Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 1: Perris Raceway By Tony Alessi n p~ CA, JAN. 15 I th in k I m ad e' th e rent tod a y , " sa id Neb raska' s Brian Deegan, after winning the 250cc Pro class an d finishi ng second in the 125cc division at the open ing roun d of the GFI Winter Series, held at Perris Raceway. Perhaps more s ignificant than rent money was the fact tha t Deeg an, a virtually unkn own teenager, topped two of the wo rld 's fastest riders. Swe dish 250cc Na tio na l Ch ampion j oakim Karlsson and English ma n Ron He rri ng could do little to match Deegan 's pace. For those not in the kn ow, Herring was one of the three Brits who dethro ned the Ame rican team of jeff Emig. Mike Kiedrowski an d · Mike LaRocco at this year's Mo tocross des Nations and brought the U.S. wi n strea k to a halt after 13 yea rs of dominance. But wh y we re these "Eu ros" here, in the first pl ace? "FMF is p rou d to have b oth 'Y aki ' a nd Herring h ere tod ay," said FMF tuner Terry Varner. "They will b e d oing te s t in g on FMF-p repare d Honda 250s for th e next few weeks in prep aration for the '95 250cc GP Series ." The Euro pair seemed quite confident after the morning practice sessions. "We a re a ll very p ump ed about th is year's Motocross des Na tions win," said Herri ng . "Everyone wa nt s to beat the Americans." When the gate dropped, Herring's confidence was evi dent as he pulled the holeshot and instantly pulled out a lead on new pro Dustin Nelson. Moving in to the runner-u p position by the end of the third lap was Deegan, who was aboard a Kenny Watson -tuned Honda CR250. Ne lso n h ad problems and d ro pped b ack to fift h behind Stev e Dr ew and Karl sson. The race p ro gres sed into a tw o-rid er battl e for the lead as Deegan began to reel in Herrin g. "I kicked it up a not ch," said Deegan. "I caug ht him and I thou ght I was go ing to run into him becau se h e was going so slo w in the turns. He seemed to be having trouble." He rring was able to m ainta in h is pace , and didn't appear to be too worried abo ut Deegan. " He wasn't riding on my tailp ipe or anything." said Herrin g. "O the rwise, I wou ld have go ne faster." Deegan kept within striking distance of Herri ng for th e remain d er of the moto, an d was right behind the Englishman when the checkered flag came out. Karlsson crossed the finish line a distant third , whil e Nels on rebound ed for fourth ahead of Rustv Holland, Pedro Gonzalez and Mike chamberlain. The second moto s a w Ka rl s s o n h olesh ot, making it two for two in the ho leshot dep artmen t for FMF. Deegan quickly moved into second, with firstmoto winner Herring right behind. Deegan wasted little time wi th Kar lsson and passed him before the start of the second lap. "That other European guy was leading, but he wasn't going th at fast so I pa ssed him right away," said Deegan . Deegan p roceeded to open up a lead on Karlsso n, while third-placed Herring in turn tried to find a way p ast and into second . Tha t batt le lasted for thr ee lap s, and Herring fina lly mo ved in to seco nd. Herring th en se t aft er Deegan and began to chi p away at his lead. "I saw Herring coming. but I just kept concentrati ng on rid ing smooth and fast," said Deegan . Herring closed to within a few second s of Deegan, but washed out in one of Perris Raceway' s s~eeping turns. "I .MOTOCROSS GFI Winter Series . . Deegan on top of the w just fell in a turn," said Herring. "The n I had to pass Yaki all over again." Herring did manage to repass Karlsson , but the damage was d one and his hopes of catching the speedy American were dashed. "It's one thing to catch a rider, but it is another to pass hi m," said Herring. "Th is t rack is sma ller tha n wha t I'm u sed to , and t he races here are q uite short." . . Kar lsson was agai n third , while Chris Wheeler, Ch am berl ain an d Travis Presto n rounded ou t the top six. Deega n returned in th e 125cc Pro class and backed up his 250 w in wi th a s tro ng secon d . Deeg an tr ounced th e com pe titio n in the second rno to with a reso und ing wi n, but a fourth in the first hea t held h im to second overa ll behi nd Greg Schnell. Eric Sch nell u sed smarts to wi n the 125cc In term ed ia t e class . Sc h nell smoked away in his heat race, to pping Ga be Boli var, who was han d ed seco nd when Doug Pars on s an d Ti m Be atty decided to playa game o f chicken on the fina l lap. Shawn Ellis topped Terrance Mila n and j o sh Ku tcha in the second heat. Each of th e h eats offere d 10 transfer positions to the final. In the final, Mila n led 98 per cent of the moto, but wit h less th an three turns left, he fell and hand ed the wi n to Schnell, wh o h ad kep t a cool head througho ut the race. Milan stom ped th e gro u n d a nd sh oo k hi s h ead in a flurry of anger after fin ish in g a di s ap p o int in g th ir d b e hind Schnell and Eric Vallejo. Va llejo s pa nke d th e 250cc Intermed iate class over japanese rider Yusa ko Kabota, who was riding a Yamaha YZ250 under the superv ision of Jim Holley. Holley did some racing of his o w n , and to p pe d the Vet Expert clas s with ease, besting Martin Klossner and Kenny Zahrt. 0 Perris Raceway Perris , California Results: January 15, 1995 50 IT, L Ch ad Go res (Yarn). 50 BEG : 1. Eri k Cole man (Yam); 2. M ike Pe r ry (Vam). ' . 50 4·6 ST K: 1. Tate M is ia szk (KT M) ; 2. Ryan McClintock (Yam ); 3. Co le Seely (Yam ); 4. Jeff Alessi (Vam); 5. Chase Thicas (Yam). 50 7-8 ST K: 1. Giovanni Filippon e (Yam ); 2. Bryan Mi nt er (KTM ); 3 . And r ew N ason (Yam ); 4. Sea n Mcl nroe (Yam). 60 IT, L Brody Bollios (Kaw) . 60 BEG: 1. Zac Wray (Kaw); 2. Giova nni Filippo ne (Kaw ); 3. Don a l Ch ollar (Kaw ); 4. Dane Jackson (Kaw) , S. Robe rt Seeds (Kaw) . 60 NOV: 1. Ma rk Pal rne z (Kaw ); 2. Andy Pierce (Kaw ), 3. JQl.' Hamilton (Ka w); 4. Nicholas Wells (Kaw) r 5. Chad Robbins (Kaw ). 60 (NT , 1. Jl Hall (Ka w); 2. Scott Simon (Kaw);3. Coil' Humphries (Kaw ); 4. Ch ad Ga u me r (Ka w ); 5. Derrick McClintock (Kaw ). 60 O PEN: 1. Nick Alvare z (Kaw); 2. Col le Wallace (Kaw ). 80 IT, 1. Eric WilliS (!

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