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/127755
·MOTOCROSS· . HIlA BransOn USA Am.ateur~ Branson, Missouri ranson dropped outside the top 10. In the end, Voss was the boss and posted the moto and overaJJ wins in front of Waitt, Donaho, Pospisil and WohJetz. Voss returned later in the day and swept both 250cc Pro motos in convincing fashion. Arizona's Eric Edwards was second best while Cody Anderson, Justin Wohletz, Texan Andy Anderson and Californian Jon Miller rounded out the top six. New Mexico's Justin Buckelew sent shock waves through the 85cc Stock and Modified (12-13) classes, as well as the Super Mini division by turning in a sixmoto sweep of the three classes. Buckelew will turn 14 in December, and has already been dubbed as Ricky Carmichael's replacement as the fastest 80cc rider in the country. Californian Jonathan Shimp was equally impressive by finishing second behind Buckelew in every race, and appears to be the rider to fill Buckelew's shoes in the 12- to 13-year-old class • when .Buckelew makes the move to the 14-16 age group in 1996_ Wisconsin's Chad Johnson turned quite a few heads by riding up front· with ~e leaders on many occasions, and wound up finishing third in the 85cc Modified (12-13) race, fourth in the Super Mini and seven th in the 85cc Stock (12-13). By Tony Alessi BRANSON, MISSOURI, OCT. 27-29 eath Voss was victorious in the 125 and 250cc Pro classes and New Mexico's Justin Buckelew annihilated the minicycle ranks by posting an awesome six-moto sweep of the 80cc Stock and Modified (12-13) divisions and the Super Mini (0-16) class during the inaugural NMA Branson USA Amateur Nationals, held at America's newest country-western entertainment capital of Branson, Missouri. An all-natural terrain ·racetrack greeted the numerous racers who travelled from 26 di fferent states to the heartland of America for the fifth amateur national of the year. Riders found themselves competing on an equal platform since none of the racers had ever raced on the high-speed grass race course. Many likened th~ track to a European race track because it featured numerous high-speed.grassy straights and technical off-camber sections which kept riders on their toes throughout the three days of racing. The first 125cc Pro race saw a rare sight when Ohio's Steve Cross led the field on a KTM 125SX. "The last time someone was actually competitive on a KTM 125 in motocross was Mark Musselman back in 1988," said KTM's Mark H (Above) Heath Voss swept the 125 and 250cc Pro classes aboard a pair of Honda CRs. (Right) Justin Buckelew did the same in the 80cc 12- to 13-year-old classes. Many dub the Yamaha rider as the next big minibike sensation. Battaile. "We tweaked a few things here and there, and now we are getting some good results. This bike is similar to the production 1997 model." Cross raced l.ike he had more than a point to prove and was successful in holding off repeated pass attempts from Voss to score the moto win. Pat Donaho raced strong early in the race, but tired out near the end of the 12 laps and finished third in front of Justin WohJetz and Patrick Waitt, who made the trek from Lewiston, Maine. The second moto saw a wild battle develop between Voss and Waitt after they disposed of early leader Donaho.. First-moto winner Cross had an unfortunate meeting with the dirt and was If there was a hard-luck story of the week to tell, it had to be the tale of Colorado's Andrew Short. When the event $ot under wayan Friday, Short had three strong-running 80cc Kawasaki machines, but by Sunday not even one would start. Though his dad swapped