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/127694
J;t~. ·. M T C O S . . OO R S .White BroS, Woi1d Championsh V~ Nationals ip Glen Helen Raceway For the special event, the Glen Helen course was modified considerab ly. Many of the faster sections were rerouted into th e infield, with seve ral ne w twists and turns added . Perhaps th e most challenging new obstacle was the all-new whoop section. Usually comprised of seve ra l small, unevenl y spaced bumps, the new whoop section featured 10 large wh oops that racer s were able to doubl e-jump th rou gh . While th e upper-divisi on cla sses had little troubl e w it h the sec tio n, the whoop s proved to be a m a ke-it-or break-it challeng e in the Novice classes. All in all, most racers agreed tha t the track was at its best, eve n though second-moto conditions were considerably rougher than usual. . Nearly 1000 entrants showed up during the two da ys of competition, and a full sche d ule was com pleted on both da ys. Though the p rem iere 30- to 34year-old Pro class was run on Saturday as well, most of the prestige lay in Sun- (Left) Runner-up Jeff Ward, winner Doug Dubach and third-placed Mike Beier were all smiles after the second moto• . (Below) Dubach's championship hopes _re momentartily put on hold when he feli lale In the second moto and allowed Jeff Ward to sneak pasL By Donn Maeda SAN BERNARDINO, CA, NOV. 5-{; OUg Dubach may be getti ng .older, but the fans on h and at the White Bros . World Champ ionshi p Vet Nat ionals wou ld probably agree that he hasn't gotten much slower. After contesting onl y selected supercrosses and outdoor Na tionals in 1995, Dubach showed up at Glen Helen Raceway set to defend his Vet World Championship title and romped hom e the popular winne r after tu rn ing in a pa ir of convi ncing moto wins. All was not easy for the former facto ry Yamaha ri d er, thou gh, as a late-race spill in the secon d mot o all owed m ulti-time Supercross and Na tional Cham pion Jeff Ward to inherit the lead an d slip into perfect position to ga in Dubach 's crown. But the 31year-old pu lled ou t the sto p s and retook the lead with onl y moments to spa re, earn ing his second cons ecutive Vet World Cha mp ionship. Wa rd - who fin ish ed th ir d at last year's race - Was the runner-up, whil e Yamaha-mounted Mike Beier nabbed the final pod ium position with cons is(1:. tent 3-4 moto finishes. 0\ Th oug h it ha s been traditionall y T'""1 held .at Perr is Raceway in the pas t, the popular race was th is yea r moved to the large r Glen Helen Raceway facility. "It's unbelievable how big the Vet race is getting ," said Tom Wh ite . "It wa s simply getting too big for Perris. It was nothing against th e track, th ere just wasn't eno ugh p it area to accommodate all th e racers . Gl en He len is a mu ch larger facility, and we should be able to put on a better show with more D room ."