.MOTOCROSS
. CMC Golden State Nationals
Round 2North: Sacramento Raceway Park '
By John S ilva
SACRAMENTO, CA. FEB. 3
p ud Walt ers claimed he was "not
a g reat mud rider" but nonetheup
v al ua bl e
le ss
ra ck ed
CMC /MSR Go ld en State Na tio na l
se rie s p oints by s li p-sliding through
the tough competit ion at a wet Sacra m ento Racew ay to tak e th e 125cc Pro
win and p ost a respectable fo u rth in
t he 250cc Pr o class . Walter s w as
arguably th e smoo th es t rider on the
tr ack , but was kept fro m a pro sweep
by the omnipresent Gol den Sta te star
Rick Ry an, w h o fini shing fir st in the
250cc contest, in addition to a secondp lace fi n is h b e h in d W a lters in t he
125cc Pro class.
Pre-event ra ins had turned the simp le Sacr amento layout in to a form idabl e cha ll en g e , a ltho ug h o n ly a few
spri nkles fell durin g ra ce d ay. In th e
morni ng pract ice and early mot os th e
clay-ba sed track su rface w as satura ted
and standing w ater was abu ndant . Just
stay ing upright was th e biggest w orry
for most riders, and mud-related failures were com mo nplace.
By th e firs t 125cc Pro moto, conditions had improved slightly , with so me
ra ceabl e lines ap pea ring . Just off the
groove, h owe v e r, w a s tou g h going .
Finding tra ction off the start remained
elusive for m an y, including Wal ters. .
"I spu n really bad off the gate, and
go ing into th e firs t turn I was abou t
m id pa ck ," sa id the Suzuki rider. "A
g ro u p Of ri de rs w ent d own and I
avo ided them , w h ich put m e a b o ut
third ."
Pa t Gomm go t a great st art; bu t slid
out in th e secon d turn, hand ing third
to Walters. A few turns la ter, Walters
too k ad vantage of ano ther mi shap.
" Es p o s it o w ent down , a n d th en
(Tyler) Hummel was there (in fro nt of
me)."
H ummel h ad sta rted w ell , and led
th e e arly going as h e mu scl e d h is
Yamaha around th e track, occasionally
losing time by drifting off-line in to the
p ow er-robbin g mud so u p th at tri ed to
form "berms."
"It 's dryin g some, bu t it' s still slick.
Actually, it' s a lot of fun ," said Hummel.
"You can't hit the outside line, though,
or you sink into the m ud. The berms are
S
(Left) Suzuki-mounted Rick Ryan nabbed
top honors In the 2S0cc Pro class at the
muddy CMC Golden State Nationals.
bat
34
(Above) Pre-event rains soaked Sacramento Raceway Park, making downed riders a
common slghl (Left) Shane Esposito (741), Rick Ryan (93) and Scott Myers (98) battle
during 125cc Pro action.
