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,:AMAINATC National Championship Series Round 1: Lucerne Valley OSRE B E V DTRIALS·' • (Left) Two-time National Champio n Geoff Aaron sp ent some time pract icin g In California during the offseason and looked quite comfortable In the hlghtraction Lucerne Valley sect ions. The factory Beta rider sco red his 18th caree r wi n with only a sing le point to sp are. (Below) Ryan Youn g piloted a Gas Gas JTR370 to a close second, coming up only one point sh y of his 50th National win . The six-time Nat iona l Champion was Impressive, especi ally considering his lack of off-season tra in ing. By Donn MaedaIDirt Ride r Magazi ne LUCERNE, CA, MAR. 23 ast year, the AMA /NATC Nationa l Cha m io nshi p chase wen t down to the wire, with defend ing se ries cham p io n Geoff Aaro n ba re ly edgi ng out six-time Na tiona l Champ ion Ryan Young. Aaron started the season s lo w ly, a n d i t w a s the s u p ers tea dy You ng wh o led throu ghout most of the se r ie s. O n ly a la te -se a so n b urst b y Aa ron allowed the likabl e Connecticu t rid er to p revail with six wins, and some pu ndi ts were qui ck to point out the fact th at You ng w ould h ave w on th e titl e had all 10 roun ds counted . This year, the throw-out ru le has been eliminated, and a ll n in e o f th e Na tio na ls w ill co un t towards the ove rall series standings, With tha t in mind, Aaro n entered the 1996 series opener with a different sta te of m ind . L "Last yea r, I was still in college," said the tall 23-year-old. "As a matter of fact, I was taking finals when the series started. I knew th at I would h ave time to make up for any bad fin ish es because on ly si x ro u n ds of th e 10 co u n te d towards the championship. Every round counts this year, so I'm going to make the most of them . This yea r, I'm out of college and that helped me ou t a bit. I didn' t have school to keep me off the bike, and I was really ready for today's even t." Read y indeed . Large roc ks an d hu ge steps greeted the riders as the y rolled into the Cougar Buttes area o f Lucerne Valley, and it was Aaro n wh o tackled the big sections th e b est a n d emerged with his 18th career National win . Aaron's win, however, was by no mean s a cakewalk, as th e Beta Motor Ita ly / Cosmopoli ta n Motors/ Elf-backed rid er bested runner- up Young by only a sing le point. As -a matter of fact, a mere two poi nts sepa rated the top th ree finishers, as th ird placed Olivier Clamagirand w as onl y one point further adrift of Young, "He beat me for a lot of years, and now it's my turn," said Aar on, referring to archriva l You ng . "Th at's the way I look at it. I'm fired up fo r m y third title:' Yo ung piloted a Gas Gas JT3 70, which was decked out with red JT270 p lastic rather than the stock blue fenders, -and the extra power vaulted him up the large rock s well e nough to stay amazingly close to Aaron. Whi le Young has been stuck indoors all w inter long due to th e icy con ditions in his hom e state of Kentucky, Aaro n has been practicing in the warm California climate. . "I h aven 't really spen t much time on the new bike at all," said Young. "Only a few exhibitions here and there, and a few practice days in the rain. To finish this cl ose to Ge off is e ncou rag in g, because I kn ow that I will get stro nger as the season goes on and I get to practice more: ' Clamagirand, meanwhile, was torn bet w een two emo tions: ha p pi ness for fin ish in g so close to the top tw o, and disappoi ntment be cau se this was his h ome eve n t and he was ho ping for a win. "I rode very good, but I made some mistakes, just like everybody," said the for mer Belgian National Champion, who now resides in Southern California. "It was very close. I was hoping to win todaybecause thi s is my home trial. I did my very best." Rounding out the top five were last yea r's California N ati onal winner Jess Kempkes and former National numbertwo Mark Manniko. Kempkes rode well, but the fla shy N ebrask an mad e too many mistakes to be in contention for the win. "I w as nervous today," he admitted .