Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·MOTOCROSS .. . 191h AMuaI Kawasaki Race of Champiol1s . R aceway P k N Jersey ar, ew no on a ram a e By Tony Alessi Photos by Alessi and Karl Ockert l!) 0'1 0'1 .,.....; 00' .,.....; l-< Q) .g .... o U 34 ENGUSI-ITOWN, Nj, SEPT. 30 - OCT. 1 earn Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes wreaked havoc in the Garden '[ State by roosting to a pair of moto victories en route to the overall 2S0cc Pro-class win at the 19th Annual Kawasaki Race of Champions, held at Raceway Park. But while Team Kawasaki had aU of their bases covered in the 250cc ranks, a trio of Suzuki riders rained yellow on the green parade in the 12Scc Pro class. In a nutshell, Suzuki support riders Barry Carsten, Joel Dengler and Carlo Coen stole the show in the eighth-liter division. This year's event was run in conjunction with the third round of the AMA Fall Classic MX Series, and Raceway Park was groomed to perfection for the multitude of racers who made the trek from a vast number of eastern states and from as far north as Canada. The course combined a safe but challenging supercross layout with a very rough naturalterrain back section. Former New Jersey minibike champion John Snyder shot out of the starting gate and pulled a surprise holeshot at the start of moto one. Snyder, who was riding a brand-new Honda CR2S0 in what was only his third Pro race, was quickly gobbled up by the Kawasakis of Hughes and Broc Sellards. Both riders found a trick line in the first tum. "There was a grass area just inside the first turn that Roy Turner told me about," said Hughes. "It's a good thing, too, because I was digging my way to China coming out of the gate." While Hughes and Sellards were roosting through the daisies and sprinklers and into third and fourth, Barry Carsten and Ty Wallace took control of (Above) Ryan Hughes (9) easily topped Ty Wallace (76) and Barry caraten (46) In the 250cc Pro class. (Right) canadian Jean5ebastlen Roy raced to second In the 250cc Pro class. the top two positions. Suzuki's Tim Ferry, meanwhile, got on the gas after a so-so start and made quick work of Sellards for fourth. About the same time, Hughes got on the gas and cut yet another new line in the- back section of the track and swooped past Carsten and Wallace. Not wanting to be left behind, Wallace also passed Carsten and glued himself to Hughes' rear fender. Wallace, who is a relatively unknown commodity, developed much of his riding skills during his amateur days when he mixed it up with the likes of Damon Bradshaw, Brian Swink and Mike Brown. KTM's race team manager Mike Rossini recognized Wallace's talent, and awarded him with the team slop left vacant by Tony Amaradio. "It really makes a big difference when you have parts for the bikes and a mechanic to work on them," said Wal- lace. "Now all I have to do is concentrate on winning." Charging through the pack was Canadian Jean-Sebastien Roy, who started well outside the top 10. Roy turned in lap times that were two seconds faster than Hughes, and he quickly caught the front runners. First, he passed Wallace, who struggled with an ailing ignition on his factory KTM. Then Roy worked past John Snyder and Sellards for fifth. Going by Roy's oneminute, 38-second lap times, it was apparent that he would soon catch Ferry, who looked lazy as he circulated the track in third. Roy didn't disappoint, and gave the factory Suzuki rider a wake-up call when he passed him and quickly put eight seconds between them on the next three laps. "My thumb was hurting real bad out there," said Ferry, who blamed his lack of desire on an injury. During the last few laps of the race, Hughes extended his lead to over 10 seconds over Carsten, while Roy continued to charge and closed to Carsten's rear fender. For Roy, however, it was too little, too late, as Hughs took the win . ahead of Carsten and Roy. "I rode a little tight that moto," said Hughes. ''I'm used to factory suspension. The production bike is good, but we have to adjust the shock for the next moto because there are some big kickers out there. Then I can go out and ride like I know I can." Completing the top eight positions were Ferry, Sellards, Eric Riley and Todd DeHoop, who passed 17-year-old Snyder on the last lap. "I moved over and let him by," said Snyder. '1 thought I was being lapped. I had no idea that I was beating him the whole race." DeHoop came back with a vengeance at the start of moto two and pulled a two-bike-length holeshot. DeHoop was spotted changing his own clutch between motos, and explained that his mechanic, Mark Schaff, couldn't make the trip because DeHoop's Honda of Troy contract had expired. '1 guess I will be looking for a new mechanic," said DeHoop. "Next year it looks like I'll be riding Kawasakis for Parts Unlimited. Honda of Troy spent half a mimon dollars on the team last year. I can understand why they want to downsize." DeHoop came under fire immediately, as Ferry, Robbie Skaggs and Hughes motored past. Hughes then chewed up and spit out Ferry and Skaggs and took over the lead in an area littered with knee-deep ruts. Ferry developed problems and crashed back to 15th, while Wallace and Roy moved into third and fourth, respectively. Roy kicked it up a notch and moved to the rear fender of second-placed Wallace, and all hell broke loose. For the next two laps, the two riders battled inches apart - banging bars, cutting each other off, and flying dangerously close to one another in the air. In the end, it was Roy who had a little more grit and took over second. Oblivious to the close racing going on for second was Hughes, who was busy entertaining the New Jersey crowd with an awesome air show that was well worth the price of admission. Hughes was definitely riding smoother than in the first moto, and he had a IS-second lead by the halfway point. Roy ran all aione in second, comfort-

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