Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.GFVAXOWinterSeries . ..· R d2:Las A"gel e tyR MOTOCROSS au" es au" aceway (Left ) Frenchman David Vulllemhi swept the 125 and 250cc Pro classes a1 Los Angeles Coun tY Raceway. (Right) Na1 10nal Reliabili ty End uro Champio n Rodn ey Smit h sho wed up at LACR to do some cr oss tr aining. The for mer 250cc GP winn er stili has Impressi ve speed. (Bel ow) Justin Buc kelew (58) leads th e way at the start of the Super Miniclass race. Here, Billy Payne (95), Danny Carlson (135) and Chris Roger s (60) give chase. VuiUetnin doubletrouble By Tony A lessi PALMDALE, CA,JAN. 21 ighteen-year-old Frenchm an David Vuillemin was victoriou s in the 125 and 250cc Pro classes at round two of th e GFI / AXO Wint er Serie s, held at Los Angeles County Raceway. Vuillernin, wh o has been in the United States for less than a month, seems to be adapting to American racin g well, as was evident by his sweep of the Pro classes. "l owe this all to Donny Emler from FMF, who gave me the bikes to ride," said Vuillemin. "Next week after the Anah eim Supercross I will return to France." Like his preceding countrymen JeanMichel Bayle and, more recently, Mickael Pichon, Vuill emin chose to ge t his feet wet at GFI races. "This was my first time racing a 250 toda y," said Vuillemin. When the gate dropped for the first 250cc Pro m oto, National Re liability Enduro Champion and former 250cc GP contender Rod n ey Smith nabbed th e holes hot. "The Suzuki Off Road Team is tryin g ou t some cross tr a in in g here today," said Smith. "I can ride for three hours without breaking a sweat in an offro ad e nviron men t, bu t motoc ross requires not only fast sprints, but the use of many ridi ng techniqu es that can tire you ou t fast." Smith was obvious ly a bit rusty in the supercross department as he was quickly passed b y two-tim e 12 5cc Nati onal Cham p ion Micky D ym ond in the stadium rockers . Smith was also swooped on E 20 by Justin Tiearney, wh o quic kly pull ed a way and se t a fte r Dym ond. There would be no catching Dymo nd, however, as his smoo th riding style allowed him to maintain a modest lead . Thousand Oaks Yamaha's Billy Mercier go t aw ay good at th e start but was involved in a b ar -b an gin g clash w it h David Evil sizer. Vuill em in w as nearl y d ead last, an d w a s wo rking h is w ay thr ough the pack qu ickly. "The American riders were crazy on the first lap," said Vuillemin. "I sta rte d sixth, then was 15th." By the hal fway point of the race, it was ob viou s th at Vu illemin w as the fastest rider on the track, as he moved into third behind Dym ond and Tiearney. On th e next-to-last lap, Dymond mad e an odd mistake when he pulled off on the whi teflag lap and gave the lead to Tieamey. . "I don 't know what hap pened," said Tieamey. "I think he must have thought he saw the checkered flag." T iea rney ' s lead wa s short -li v ed, though, as the flying Frenchman pulled ou t the stops and passe d both him and a recovere d Dymond with a pa ir of awesome passes. "He took me high then stole my line an d ran off," said Tieam ey of Vuillemin's block pass , In the end, Vuillemin captured the win over Tieamey an d Dym ond, while Shane Esposito an d Smith rounded out the top five. The story was nearly the same in the 125cc Pro class race, but this time the sup- Two-time 125cc National Champion Micky Dymond won the Vet Pro class and fini shed third In the 250cc Pro class as well. po rting cast was com po sed of Esposito and Sm ith , no t Dymond and Tieamey. Esposito led for most of the race b u t Vuillemin worked towards the fron t of the pa ck quickl y after starting well out side of the top 10. Vuillemin eventually passed bo th Esposi to and Smith to take over the lead. Vuillemin pulled away wi th a comman ding lead over Esp osito, Smith, Tieamey and Dean Matson . Justin Buck elew pi cked up where he left off at the series opener an d rom ped aw ay with th e w in in th e Super Mini class . The new GFI class allows bikes to ha ve larger wheels and big-bore kits up to 113cc. Buckelew powered away with the holeshot in the first m oto and flat disappeared from the field. Billy Payne w as seco nd-fastest, w h ile Ho nd a's Da nny Ca rlson rounded out the t op three ahead of M ik e You ng, Chr is l"N Rogers and Dylan Lord. Los Angeles County Raceway Palmdale, Callfomla Results: January 21,1996 125 PRO: 1. David Vui!lemin (!

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