Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127745
.MOTOCROSS Barona Oaks Raceway ClIMe Mini NaIIQnaJs Cycle Stock (0-8) division after placing second to Ronan Summers in the first moto and returning to win the second. Summers earned third after placing sixth . in the second moto. Ryan Roybal scored back-to-back wins in the Pee Wee Stock (7-8) class, while Jake Bissonnette grabbed secondplace honors with 3-2 moto finishes. The Acerbis-sponsored Ladies World Cup Championship program, which ran in conjunction with the Mini National, drew a lot of fanfare in that ESPN brought out the cameras and Franco Acerbis came from Italy to crown the new Miss MX Champion. Local rider Jennifer Nelson, Dustin Nelson's sister, nearly stole the show with her own dominant showing. Nelson entered the event as a Beginner and after winning the first moto was moved to the Intermediate division. Once the gate dropped, Lisa Henderson was able to holeshot but had Nelson glued to her rear fender. With just one lap to go Nelson managed to cut inside and steal the win from the favored Henderson. When the gate dropped for the second moto, Nelson didn't waste any time and quickly put the burden of passing on Henderson. Henderson, who recently came back from a leg injury, couldn't keep up the pace and Nelson made it three for three. Tricia Young finished third. By Homer Eubanks RAMO A, CA, AUG.15-'1J ustin Nelson and Dee Wood came, took on, and conquered all comers at the 11 th Annual CMMC Mini National and Ladies World Cup Championship at Barona Oaks Raceway. Nelson was simply unbeatable. The .Kawasaki Team Green rider won all five of the classes he entered: 125 and 250cc Pro, 125 and 250cc Expert, and 125cc (1621) Open. And not only did he take the overall wins but he won every single moto - that's 10 if you add them up. Impressive. In the Ladies World Cup, Wood proved that not only is she fast, but consistent, as well. Wood scored the win in the 125cc Pro class a nd placed second in the 250cc division and was crowed overall Ladies World Champion for her efforts. Not all of Nelson's win were handed to him on a silver platter. Chris Wheeler gave him a good chase in the first 250cc Expert moto but came up short in his attempt to beat Nelson. In the secon goaround, Wheeler wasn't a factor as he crashed his Suzuki and finished sixth, while Nelson again scored the moto and overall win . Tyler King went home with the silver with 3-2 moto finishes. Angelo Ingrande grabbed third-place honors. Tommy Clowers gave Nelson a run for his money in the first 125cc Expert moto until he crashed on the fifth lap and was unable to make up ground after the fall. With Clowers out of the picture, Steve Andrich resumed the chase but just couldn't put a dent in Nelson's armor. Wheeler got the jump on Nelson in the second moto but couldn't hold on. Instead, Nelson shot by Wheeler over the step-up jump on the second lap and that was it. Nelson then set the pace for the rest of the race and scored the win once again. Wheeler held on to second while Andrich finished third. Nelson and Wheeler went at it again in the 125cc (12-16) class. In the first moto, Nelson posted a wire-to-wire victory, but the same couldn't be said in the second round. This time, Wheeler jumped out to an early lead but Nelson would eventually have his way. On the third lap, Nelson moved into his all-tofamiliar position - out in front - and never looked back for yet another win. Wheeler stayed well clear of a four-way dogfight over third place involving Josh Tarantino, Andy Harrington, Shawn ElIis and John Emerson. Ellis came out on top of that struggle, settling into a hard-eamed third followed by Emerson, Tarantino and Harrington. These four riders - Tarantino, Emerson, Harrington and Ellis - were mixing it up again in the 125cc Intermediate bout. In the first moto, Tarantino jumped out into the early lead but a hard-charging ElIis took over on lap two. Tarantino, however, didn't give up. Instead, he locked onto Ellis' rear fender, while Emerson kept a close eye on both riders in third. Tarantino retook the lead shortly thereafter and spent the rest of the moto keeping Ellis at bay. Emerson chased Tarantino and Ellis home in third. In the second moto, Tarantino had Harrington to deal with. The two riders engaged in a one-on-one duel for the lead with Tarantino setting the pace. Harrington matched Tarantino's every D g< ..... M ..... 0'1 '"' OJ "S 2:! p,.. ~ 36 (Above) Dustin Nelson won all 10 motos he competed In st the Mini NatIonals st Barona Oaks. move lap after lap and all eyes were focused on the two riders when the white flag came out. On the final lap, Harrington made one last attempt to pass Tarantino and succeeded, and with it, took the moto win. But the overall class victory went to Tarantino with his 1-2 showing. Harrington finished out of the top five in the first moto, but his second-moto win gave him fifth overall. Paul Cortez was drafted into the 250cc Novice class in order to make the five-rider minimum and when the dust had settled, Cortez walked off with the grand prize. Manny Arias jumped off the line first but dropped his Suzuki while trying to get away from the other four riders. Daniel Dexter was the beneficiary of Arias' crash, as he found himself leading the way. His reign would last four laps before Cortez took over. From then On, it was all Cortez as he roosted away to victory. Cortez made it look easy in the second moto as he led from the get-go, while Arias held off Baxter for second. Steve Laninovich lost the first Old Pharts A moto to Chris Swift, then came back to win the second molo after a hard battle with Don Connely. Frank Ruff took the B-class win after losing to Joseph Gonzalez in round one. Gonzalez was leading the second moto before dropping his Maico in the washboard section. Bryan McGavran kept Sean Hamblin at bay in the first 80cc Expert Stock moto, but found himself trailing Jonathan Shimp in the second moto. However, Shimp lost control of his Suzuki on the fifth lap, giving the win to McGavran. Twenty-five riders went at it in the Supermini class. Sean Hamblin proved to be the most consistent and scored the overall win with 1-2 moto finishes. (Above) Trlcla Young (13) Jumps out to the -'Y lead In the Intennedilltel Novice nice. Young ended up third. (Left)Jnw CulIIas won both motos In the 80cc (9-11) Stock cIaas. Shimp was the runner-up via a 4-1 ta,IIy, while Dusty Walters finished third with a pair of threes. Shane Bess repeated moto wins in the Junior Cycle (9-11) class after holding off local favorite Jesus Casillas. Casillas holeshot the first moto but bobbled on lap three, giving the lead to Bess. Bess jumped off the line in the second moto and was never challenged. Scott Howe was consistent with repeat third-place finishes for third overall. Zac Wray managed to take the Junior Corina Chinen bested Dee Woods' effort in the 250cc Pro class, while Jamie Pamintuan brought her Suzuki around for third in both motos. Wood proved herself in the 125cc Pro division after keeping a persistent Kristy Sheely at bay in both motos. Chinen edged out local favorite Jodi Hollow for third. Newcomer to the USA Women's Motocross Team Nikki Harris came out strong with a holeshot in the first moto but dropped the Honda, placing her fifth overall