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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127768
.MOTOCROSS Round 1: Quail Valley OHV Park CMC GoldenState Nationals n es om s 'em By Scott Hoffman GORMAN, CA. JAN. 14 h en th e field lined up for th e 125cc an d 250cc Pro classes a t th e openin g rou n d of th e 20t h Annual CMC/MSR Golden State Series, h el d a t Qu a il Va lley OH V Pa rk, it loo ked like it was anyone 's race. But wh en the day wa s over, on ly one man sto od on th e top ste p o f th e w in ne r's podium. Mike Bran des was the man to beat in all fou r motos, an d he rode his FM F / An sw e r -sponso red Su z u k is to convincing w ins in both classes. Over $1,000,000 d oll ar s in facto ry contingency is up for grabs throughout the six-rou nd series, an d it lures rid ers from all over the West Coast. At rou nd one of the southern leg of the series, racers were treated to one of Sou thern California' s only na tural GP-sty le tracks that mean d ers alo ng a hillside an d en coun ters extre me elevation changes. In the 250cc Pro class, the action was be tw een Brandes and Team Gr een ' s Casey Johnso n. Johnso n n abbed the holeshot and had Brandes and off-roa der extraord inai re Ty Davis hot on his tail. "I just p icked u p my bikes th e da y before and I haven' t had a lot of time to set up the bike, but the 250 seemed pretty good stock," said Johnson . Going into the second lap , Johnson was hold ing h is own as Brandes started to ap ply the pressure. Brandes reeled in Johnson and was all over his rear tire as he scanned the tra ck for an opportu nity to make the pa ss. As the two ride rs exited a fast swee per, Brand es came alon gside Joh nson and was able to outpo wer him to the next tum and take the lead . As th e laps w ore on, the race for th e lead w as s till up in th e air as th e top three ri der s - Brande s, John son and Davis - were all over each othe r and the rac e w ould n ot be d ecided until th e checkered flag fell. Back in the field, Honda of Troy' s Jeff Willoh rod e in the fourth spo t as Dustin elson and Masanori Enomoto held the fifth an d six spo ts. As the final lap drew nea r, Johnson was all ov er Brandes. Davis w as breathing d own Johnson ' s neck as well. When the white flag flew, it was clear that it would be a battle to the fini sh. Th ree riders went into th e b ack sec tion an d o n ly tw o emerged. Johnson enco untered trouble and found himself on the ground. "I got to th e back section, an d yo u W Willoh w ere peeli ng their bikes out of the hav bales. " I clip ped so meone an d m y h and came off the ha nd leba r and I ran in to WilIoh, and so mehow I ended up ge tting the ho leshot, " said Brandes. " I hit Bra n d e s' h andlebar a n d I grabbed a handful of throttle, and I ran into Davi s a n d ra n u s b ot h off th e track," sa id Willoh. Brandes was ou t fron t a s Joh n so n ha d recovered from his first-mote cras h to ta ke second. H onda o f Tro y rider Casey Lytle held third for the first part o f th e m oto be fore Dag Boyseen w as able to take over on the third lap . After being taken out in the first turn, Davis was on the gas as he sliced and diced his . wa y th r o u g h ri ders a t w ill. Da v is wo uld finish sixth in moto two, bu t was still able to take home second -place honors for the day. Up front, Brandes still had comman d of the race as Johnson was sizing him up for a place to pass. John son reeled in Brand es several times during the moto, but wa s unsu ccessful at makin g a move for the lead . The race came do wn to the w ire as John son wa s going to try aneth- (Above) Pat Foster (566), Ryan Clark (130), Jeff Willoh (73), Casey Lytle (119), Mike Brandes (59), and Donald Upton (632), race towards turn one In the 125cc Pro class. (Right) Mike Brandes was the dominant Pro-dass rider at Quail Valley, racking up wins in the 125 and 250cc Pro classes with relative ease. (Below) Honda of Troy's Casey Lytle finished a strong fourth in the 250cc Pro class. have to square the tum to get a drive for th e jump, an d I ca m e in too hot an d s lam m ed into Brand es' re ar tire and went flyin g," said Johns on. John son w as n ot able to finis h th e race, but Brandes w as able to take the win, followed bv Davis and Willoh, who each moved up o ne position by default. As the gate d ropped for the second moto and the rid ers hit the first turn, it was complete chaos as riders slammed into each other . Whe n the du st settled, Brandes was in the lead and Davis and er last-lap bid for the lead . Going in to a rhythm section, Brandes made a mis take and Johnson was right there to take full advan tage. . "Mike is a rea lly sm a rt rider and I kne w I was gaining on him, " sa id Johnson. "I knew it would come down to the wire. If he trip led the rhythm section I was read y to take second, but he m ade a mistake and I w as ready for it." With only a few turns to go, Brandes ha d no time to retake the lead and John so n w en t o n for th e m o t o win . But because he didn't finish mot o one, Joh nson w as not in contention for the overall w in. Those honors went to Brandes. In the 250cc Intermed iate class, Tim Beatty was able to take the ove rall w ith a pa ir of consisten t second-place finishes. Shawn Ellis was the runner-up an d Mi k e Dunlap took third . In th e fir st m oto, Beat ty was th e ea rl y leader as Billy Fra nk and Jerry Aleman tr ail ed . Frank, th e ex -p ro , s ti ll sh owed so me speed and he kept the pressure on Beatty and was abl e to tak e ov er the lead halfway through the moto. Frank w ent on 10 take the first-mote victory as Beat-