Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.OBSERVED TRIALS· Round 4: Pennsylvania , aron In ecear . A AlNA ational C pionshipTrials5eries M TCN ham Beta, an d re-eval uate his championshipdefense stra tegy. Aaron came to the fourt h rou nd held in the creeks and hills of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania - rested and ready to do battle, and became the first rider to score two wins in the ultra-competitive '95 season. Despite incurring 6.5 time-pena lty points, Aaron still had a point to spare over runner-up Ryan Young, who in tum had a 2D-point cushion over thirdplaced Jess Kempkes. Young and Kempkes are the ot her two riders who have tasted victory this season, and no one was surprised to see the same three riders occupy the top three spots. "The trial was pretty rude, that's for sure," said Aaron. "The sections were good, some of them were pretty spectacular, and I liked them. The time limit made things p retty tight, and it was a definite factor at the end of the day." The time limi t was indeed a factor, as riders were allowed a mere five hours to complete three laps around the fourmile loop that consisted of 14 sections. All of the Championship class riders incurred time-penalty points, and seve ral even exceeded the 3D-minute penalty period and were DNFed on time. By Craig Moore ELIZABEI1ITOWN, PA. MAY20 efending National Champion Geoff Aa ron may have won th e second rou n d of t h e 1995 AMA/NATC National Cha mpions hip ' Trials Series, but some insiders felt that the tall, lanky Easterner was a bit distracted. Uncharacteristic third- and fourth-place finishes at the first and third rounds, co upled with Aaron's apparent lack of disappointment, left many to believe that the Iikable rider from Connecticut had lost the edge that helped him secure his first National title in '94. Even Aaron was quick to admit his loss of form . "To tell you the truth, I'm not too ' concerned how I do at the first few rounds," said Aaron , following his four th-place finish a t the San Diego National. "It's really hard for me to concentrate while I'm still in school. Once I finish with college, I'll be able to practice and train mo re." Good news, Geoff Aaron fans - the champ has graduated. Amid all the pomp and circumstance, the Ithaca College student found time to train harder, p ract ice on his Cosmopolitan Motors D 34 . (Top) Geoff Aaron became the first double National winner of the season with a win In Pennsy lvania. (Above) Ryan Young was a close second, thanks to time-penalty points incurred by Aaron. (Left) Matt Moore finished fifth and enjoyed his bestever National finis h. Among those "disqualified" were thirdranked Raymond Peters and Arizona's Chuck Sutton. Both returned to the pits too late and were visibly upset. Young took control of the lead on the opening lap, his 14-point loop score barely edging out Aaron's 15. Aaron faltered in section three, a relatively easy section that failed to claim fives from any of the ot her top contenders. Of the 14 sections, seven were laid out in rocks, while the rest rou ted riders through the plentiful creeks that wound thr ough the area . Aaron gave u p another five in the 14th a nd fi nal section, which was regarded by all to be the hardest of the trial. Following suit, Young also dropped the maximum, as did many of the others. On the opposite end of the spectru m, Kempkes ro de brill iantly through the hazard and cleaned it on his first attempt. Oklahoma's Matt Moore had an eq ually impressive ride, his yielding a three. "I wasn't too happy with my 15point first loop," said Aaron. '1 made a few dumb mis takes, bu t I just needed to get into the groove." . . Aaron found the groove he was looking for on the second loop, as he cleaned all but thr ee sections, and gave up only single dabs in each of those that he didn't ace. Young did all he could to match Aaron's pace, but could only muster a six-point loop. Aaron's threepoint second loop would be the lowest score of the day. "I was pretty comfortable in the sections, they're very slippery and technical," said Aaron. "This is the kind of stuff that I ride a lot in." Kempkes returned to the pits with 17 points - matching his first-loop score having taken fives in sections two and 10. "I just lost my concentration," said Kempkes. "The sections are good, and I like the big stuff." The third and final loop sawall of the riders rushing, as the five-hour mark was rapidly approaching. 'Aaron didn't let the pressure get to him, and cleaned all bu t four sections. And like the second loop, Aaron dropped only single p o in ts in each of th o se fo ur. Young, meanwhile had an eight-point final loop. Kempkes rose to the occasion on lap three and tu rn ed in a seven- point loop card, but it was too little, too late, a nd he would end u p a distant, yet secure, third . Aaro n raced into the pits 13 minutes late and was penalized 6.5 points, while Young was only three minutes late and docked 1.5 points. After some quick calculations, Aaron was declared the winner, only a single point ahead of Young , 28.5-29.5. "On the third loop everyone was pressed for time," said Aaron. "Some of the riders were just punching fives and tha t forced me further back in line. It was frustrating, and I came in 13 minutes late. I'm finally out of college now , so I can concentrate on the rest of the series. I definitely hope to defend my title. ". Young wasn't overjoyed with his runner-up finish . "The competition is really close this year," said Young. "All of the events in .this year's series will be tight. Several riders are at the same level. "I think that I rode good today, but I ended up second. The time limit played a big role because you had "to ride faster than you really wanted to, to keep from accumulating too many pe na lty points. "No one seems to have an advantage this season, so I'll just take it one event at a tim e."

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