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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127651
Round 2: Sunrise Valley Raceway an balDlDers 'elD at Sunrise (Top) Holeshot artist Terry Parsons (1P) led DamonHuffman (20) at the start of the first 250cc Pro moto. (Left) Huffmanwas untouchable In both 250cc Pro clas s motos, and also sco red the 125cc Pro class win with strong 2ยท1 finishes. (Above) Jeff Willoh (216) smoked to the 250cc Intermediate class win. Travis Preston (19T)finished seco nd overall. By Scott Hoffman ADELANrO,CA.JAN.16 eam Suzuki' s te en se n sa tio n, Damon Huffman, dazzl ed th e crowd and the competiti on en route to winning the 125 and 250cc Pro classes during round two of the CMC's FMF Golden State Nationals , held at Sunrise Valley Raceway. Huffman used the race to prepare for the upcoming 125cc Western Regional ' Supercross Series, and left with a bundle of confidence. Huffman was untouchable aboa rd his Answer /Cycle Engineering /Shoei-sponsored factory Suzukis. . In the first 125cc Pro class rnoto, Huffman won the drag race to the first turn while round on e's class winner, Terry Parsons, was second followed by Jimmy Lavorci and David Pingree. Rounding the first turn, Parsons drifted wide allowing Lavorci to squeeze by for second. Two turns later, Pingree moved up to third, dropping Parsons back to fourth. Pingree maintained his cha rge by snatching the runner-up spo t aw ay from Lavorci while still on the opening lap. T Up fro nt, Huffman sta r ted to pull aw ay and beg an to p u t on an ae ria l show for the crowd . But Hu ffm an's antics got the best of him and he bailed going into the whoops. "I tried something new - triple, triple, double, but I didn 't make it past the first set of tripl es," said Huffman. With Huffman picking himself up off the ground, Suzuki sup port rider Pingree graciously took over the lead spot. Huffman had fallen back to fourth , but quickly picked up the pace where he'd left off. Pingree started to put some distance on the pack, while Huffman tried to close the gap. Hu ffman 's cha rge to the front first involved picking off Parsons and Lavorci. With a clear track in sight, Huffman then tried to descend on the leader, but Pingree rode smoothly to main tain the lead . "I kept an eye on him (Huffman) so I could keep some distance," said Pin gree. Every time Huffman started to get close, Pingree just picked up the pace. While Huffman tried to close in on Pingree, a duel for the third spot eru pt- . ed . Parsons and Lavorci went back and forth, lap after lap, until Parsons finally got the best of him. "We tangled on the last lap and I got by," Parsons replied. At the finish Hu ffman had to settle for second as Pingree fended off his charge. Parsons hel d th ird with Lav or ci and Lance Smail trailing. In the second moto, Smail nailed the holeshot followed by Hugo Carmona and Huffman. Huffman wa sted little time as he easily motored into the lead. Smail held onto second as Shane Trittler, Pingree an d Lavorci quickl y dropped Carmona back into the pack. As the second lap wore on, positions we re swapped as Pingree started to make his move to 'the front. Pingr ee moved into th ir d be hi n d Smail, while Lavorci dropped Trittler another spot to fifth. Up front, Huffman wouldn't make the same mistake he'd made in the first moto and he pulled away from the field. Pingree pulled in on Smail's rear fender and started to breath down his neck, but Smail held off the charge for a lap until Pingree ou t- po wered him down the back straight. With two laps remaining, Pingr ee established a cushion between second and third and Smail was left to . fend off a charge by Lavorci, who closed the gap and droppe d Smail one more position. When it was all over, Huffman had regained his status while Pingree put in a great ride for the second spot. Lavorci and Smail finished third and fourth. In the 250cc Pro class, it was all Huffman as he won both motos without resistance. Pingree made it a Suzuki sweep by grabbing the runner-up spot in both motos. In th e first rac e, Huffman quickly jumped into the lead followed by Parsons, Smail and Pingree. Smail moved into the second spot, leaving Parsons and Pingree to fight over third. Parsons lost crashing after a brief duel with Pingree. "I went to pass Pingree, but I went to the inside and went off the jump sideways," said Parsons. Pingr ee took over third and reeled in Smail for the kill, th en motored past Smail to take second. At the finish, the order had not changed : Huffman, Pingree and Smail. In the second moto, Huffman again pulled into the lead and left Parsons and Pingree to fight over second. Pingree gated poorly and had to work his way up . He swiftly started picking off riders and by the fourth lap moved past Parsons into second . As the flag flew at the finish the order remained the same. In the Pee Wee Modified class, Ronnie Gamble scored back-to-beck moto wins to take the overall. In th e first moto, Anthony Houser landed the early lead as Chris Nihan an d Gam ble fol lowed. Houser was on the gas an d instantly made a move on the leaders. Gamble first dropped Nihan back and then went after Houser. Before the end of the first lap , Gamb le took over the lead and walked awa y. Nihan fell back one more position when Sean Collier made a move on the last lap.