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/127653
:MOTOCROSS,> Final Round: Gatorback Cycle Park AoridaWinterA ASerieS : , M (Left ) Kevin Wind ham trudged to wl,ns In the 125 and 250cc A classes on the muddy ' Gatorback course. (Abo ve) Shawn Peroli o clinched the ser ies ti tl e with a seco nd-place f inish in the 250cc B class. (Below) Joshua c Summey (7) was the 65cc (7-11) winne r. By Mike and Anne Adair GAINESVILLE, FL, JAN, 2930 t wasn' t pretty but Kevin Wind ham made the best of an ugly situation at the r ain-soaked fin al round of the Florida Winter AMA Series at the Gatorback Cycle Park track. Despite the soggy conditions, Windham, aboard his Team Green/AXO/Renthal/Pro Circuit /Dunlop /Scolt /Maxima /Hammerhead Graphics/ N-Style/No Fear-s ponsored Kawasaki recorded the 125 and 250cc A 'cla ss wi ns , and with them the class championship titles. "Th e track was deep in water and very difficult to ride on," said Windham . "1 fell twice in the 250cc class and was fortunate to be able to win it." Torrential rains eventually forced the cancellation of the second day of racing, which includ ed all of the Pro classes, as well as some of the Amateur classes'that weren 't able to run on 'Saturday. These classes will soon get their chance to go at it on February 20th. Those classes that did com pe te ran just one set of motes, instead of two, and we re ru led as the overall finishing order. World Sports' Linda West said, "We can push water off the track with bulldozers and have a rideable track. (But) the track continued to flood and we had no alternative but to call it." Referee Pat Murphy, said, "It was so bad down in the big sand pit tha t even the 500cc class was having trouble getting traction." In the 125cc A moto, Windham grabbed the early lead and that was it. The Kawasaki rider pulled away and easily went on to score the win . Behind Windham, a battle over sec- I ond place d eve loped inv olvi ng Dwayne Bone, Chad Kresge, Chad Shepard and Adam Bechdal. Of th e fo ur riders, Bechda l handled the wet conditions best and sloshed his w ay into second with four lap s to spare. In the 250cc race, things d idn't go as eas ily fo r ' Windham as in the 125cc bout. Windham started off in fourth behind leader Jim Chester but had wor ked his wa y u p to sec ond by the se co nd lap. Wind h am crashed, ' h o wever, an d d ropped back to where he h ad started - in four th . Once again, Windham was , forced to claw and seratch his way to the front - and it was a stru ggle! " The y ra n two other classes w ith us and w e were lapping the m by the third lap : ' said Windham . "My goggles were trashed. Overtaking riders and seeing were big problems." Windham even tu all y labored back up to second and then passed Chester's leadin g Yamaha on the last lap . Chester settled for secon d, while Carsten , Bechdal and Home rounded out the top five. Two Mini con ten d ers, Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana, ended the series on winning notes. Carmichael did the deed in the 85cc (14-15) class, while Pastrana topped the 85cc (7-11) division, with both riders winning the championship titles in their respective classes. ' After piloting his Team Green/Oakley /Fox/Dunlop /CTi/Renthal/Tsubaki/Shoe/Bel-Ray /Pro circuit/ Renthalbacked Kawasaki to victory, Carmichael