Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The main event? W hen the gate dropped for the 30-minute-plus-two-Iap 250cc Pro main event, all eyes were initially focused on .holeshot artist Rusty Holland. Three turns into the race, however, most of the fans' attention was focused on two riders and one mechanic - a father, to be exact. As the field of 38 riders raced down the downhill and funpelled through the tight uphill horseshoe tum, two riders - Oawson Honda's Jeffrey Pestana and Kawasaki Team Green's Shaun Perolio - tangled and went down. Tempers flared and the two were involved in a shouting and pushing match, and Pestana took a few swings at Perolio. During the confusion, several more riders were taken down by the fallen motorcycles that lay across the track, and as many as seven or eight riders ended up on the ground. Of the two, Perolio was the first to remount, as Pestana's bike had been run over several times and was under another downed machine. Greg Perolio - Shaun's father - dashed through the pit board area and across the track, and attacked Pestana off guard. Many punches were thrown - mostJy by Perolio - and the two scuffled for several seconds before track personnel separated the two. Pestana eventually remounted, but both riders were later given the black flag. "Jeff took me out from behind in the horseshoe, said Perolio. "His bike was on top of mine and I threw it off by the hont wheel. The throttle was stuck, so when the rear wheel caught traction it flew through the snow fence. Then when I reached down to pick up my bike someone hit me in the side of the head. I looked up and yelled that it was his fault, and that he was an idiot, then he started hitting me again. "Then I saw my dad come and tackle him, but when he got up he charged at my dad. I don't think I did anything wrong, but I will apologize for my dad. The way I see it, someone needed to break it up. I just wish it wasn't my dad. That just makes me look worse. He was just looking out for me." "Shaun and I both had top five starts," Pestana said. "He edged me out in the horseshoe, but we tangled and went down. My bike was on top of his, and he started cussing at me and chucked my bike down the hill. I pushed him and turned to get my bike, but then a couple guys ran over it because he threw it into the riding line. He was still cussing at me, so I turned around and pushed him again. I never hit him - what's the use of punching a guy who has on a full-face helmet and a chest protector? He got on his bike and took off, then the next thing I know, his dad blind-sided me. He was punching and scratching me. He thrashed me, basically, until the security guys got him off me. "The whole incident is embarrassing. I don't think I was wroag - if it had been anybody else it would have been between the two riders and foJgotteJ:L No otheI' dads would have gotten i.volved like that. Maybe I ov«reacted, but that happens. AdrenaIiDe was flowing and what happened on the" track happened. What his dad did, thousfI, sucks." . Naturally, the seaior Perolio's versioa is diffeI'ent. Of his lIdIioa&. father Greg PerotiD SIIilt "'I . . 1I."ng die stMt. and sa.m . . side-by Bide witIl Dmd 8lInIeIl:. PestaDa _ beIIiat W (Above left) Hometown rider David Barrett had the crowd on Its feet aa he reced to second In the 250cc Pro class. (Above) Rusty Holland was Impressive In the Pro classes. He holeshot the 125 and 250cc main events and led both for severellaps. He ended up third in the 1255 and fourth in the 2508. them and just plowed Shaun and they both c:rasbed. Shaun got up and gestured with his hands like 'What the heck is going on?' and then Pestana took a swipe at him. Then 10 to 15 seconds passed, and Pestana turned back around and took two more swipes at Shaun. I realized at that point that no one was going to do anything about what was happening, everyone was trying to get the bikes off the track, so I took it upon myself to go get in the middle of it. AIl I did was push Jeff, and then he came running at me. "This is all very embarrassing. What I did was not exactly right. I realize that Shaun is a big boy and he's racing in the big boy class, but Jeff is 26 and Shaun is 16. To be whomping on a 16year-old kid is not okay. I'm not proud of anything I've done, and the last thing I want to do is hurt Shaun's chances at doing what he loves. Shaun is not the problem. I'm going to take a back seat. We decided. to hire a mechanic, and Shaun's mother will go to the races with him. I will be staying home from now on. I never meant to be a foaming knucklehead; I just act like that because I love my little boy." According to Kawasaki Team Green MX. Supervisor Ron Heben, the incident is still being researched, and disciplinary action will not be taken until the team reviews the situation thoroughly. "At this point we are still investigating the situation," Heben said. "Several photographers have pictures, and a couple people have the whole thing on video. It's a difficult situation. It's not Shaun that's really at fault. What happened on the track was between the two riders. What's hard is to punish Shaun for the actions of his father. Greg Perolio is not cODtraded to Team Green,. and therefore, oan not be punished by us. Kawasaki's image is tamisbed by the ~ and we wiIi !edify the sitaatioo _1OOIl as all the facts _ ill." "Everybody thinks of me as an enduro guy now," Davis said. "But they forget tha t I was a motocrosser first. I had to get back into the groove for this race. The last time I raced motocross was in March in Daytona. It feels good to come back and win. There are a lot of new up-and-coming guys now, guys that I've never heard of." Healey and Davis met for the first time in the Open Pro class. Ron Lechien holeshot the final, but Davis took over early on and was never seriously challenged. Healey suffered a 50-SO start aboard his small KTM 360, but took over second from Team Green's Michael Brandes at the halfway point. Brandes held on to third. While the race for the top three positions was relatively boring, most of the crowd's attention was focused on Lance Smail. The energetic Washingtonian took to the track in last place after his silencer fell off in turn one and wedged itself between his tire and airbox, and set an absolutely blistering - and deafening - pace as he raced through the pack. Incredibly, Smail moved up to fourth at the finish. Had he started with the rest, the finishing order may very well have been different. "One of the brackets on the frame broke, and I had the silencer h~ld on with wire," Smail said. "Then on the starting line we noticed that the second tab broke also, so Terry Varner from FMF ran back to the pits and wired it on with a piece of welding rod. It fell off in the first tum and I had to stop to yank it out. In the two-moto Sound of Thunder Pro race, Davis ran away with the win in the first moto, turning in lap times aboard his big KLX6S0 that were identical to those he made aboard his KX5OO. Smail was a charging second aboard a 1I 13

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