Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Xtreme Comr:notion by the Ocean By Scott Rousseau CARLSBAD, CA, MAY 14-15 s th e rain ca me down shortly befo re his first moto, furt her add ing to the loamy conditions that he had experienced in practice, Team SplitFire /Hot Wheels / Kawasaki's Ryan "Rhino" Hughes took a look outside his box van . "It's slippery out there, Hughes said. "The eastern guys will have an advantage. You really gotta pick your lines." What made Hughes' statement seem so peculiar was that he wasn 't sitting in , the pits at an Eastern track like Unadilla or Budds Creek. Hughes was in the pits at Carlsbad Racewa y to contest the runwh at-you-brung Pro class at the Racing Enterprises-promoted Xtreme Commoti on b y the Oc ea n 7. Hi s co m men t stemmed from th e fact that ligh t but stea dy precipitation had turned Carlsbad' s normally s un-ba ke d ad ob e m ot ocross course in to somethi ng the rid ers in attendance would more likely experience on the opposite coast. But the conditions proved to be no problem for Hughes - who came from behind in moto two and po sted 2-1 finishes on the day en route to the Pro class victory - just as they hadn't for KTM's Greg Zitterkopf on the da y before when he scored an impresssive 1-1 rout during the Cellular One Sound of Thunder four-stroke round which headlined the event on Saturday. In fact, win or lose, the moisture d id little to dampen the enthusiasm that competitors and spectators alike shared at the event; the water on the track equalized the competition, making for int ense racing on both days. A SOU ND OF THUN DER SERIES: ROUND 2 34 As in years past, Commotion by the Ocean hosted a round of the Sound of Thunder Series on Saturday, making it the featured class of the day. All of the top riders vying for the Four-Stroke National Championship were in attendance, leaving the defending series champion, Zitterkopf, a little unsure of how he would finish on the day. "Hopefully, I'll just survive," said Zitterkopf, who is currently fourth in , the AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series. "If I can get in the top two or three, I'll be happy. I'm not quite used to this motocross stuff, but I know I'll do better in the later roun ds." It would seem the deck was stacked against Zitterkopf as he brought h is Tom Moen-prepared KTM 620 to the line in moto one, squaring off against such riders as current Sound of Thunder points leader Shaun Kalos, former series champion Mike Young, and current , World Four-Stroke Champion Gordon Ward. But as moto one boomed off the line, Zitterkopf found himself in second place behind Young with Terry Fowler, Craig Canoy, and Kalos also running in the top five. As Zitterkopf got more comfortable, he picked up speed and began to stalk Young, while Kalos dispensed with Canoy after suffering a poor start. Young was able to hold off Zitterkopf for several laps until Zitterkopf finally made a decisive pass for the lead in the right-hander at the top of the Carlsbad 'Freeway. "Me and Mike were havin' a good race," Zitterkopf said. "He was making , some mistakes, and rather than crash, he waved me by." , "I let him go ," Young sa id . " My wrist is really bad, and I know that when it st:rts to hurt, I've got to c£n- Surf's up for Hughes, Zitterkopf (Left) Pro clas s overall winner Ryan Hughes (22) battles with James Dobb (30) and Phil Lewrence at the start of moto one. Dobb wou ld grab the lead and score the motowln. (Below) Greg Zltterkopf hammered to the Sound of Thu nder four-stoke class vi ctory on Saturday with 1-1 finishes. serve my energy. I just had to slow it down." Once in the lead , Zitterkopf began to pull steadily away from Youn g, ripping off lap times in the mid 1:50s. Young continued on at a more relaxed pace but was still able to pull out a large advantage on the third-placed Fowler. Further back in the pack, Ward was riding like a man possessed after a midpack start. After passing several riders, he began to hound Kalos for fourth place near the end of the moto. "I was taking too long to pass," Ward said. "It took me about thr ee laps to pass each rider." Ward drew close to Kalos as the lastlap flag waved and was able to get by him, securing a fourth-place finish in moto one behind the winner Zitterkopf, Young and Fowler. ' , "That was fun," Zitterkopf said after his first-mote victory. "(The track) is pretty slippery in some spots, so it 's tough mentally." Mo to two left the gate with Zitterkopf getting a rare holeshot and setting a blistering pace right away. Young had a few problems going into tum one, but was in second place ahead of Kalos, Ward and Dave Coupe, as the field rounded the tum. "I didn't shift quickly enough, th en someone took my line and I had to get on the binders hard," Young said. "I grabbed a handful of throttle and jus t tucked in behind Greg. " Ward's chances for the w in vanished , when he crashed on th e straightawa y before the second rig ht -hander on the course, stalling and losing seve ral seconds as the field motored aw ay. In the .v ery next left-hand tum, Fowl er wen t down, causing a traffic jam that allowed Zitterkopf, Young and Kalo s to b reak away from the pack . Zitterkopf steadily built h is lead throughout the moto w hile Young ran in second a considerabl e distance ahead of Kalo s. As the mo to wore on, Kalos moved to within four seconds of Youn g, but could not close the gap further . Neither rider would come close to catchin g the Dunlop/ Dura Lube /FMF/Z-Racing /Bieffe/Sidi-sponsored Zitterkopf, who bagged his second moto win of the da Y» the overall win and the series points lead. "I've ne.ver really ho leshot a four- stroke race before, so I just rode like I was in fifth place," Zitterkopf said. "Everything worked perfectly, and I was able to relax and ride the way that I could. I got into a good rh yth m right away." Young, Kales, Coupe and Can oy rourided out the top five. COMBINED PRO Several National riders were in attendan ce for Sunday's Pro class, and while the day's racing would prove to be competiti ve, the atmosphere in the pits was ve ry re laxed . Riders from different teams - such as Hughes, Team Suzuki's Phil Lawrence, and NCY Yamaha's Jeff Matiasevich shared the same box van. " It' s a lot more la id back here," Hu ghes said. "It's not as dog-eat-dog as a National." At the s ta r t of moto one, it was Hughes' SplitFire/Hot Wheels/Kawasaki teammate, James Dobb, who took the ea rly lead w ith Hughes, Matiasevich, Mike Fisher and Lawrence in tow . Dobb increased his lead to about five seconds on Hughes, who had another 10 seconds on the rest of the field, as the leaders began to sp read out on the course. " I was attacking and looking forward," Dobb said. "I neve r even looked at my pit signals. You have to concentrate 100% because it doesn't take much for you to be on the floor." Dobb and Hughes would maintain their separation as Dobb took the first moto win . Further back in the field, Lawrence began to charge, passing Fisher and then Matiasevich to place a solid third. Matiasevich co ntinued on for fourth p lace ahead of Fisher. Matiasevich didn't h ide his disappointment with the finish . "I basically just rode around," Matiasevich said. "My clutch is fried, and I really had trouble on the uphill. We'r~ pulling one out of a spare bike for moto MO." There was trouble for the top conte nders in moto two, as D ob b and Lawrence both got hung up in the gate when the fie ld motored off the line. Hughes also had problems, going down in the first tum. The three riders began the moto from the back of the pack. Local favorite Tony Amaradio p ulled off the holeshot, leading Dennis Dahlin and Fisher early in the moto . "Someone hit me and pushed me out to the bank, and I just fell over," Hughes said. "I saw Dobb and Phil back there, so I knew nobody was really going to run away. I just concentrated on making passes." Up front, Fisher quickly made his wa y into the lead and tried to run away with the rno to, but Dobb and Hughes h ad li nked up and were blazing throught the pack. Hughes and Dobb were cutting the fastest lap times on the track and passing several riders per lap until they sat fourth and fifth , respectively, on lap five . Dobb and Hughes continued to push past Mike Chamberla in and Pedro Gonzales, and then began to hunt down Fisher late in the moto. Hughes was using a particularly fast line up the Carlsbad Freeway, and was able to catch Fisher at the top, but he nearly fell while attempting to pass for the lead.

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