Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1995 06 07

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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MOTOCROSS . White Bros: World Four-Stroke MX Championships Glen Helen Raceway obsta cles. Smail maintained a 15-second lead throughout most of th e race, but began to slow in the closing stages and allowed eventual runner-up Taylor to close to wi thin five seconds. 'The bike sta rted to get a little slow toward the end," said Smail. "I did n' t want to risk blowing it u p, so I backed off a little bit." Tay lor gained control of second early on, and was relatively unchallen ged . "This is only m y second rid e on a four-stroke," said Taylor, whose bike appeared to be a tad underpowered. "It's a bra nd -new bike, all it has is a set of pipes on it." (Left) Donny Schmit (75), Mike Chamberlain (9), Gordon Ward (12), Rich Taylor (49), Brian Myerscough (15), Ty Kady (61) and Lance Small (58) funnel through turn one In the Open Pro class. (Below) (Left to right) Runner-up Greg Zitterkopf, winner Donny Schmit and third-placed Gordon Ward were flanked by the While brothers, Dan and Tom, in the winner 's circle . By Donn Maeda Photos by Kinney Jones SAN BERNARDINO, CA, MAY21 h e word "re ti re men t" brings to mind m a ny th ings: rolli n g golf courses, La-Z-Boy recliners, a cross co u ntry tour in a motorh orne, maybe ' even a social security check or two . For tw o -t im e World Champio n Donny Schmit, how ever, no ne of the above fit the bill. Ins tead , Schmit has decided to fill his leisu re days with more of what has allowed him to "retire" at the ripe old age of 28 - motocross racing. "At the end of last year, I decided that I didn't want to compete at the same level of intensity anymore," said Schmit, who contested the World Cha mpionship 125 and 250cc MX Series from 1990-'94. "I sti ll wanted to keep myself busy when I retired , so I decided tha t this would be a fun way, racing the four-strokes." Fun for Schmit, hell for the rest. In only his second race aboard a fourstroke mot ocross bike, Schmit ke pt his perfect two- for-t w o record in ta ct by earn ing a popular win at the White Bros. World Four-Stro ke MX Champion ships. Th e ra ce, which ' also serve d as ro und tw o of the Sound of Thunder MX Series, saw Schmit ov ercome a seemi ng ly d isastrous opening moto and sco re a runaway win in the final aboard his factory CCM. Inconsistent finishes by his rivals allowed Schmit to overcome his fifthplace mote-one finish and emerge atop a . wacky five-way tie for the overall win. Finishing second overall was defending Sound of Thunder Series Champion Greg Zitt erkopf. The factory KTM rider struggled to find his usual rapid pace in T 20 the firs t moto a nd finished a d istan t fourth, bu t the large rider fro m Chi no, Californ ia, proved to be the bes t of the rest in moto two. "I've been riding so much off-road stuff lately, it took me a while to get comfortable o n a motocross track again," said Zit terkopf. Third we nt to former event winner Go rdon Ward, the lanky, long-haired ATK rider turning in the most consistent scores of 3-3 . The fourth- and fifthplaced riders also boasted six moto points, but. by virtue of their secondmoto finishes, Rich Taylor and Lance Smail were bumped off the podium. Honda R&D rider Taylor piloted a borrowed Husqvarna to 2-4 finishes, while Husaberg's Smail handily won the first moto, but was held to fifth in moto two. Nearly 300 entrants showed up to compete at the 10th annual running of the popular event, which was for the first time held at Glen Helen OHV Park. "Perris Raceway played host to ou r event for nine years, but we decided to move the race to Glen Helen because of it s larg er size," sa id p ro mo ter Tom White. "Gle n H el en a llo ws fo r mo re manufacturer and sponsor invo lvement, than ks to the facility' s size and layo u t." The Glen Helen GP course wa s specially prepared for the event, with seve ra l new twists a n d turns ad ded in to mak e the track more interesting . Th e co u rse h eld up exce p tio n a lly w ell throughout the day, a nd many racers agreed that it wa s th e best race track the y had ridden at the facility. A special vi ntage motor cycle sho w ad ded to th e festiviti es, and drew 35 entries that consisted of two- and four- stroke street and dirt motorcycles. In addition, a Dual Sport class was added to the race rostrum, and in between motes, entrants were treated to a 100mile dual sport ride through the San Bernardino mountains. The Team Dual Dogs-hosted ride attracted nearly 50 participants. When the gate dropped at the sta rt of the first lO-la p O pen Pro rnoto, Wa rd plowed through the first tu m wi th the lead, and was shadowed by Terry Fowler, Smail, Taylor and Zitterkopf. Schmit was mired at the start, and com pleted the opening lap in the midd le of the pack. Sma il, mean while, wasted little time and s na tched the lead on the op eni ng lap. From then on , the hyper rider from Wa sh in gton wa s never head ed as he pulled out a commanding lead over the res t of the field . "I got into th e lea d right from th e start," said Smail. "I prett y mu ch knew during practice that if I got out front I cou ld win . I was a little worried about Schmi t, but I didn't see him anywhere." Smail was impressive as he powered his Ch uck Sun-tuned Hu saberg around the course, especially in the whoop section, where he tripled through the tricky Schmit came to life on the third lap and effortlessly worked th rough the pack and into third. Things fell apa rt for the two-time World Champion near the halfway point, however, when he fell in a loamv left-bander near the finish line. Fowier also fell victim to the loose tum, and dropped out of the lead pack af ter running strong in the early la ps. "I was rail in g the outside, and the fron t en d just went away," said Schmit. "I think the berm may have given out." Ward was right behind Schmit when he fell, and jum ped at the cha nce to take over third, where he stayed until the finish . . Zitterkop f crossed th e fin is h line fo u r th, s u ccess full y fend ing o ff th e cha rges of a recovered Schmit. The rear w heel of Schmit's CCM was entangl ed with track banners. "I wa s right behind a gu y on a Husaberg, and he go t real s idewa ys over a ju mp and I had to correct in the air to keep from hitting him," sa id Schmit. "Tha t' s when I go t th e banners in my rear wheel. I didn't ha ve an y rear brakes toward the end ." A few seco nds ba ck ca me th e "gu y on the Husa berg ." local pro Ty Kady,

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