Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.OBSERVED TRIALS· . AMAINATC National Championship Trials series Rounds 1/2: Alto OHV Area • t IS Ile (Left) Ryan Young kicked off his '95 seas on with a come-f rom-behlnd win. The six-time National Champ ion hopes to regain his crown. (Above) Defending National Champion Geoff Aaron finish ed third on Saturday, but re bounded with a win on Sunday. By Donn Maeda Photos by Maeda and Scott Rousseau PRESCOTI, AZ, APR. 22-23 . new season has d awned on the American National Trials scene, but the same two players con tinue to steal th e spotlight. A healthy field of Championship-class riders showed up to do battle in the rocky , mountainous area of Prescott, each with hopes of landing the leading role. But when the curtain fell on the double-header weekend, it was six-time National Champion Ryan Young and defending National Champion Geoff Aaron who emerged with the wins. It was Gas Gas USA rider Young, however, who emerged with the series point lead, as he backed up his Saturday winwith a close second on Sunday. Beta factory rid er Aaron was victorious on Sunday, but he was held to third on the opening day and trails Young, 51-55, in the series point standings. . "After I lost the championship last year, 1go t really motivated again," said a rejuvenated You ng. "I was so out of shape last year, 1 wasn't practicing or training at all. I guess you cou ld say that 1 was a little burned out. This winter 1 practiced and trained really hard, and I'd say that I'm back to myoId self again. 1 wanted to win both legs, bu t I'm happy with a first and seco nd - 1 want to wrap A up this championship as quickly as possible." Though the same two stars that have dominated the series for the past several seasons continued to reign. the supporting cast appears to be much stronger this year. Leading the best of the rest w er e former Belgian National Champion OLivier Clamagirand and 1992 H igh School National Champion Jess Kempkes. Clamagirand was the stronger of the two, splitting Young and Aaron on da y one, and earning third on day two. Th e g racefu l Belgian - who now resid es in Brea, California - has long been regarded as one of the series' most talented riders, bu t in the past has lacked the motivation and drive needed to be a top contender. Clamagirand seems to have put that behind him, and displayed a newly found consistency throughout the weekend. Kempkes, on the other hand, went out with a bang in '94, finishing a career-high seco n d at th e Nebraska se ries finale. Though his 5 -4 fin ish es d on't lo ok extremely impressive on paper, his riding between the tapes was exceptional. On Sunday, Kempkes was in serious contention for the win until he faltered on the final lap. A healthy turnout of over 130 riders showed up to compete on each day at the Central Arizona Trials-promoted event, despite the snowy weather that fell upon the area in th e days preceding the National. Surprisingly, the sun came out jus t in time to provide ideal riding condi tions throughout the weekend, and the soil in the Alto Pit OHV Area q uickly soaked up the moisture lef t behind by the melting snow. The sections laid out by trials masters Ron Saum and Sheldon Hefler were considered by most to be on the easy side, especially for the top-level riders . The trial became a battle of nerves, as the pressure to clean each and e ve ry sect io n was immense. Perhaps ninth-ranked National rider John Clark summed it up best, saying. "The sections w ere good for me and guys like Matt Moore, be cause .they could really te st who's better, but for guys like Aaron and Young. th ey were way too ea sy . They were goin g crazy, worried that even one d ab would knock them out of contention." Rock s w ere th e order of the day, as medium- to large-size granite bo ulders could be found in virtually every section. Saum and Hefler also took advantage of the hills and creeks in the area while laying out the interesting 15-section loo p. SATURDAY Most of the riders cleaned the first three sections, as the openers are typically easier than the rest of the traps. Young gave up his first point in section four, taking a dab when a rock broke loose under him. "I was do ing a flip tu m and a little roller rock broke out of the hill," sa id Young. "It was a stupid poi nt." Things would get worse for Young. though, as he would give up another solitary dab later in the loop before taking a five in section 14. "I got hurried and didn't take my time," said Young. "I guess I'm pretty much ou t of contention now." Young 's assumption came upon learning of the scores turned in by Clamagirand and Aaron. Clamagirand came in with a mere three points, while Aaron was. close behind with four. Kempkes had six. " I gave up one dab in section one because 1 was nervous," said Clamagirand. "Then another later in the loop because my bike did not have enough power with the spark arrestor on. The third point was just stupid ." "T he sections are really easy," sa id Aaron. "Too easy for a National, rea lly. Some of them are too long also, there's no need for so many turns." The longer sections caused bottlenecks, and time pena lty points would playa factor later in the day. Loop two saw Young elevate his rid. ing. and he and Clarnagirand ended their second laps with three-point cards. Aaron dropped five, and the order going into the final loop was Cla magirand with six, Aaron with nine, and Young with 10.

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