Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOCROSS ' . . R d1 Mtocross 0f M · C ty oun : 0 anon .oun VintageIron E volution of Motocross Series IRESULtS ' Motocross TNT MX Park Milan, TN March 3 50 ChadMamn Branden ~IiJJer 60 Blair ~filJer justin Sllavborn justin T utier Matt Knvkml.ill KninSlOut Y am lEM • Kaw K.1w K.1w K.1w K.1w IIO fR Damoo Prinre Eric Smith Cl>ris~~ BIair . roe EricGoetz IIO SR Ju.tinBrown < Ihris Brill o.vSloon Micn.ella wrenre Justin Kirsland SCHBY(12'15) Cavin Burkman D arrellBlankenship, Chad Killen JnhnM cEroy Jam ieStavely 16-24 Tim Martin Derick M oore Suz Suz Hon Hon K.1w Yam Yam Hon Suz Suz Hon SUZ Hon SOl Yam Hon Hon 25(1.8 By Helen Wheales REDDICK, FL, MAR.4 he evolution has begun. . The fa me d Da ytona bike w eek was the backdrop for Vintage Iron and co-sponsors Northwest Maico /CZHu gh ' s Bultaco to debut the National Evoluti on of Motocross Series, the missin g link between w ha t is cu rrentl y defined as vintage (pre-1975) racing and current machines. The racing is open to any machin e that was originally equip ped w it h a n air-cooled m otor, drum brakes and no linkage suspension, and featur es tech nolog ical improvements - such as long travel suspension which represent the next evolutio nary step beyond vintage technol ogy . The park-like surroundings o f Motocross of Mari on County facility, an hour west of Dayt ona, was the setting of the ina ugural event. Competitors from sta tes as far away as California were greete d with a liber al d ose of Florid a su nshi ne and loam y track conditions . Alth ou gh th e p its also co nta ined a healthy continge n t of vintag e mach in ery, the focus was most certainly geared toward th e new kids on the block, th e Evo lu tio n b ik es . Maico Mag n ums, Honda Red Rockets and Yamaha monoshoc ks a p pea re d to be the popula r favorites among those in attenda nce, but both typ es of machinery and com peti tor s ap peared to coexist quite harm oniou sly. T MOTOONE The cha rge to turn on e in the first moto was led by '81 Maico 49D-mounted Gary Koptak with Wayne Nix and Rick D o u ght y in close pu r su it. Do u ghty worked his way backwards as he found that a works-style YZ400 has very little in commo n with his '6 6 Rickman Triumph. The action up front was fast and furi ous though, with everyone wa nting to own the bragging fights that go with leading the opening lap . Koptak held off the charging masses unti l lap tw o when Vintag e Iron /Thor-sponsored Greg Catter made hi s mo ve. H aving mad e th e long tr ek from San Dieg o, Catter was less than satisfied w ith the view fro m second. On ce by Koptak, he wen t into cruise mode and brought home the first win of the young season. Some dista nce back fro m th e 500cc mach ines was th e battle for th e 250cc Master-cl ass su p remacy between Ed Garlin a nd Jo ~1 Ni cholson, both '79 Honda CR25D-mounted and both from Florida. Their person al duel raged all the way to the flag, with Garlin edging Nicholson out of the win . The Sportsman divisions were repre sented by a robust field of compe titors. Both Wayn e Nix in the 250cc class and Daniel Way on a 500 tallied pertect 1-1 finishes for the da y, despite several bids to unseat the m. Steve Broussard (250) and Mark Nelson (500) garn ered the runner-up posi tions . MOTO TWO The Masters division got very interesting with the add ition of Rich Rosseter and his '78 YZI25 in the mix . Given the power-robbing sand and a very lon g start straigh t, Rosseter was at a signi fica nt d isad van ta ge against th e la rge r machines, but app aren tly someone forget to tell Rosseter. H e worked his tid dler to the front of the 250cc Master class ahea d of Garlin and Nicholson, and with the throttle pinned everywhere hum anly possible, kept it th ere. Looki ng very much like a vintage version of Johnny 0 ' at the Motocross d e Nations, Rosseter quickly becam e th e crowd favorite in this David vs, Goliath challenge . The Rosset er, Garlin and Nicho lson freight train reeled in a tentatively ru n- Gary Koptak (86) leads th rough the fi rst tu rn In the fi rst moto of the fi rst round of Vintage Iron's National Evolution of Mot ocross Series In Reddick, Flo rida. Koptak took top honors In the 500cc Masters cl ass. ning Doughty. Gar lin dived inside with a bump-and-grind move but got taken to the banners as Doughty returned the love ta p . Th at w as a ll that Rosse te r nee ded to break away and secure the victory. Koptak he ld off a fru s trate d Greg Carter in the 500cc ranks. Ga rlin rem ained a he ad of Nicholson in the 250cc chase. Afterward, series promoter Doughty sai d that he w as sati sfied with the _ turnout for the ·inaugu ra l even t of the series. "This year was supposed to be simpl y a grass-roots effort; you know, planting the seeds aroun d the country for the years to come," Dough ty sai d . "But given the level of en thusiasm I have seen tod ay, I th ink the Evolution Series is rea dy to blosso m. We not only proved the concept is soun d, we proved that there is certainly room for p re-'75 and post-'75 racing in our sport, and tha t I regard as a huge su ccess." Motocross of Marlon County • Reddi ck, Aorida Results: March 4, 1996 (Round 1 of 11) 125 MSTR: 1. Rich Rosse ter (Yam ). 250 S PTS MN: 1. W a yn e Nix (Hon ); 2. Ste ve Boussard (Hus). . 250 MSTR: 1. Ed Carlin (H on ); 2. JOt.'I Nic ho lson (Hon); 3. Benny Du rrough (KTM ); 4. Jam es Way (Ho n ); 5. Rick Ha m ilton (Can); 6. Bill Burton (H us); 7. Ray Weir (CZ) . . 500 SPTSMN: 1. Daniel Way (Yam); 2 Mark Nelso n (Mon) ; 3. Gera ld Gresha m (Hus) ; 4. Law rence Lucia (CZ) . 500 MSTR: 1. Gary Kopta k (Mai); 2. Greg Carter (Ma i); 3. Rick Doug hty (Yam) . Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Tyler, TX, March 23 Round 3 - Hollister, CA, April 14 Ton Walker Dannv Seaton B randonLanghans B EG leffMoore ID.Swain T lIIIll1y Johnsoo Darin Emison Cl>ris Rowlett 4-STRK B ;nyWebb Ronnie Abbott I_Stewart He.1th Bush mc Darrel Blankinship Eric Gillen Patrick Bedgood ChadKilleri M idiael RiffIt 125 B TonWalker I_Wrighl Tun Maron m A/B Treyl'hill~ Gavin Bu J- Perry 250C Derrid M re oo ShadColeman Carey M cGee f1mmyCo le Chris Bartnn 2» Ronnie Ray MarkGarrison 30+ Ronni Ray e Mark Hu nt leeStout 25OA/ B Andy Howell MarkGarrison Suz Hon Hon Suz K.1w Hon Hoo Suz Hoo Hoo Yam Hon Suz K.1w Hon Hoo Hoo DanM Powder1:ff Jan Neshoeffer lori WoI1aslnn SandyRoss , I).ll!B NicGh'S1:aw Steve Auldmft ~Mielke Jerry M ielke Nasami Hiro wa ks Peter Perez 1).300 A M.u\. Erickson Bob Podoll Steve Landnun 3()1+ EX Brian Anderson jimForington OintGumon SRA Mark Erickson Bob Podoll Ronald Gardner 1).300 EX David Wollaston JunForington Kennv Perkins VINT2,STRK BobHowlan KellyWrighl Kennith Ross VINT 4- TRK S Craig Neshoeffer Wa)'lleSttum Aarm~ Se.1nN Mich,,1Neshoeffer MINlB AronT'X(j Tanner cOure J:a; M cClure NV Phillip Herington Dustin Gommm RandalllJergin 3nlWhee 1 JanNeshoeffer Steve McNitt Craig Neshoelfer 5O(U) ~~~ )erroduvingslnn Iletek jc/msOO 5OlioS) TIIIIll1YAIber1snn ~~ 60(6-8) ~UV1l1gstnn Saeinz SIeJ>h.m Si moneau m Suz Yam Suz Suz Y am Hon Yam AJy.sa SIiur 60 ('1-11) MiChaelSi moneau m J.mod Williams Rob