Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

···MWinter Series :O S·. Final Rounds: Perris Raceway :GflO O R .S . TC cam e back winning in Saturd ay'S 250cc Pro class, and seemed to be on his way to a rep eat performance during Sund ay' S quarter-li ter competition, but a freak crash at the halfway poin t stopped his charge. "I crashed kind of hard, so 1 decided to just sit tha t whole race out since 1 wasn 't in contention," he said. With Brand es out, the d oor was left wide open for a new face, and tha t face came not from either Northern or Southern California - or even from the United States for th a t m a tter. GP racer Axel Holvoet, from Belgium, stormed to a pair of undisputed moto wins aboard his FMF/Motul-backed Yamaha. Holvoet, who has recently been living with Yamaha factory rider Mike Craig, has his sights set on a top-five finish on the 125cc Western Regional Supe rcross circuit. He is currently tied for seven th in tha t series. (Above) Michael Brandes (2) swept the 125cc Pro class during both days of racing. Don Upton (58) was second both times out. (Right) Belgian Axel Holvoet (224) topped the 250cc Pro division In Sunday's North-South Showdown. (Below) Devid Lynch (131) battles with Dave Sarian (31) and Kenny zahrt (13) in the Vet Master division. zahrt won the class championship ish fourth in front of Dustin Nelson, Beatty and Eric Schnell. In the second moto, Perolio holeshot on his Performance Engineering-prepared KXl25, while Wright quickly moved into second, followed by Beatty, John Laddy and Scott Davis. WiIIoh was mired mid pack, and was carving up the competition en ro ute to the front of the pa ck. Mean wh ile, Perolio was enjoying a seven-second lead. With Perolio out of reach, the attention focused on th e race for second. WiIIoh found his wa y to third behind Wright. 'The whole time, I was thinking, 1 know 1 can get him:" Willoh said . All he ll broke loose when the white flag waved, as WiIIoh picked the pace up yet ano ther notch. With two turns left to go, Willoh squared off a turn after landin g fro m a double jump a n d s tu ffed h is Kawasaki into second position. Perolio whipped it ove r the final tabletop jump, collecting the moto and overall . victories, with his teammate not fa r behind in second. Obviously d i sappoint ed, Wright crossed the line third, while 'Sco tt Davis and Dustin Nelson rounded out the top five. CN Perris Raceway Perris, California Results: March !Hi, 1994 SUN SHOWDOWN SO BEG o-r. 1. Br en t Ha rm o n (Yam); 2. Patrick Walsh (Yam); 3. Matthe w (Yam); 4. Jar ed Mo r ri son (Yam); 5. Philli p Bruscella S howtim eforB n ra des at s dow how n By Tony Alessi PERRIS, CA, MAR. 5-6 ichael Brandes upheld the honor of Northern California riders with an impressive performance during the GFI Showdown weekend at Perris Raceway. Brandes turned in a four-moto sweep of the 125ccPro cIass in Saturday's southern regional make-up race and Sunday's north-south finale, and also posted a win in Saturday's 125cc Pro cIass. In Sunday's program, riders from Northern and Southern California were p itted against one .another to determine the state champions. Race promoter Goat Breker added a new twist to the track for the weekend. The track consisted of two lanes, called "cycle paths," which started together, split apart, then joined back up again. "They said they wanted to have more places to pass," said Breker, "so this is what we carne up with." . M This new track concept wa s a first at the Perris facility, and may be the beginning of a new track-designing method. Local Don Upton, the acknowledged "King of Perris," was a fast starter at the even t, but gave way to Brandes in th e 12Se Pro class. "The horne-track ad vanc tage just wasn't eno ug h," sai d Up ton. "Mike has more experience, and 1feel he's the rider to beat." Upton would finish second in all four motos after leading his share of the more than 40 laps. Mounted on a Kawasaki, the FMF / Ra ce Te ch /Motu l/ Ans wer-backed Brandes was awesome, and pulled away during each of the four motos for top honors in th e 125cc Pro class. "It's reall y importan t to win here today," said Brandes. "The factories and the sponsors want to know who th e fastest riders are, and this is the way. to prove it." The likeable Northern Californian Although the pro racing was great, a new crop of intermediate riders stole the show for much of the weekend. Names like Perolio, Willoh and Preston are just a few of those not soon to be forgotten, and each of these new kids had their turn atop the victory podi um. Jeff Willoh won the 125cc Intermediate class on Saturday, then backed it up with a Sunday victory in the 250ccdivision. Team Gr een /O'Neal-backed Shawn Perolio, fresh off a championship in the Florida Winter AMA Series, was the top gun in Sunday's 125ccIntermediate showdown, while Travis Preston topped the 250cc Intermediate cIass during the Saturday feature. . Arguably the best race of the weekend came during Sunday's 125cc Intermediate sh ow d ow n . The fir st moto saw E.J. Wright explode out of the start grid with a major holeshot. Wright was on fire and quickly opened up a nearly lO-second lead, while Tim Beatty played the part of road blocker in second . Both Willoh and Perolio fumbled around behind Beatty for two laps before motoring by into second and third, respectively. At that point, the two Team Green /FMF/O'Neal-backed riders picked up the pace and caught up to Wr ight within a lap anda half. "We were flying," said Perolio. "We both just hooked up and caught up to the leader." WiIIoh wa s first to move on Wright, jumping insid e of him over a technical double jump just before the white-flag lap. Perolio, not to be outdone by his teamm at e, showed some grit of hi s own, choosing an optional line in the"cycle paths," where he passed Wright for second . "We bumped hard and I thought we were going to go down," Perolio sai d . "But he backed off at the last minute." Willoh crossed the line with the win, followed by Perolio and Wright. Travis Preston recovered from a poor start to fin- (Yam). 50 BEG 0-2: 1. Mitch Lawlee (Yam); 2. ColeSeely (Yam); 3. Jeff Ouisty(Yam); 4. Bryenna Benedict (yam). 50 STK NOV: I. Carlos Gonzalez (Yam); 2. Jeff Alessi (Yam). 50 STK EX: 1. M Alessi (Yam). ike 50 S1 STK NOV: 1. Steven Hernandez (Yam); 2. Kyle Foltz (Yam); 3. Giavani F ilipone (Yam); 4. Shay Fretwell (Yam); S.Jeff Alessi (yam). 50 SISTI< EX: 1. D aniel Taft (KlM); 2. Chad Munn (Yam); 3. Tommy Cochran(Yam); 4. M Alessi (Yam); 5. ike Joey Christy (Yam ). 50 MOD NOV: 1. K yle Jeffries (Yam); 2. Derek BoUman (Yarn O 3. Steven He mandez (Yam); 4. Jam es ; Baker(Yam); 5. B rock Bolling (Yam). 50 MOD: 1. Daniel Taft (Yam): 2. Chad Munn (Yam); 3. Mike Alessi (Yam); 4. Justin W ilson (Yam); 5. Tommy Cochran (Yam). 60 BEG: 1. Chad Robbins (]

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