-boarder, came out to race for charity. It was Yamahamounted actor team versus Suzukimounted rocker and sports team in a battle to the end. Suzuki rider Gosselaar edged out professional snow-boarder Damien Sanders in bofh motos to grab fhe win. In the first moto, Sanders pulled the holeshot ahead of Gosselaar and rock star Kyle Stevens from the band Bang Tango. Sanders didn't hold fhe lead for long, as Gosselaar grabbed the lead from him on fhe second lap. The top riders were pushing each other until the third lap, when Sanders went down over a berm. "The ground was a lot softer fhan it looks, thank God," said Sanders, who is used to falling in snow. Sanders remounted quickly, but found himself in fhird behind Stevens. Up front, Gosselaar took command of the race and never looked back. At fhe finish, the order remained the same. Gosselaar took fhe win wifh Stevens and Sanders trailing. Moto two saw Gosselaar grab the early lead wifh Sanders and Stevens hot on his trail Sanders wasn't willing to give in during fhe second race, and kept the pressure on. Up front, Gosselaar could feel the pressure of fhe second place rider. "Darnien Sanders was on my tail and my arms started to pump up," said Gosselaar. Gosselaar got a break when Sanders stalled his bike and gave him some breathing room. Gosselaar went on to take the win and Sanders managed to hold off Stevens to take fhe second spot. Former Honda and Kawasaki factory rider Lechien came out of retirement to race the charity event, and displayed impressive speed by winning both 2.5Occ heat races. The heat race victories were not given to Lechien, though, as Brian Manley put up a fierce battle. Manley rode hard, but the rockers swallowed up his wheel, putting him on the ground and out of fhe race. Lechien felt strong going into the main, saying, "I like fhe track; it works well wifh my style." In the 250cc main, Lechien was all business. The Kawasaki rider pulled the holeshot and never looked back. Easley grabbed fhe second spot at fhe start, but Manley made quick work of the Yamaha rider. By fhe halfway point, fhe top three riders had spread out Lechien started to put on an aerial show for fhe crowd out front, while Billy Joe Mercier started to reel in Easley. Though he closed to Easley's rear wheel, Mercier couldn't make the pass. At the finish, Lechien cruised in for fhe win with Manley and Easley following. On Sunday, amateurs racers hit fhe track to do battle on a somewhat calmer course. Q\' Results: 125 PRO: 1. Damon Huffman (5u%); 2. David Pingree (Suz); 3. Darrin Hoeft (Suz); 4. Mark Easley (Yam); 5. Terry Paroono (Hon). 250 PltO: I. Ron LeclUen (Kow); 2. Brian Manley (!

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