Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

"I gu ess yo u could say that the pressure got to me, bein g th e d ef ending event champion and all . 1 made some dumb mistakes and rod e w ay too tight at the start of the eve nt." Man ni ko, m ean while, was el a te d w ith h is fifth-place per formance. Th e personabl e Colorado rid er w as competing in his first Nation al since 1992, and was happy to find that he still has what it takes to ride with the U.S. elite. (See sidebar) New Yorker Raymon d Peters was s ix t h , m a king an im pressive d eb ut aboa r d th e n ew Fre n ch -b uilt Scorp a Ea sy . Th e exo tic-looking m otor cycl e looked p ot ent eno ugh in th e hands of the former High Schoo l N ational Champion, and the pair is sure to be a threat in future eve nts. Canad ian M ike Gu ns m a d e a su rp ri se appearance in Ca liforn ia and nab bed six th , but a t th e m om ent is unsure if he will contest the entire u.s. Serie s. Oklaho ma Sta te Cha mpion Ma tt Moore was seventh, the teenager riding well a board his Gas Gas USA entry . Ca nadian Ryon Bell and Oregon's Dennis Sweeten rounded ou t the top 10. The California National was p resented by the American Trials Association, an d riders completed three laps around a 14-section loop. A sudden drop in te m p e ra tu res and gusty winds kept things on the chilly side throughout the da y . Aaron and h is m ind er Steve Montagne started the event with a ban g and too k the lead from th e get-go . A 20p o int fi rst lo o p was five bet te r than Young and Clam agirand ' s 25s. Young was admittedly tight at the start of the event, and fived the first two sect ions. "I don't kn ow what 1 was doing," sa id Young. " I was real tight, sort of nervo us. I wen t over the bars big tim e in sec tion tw o and ben t the handleb ars. I think tha t sh ook the nerv ousness ou t of me, becau se I cleaned the next tw o sections." Kem pkes' chances of a win we re for all intent s an d purposes eliminated on the first loop, as he car ded a 36. " I wa s just trying too hard," said the long-haired Gas Gas ride r. " I wanted to win bad, but bad is how 1 ended up rid ing." Aaron was steady on the second loop and in sp ite of a big crash on sec tion eight, turned in anothe r 20. " It was a pretty big step and 1 wound the bike u p and went for it," said Aaro n. "When the bike h it th e lip it vee red to the righ t and 1 let it go. The bike about killed m y minder Steve." Both of Aa ro n's main rivals, however, be ttered their scores and closed the ga p. Clam agiran d had the best secondloop score, as h e returned to the pits with a 15-point card. Young ha d 17. . "This was a good, level t rial ," said Clamagirand. " I am very confident on the big rocks, this is what 1 ride on all the time. For a National it is very nice. 1 got a five in section 11, and 1 do n 't know why. The checkers are being very tight t o d a y . 1 took t w o o th e r little steps because 1 was too confident." Peters had a scary cras h on th e secon d loop, as he an d his Scorpa go t too m uch lift on a n off-ca m ber s p la tter. Pe te rs m issed th e top o f th e land in g rock by a few in ch es a nd looped out spectacu larly, his rearfende r exp loding off the bike and the ma chine careening out of the -sec tion . Remarkabl y, Pet ers was unhu r t, even th oug h he landed face-first in the rocks below. " I d idn 't expect the bike to get that much lift," he said. "I saw John Clark case out on it, so 1 figu red that 1 sho uld really gas it up." Cou gar Buttes Lucern e, Califo rn ia Results: Marc h 23, 1996 (Round 1 of 9) CHAMPI ON SHIP: 1. Ge off Aa r on (Bet) 5 1 points! 23 d eans ; 2 Ryan Young (G-G) 52/ 22; 3. Olivier Clama gtra nd (G-G) 53/ 22; 4. Jess Kempkes (G-G) 87/ 12; 5. Mark Manniko (G-G) lo:!/ 9; 6. Raymond Peters (Sec) 130 / 6; 7. Mike Guns (Bet) 131/6; 8. Matt Moore (G-G) 152/ S; 9. Dennis Sweeten (Bet ) 163/ 2; 10. Ryon Bell (GG) 174/1; II. JaM a ark (G-G) IDl / O. EX: 1. Ron Comma Jr. (26 po ints / 24 cleans) ; 2. Kip Webb (35 / 22 ); 3. Kennv leduc (41 / 23 ); 4. Jared MalmqWst (59/16); 5. Mitch Reichardt (87 /9~ HS: Carl Miller (10 points /3 ] cleans ); 2. Timothy Hill sam er (12 /31); 3. Cr aig Wilson (16 /28); 4. Bria n . Ma rtinson (32/ 20); 5. David Reed (36/ 19). SR (30·3-1): 1. D. Roh r s ch n e id er (6 po in t s / 3:?: cleans); 2- David Cole (6/32); 3. Robert Madden (29/ 21); 4. Ken Williams (64/11 ). SR (35-39): Kenny Mosteller (7 points I 33 cleans) ; 2. She ld on Hefler (1l 128); 3. Bob Pen ning ton (12/29); 4. Rick Jenkins (16/24); 5. Bob Rowland (19/27). SR (40-44): 1. H o wa rd Gal b re a th (4 poi n ts /3 :?: cleans); 2. Mark Old ar (7/30) ; 3. Keith Adams (21/28) ; 4. Clive Hannon (22 / 25); 5. Wayne Anders (47/ 15). SR (45-19); I. Ted Cansberger (17 poin ls /2 6 cleans ); 2. Dean Nielso n (25 / 26); 3. David Braig (38 / 24); ' 4. Dallas Peak (74/14); 5. Bill Hann on (97/6). --Garis (10 po ints /3D cleans): 2. SR (50~5·U: 1. Bill De Da le Malase k (16/29); 3. La rry Lund (53 /13); 4. Bob Pick (78/ II). 5R (55--59): 1. Bill Thompson (27 po ints / 19 cleans) . SR (65+): 1. Haw ley Slayton (130 poin ts/ 3 cleans); 2. LeGrande Bunker (135/5). SPTS MN : 1. Derek Martinson (7 points /32 dean~ ); 2. Tony Led uc (8 /31); 3. Lon Bran d (11 / 3 1); 4. Ha p Oswald (13/ 29); 5. Jim Collins (15/ 30). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Mount Olive, IL. Ju ne 29 Round 3 - Mount Olive. IL. June 30 The th ird loop was a nail-biter, as all three of the top ri ders had th e ir best scores of the day. Young's 10-point loop was th e lowest of the event, but still wasn't enough to wrestle the win away fro m Aaron. The defending champion had a six-point lead over Young entering the final se ctio n of the d ay, but it was th at trap th at dumbfounded him each an d every loo p. Aa ron ca rded a five in th e last se ction, b u t still h ad a point to spare, coming home with an 11point card . " I just cou ldn' t get through se ction 14," he said . " I actually five d it on the last loop at an earlier po int th an I had been on the other tw o loop s. The d ifficu lty level today was pret ty good . We were still able to push ou rselves, but we weren't busting up our bikes. Today I wa s a little hot and cold, but I felt reall y good as far as rid ing goes. I felt strong on the fina l loop ." . " I got stronger as the day wen t on ," sa id runner-up Young: "I wasn' t rid ing like a champ ride r at all. 1 was totally tight. I'm happy wi th secon d, beca use 1 had five fives that 1 sho uldn't have ha d . Things will only get better from here." Clama girand turned in a 13- point card on his final loo p, and his 53-point tot al was p ainfully close to the first- and seco nd -place finishers'. Kem pkes was a bit disappointed with his performance. "My expectations were really high ," said Kempkes, w ho h ad an 87-point total. "I should have been riding better, I was still kinda sleeping in the moming sections, an d the sections were real inti midating on the first lo op. The checkers were bei ng too hard. They were being chumps all the wa y through. 1 had some bad calls." Manniko was deligh ted with hi s fifth-p lace fin ish and 102-point ta ll y, while sixth-placed Peters wa s unhappy wi th his 130-point final score. " I haven't ha d a lot of riding time at hom e and 1 felt a little out of touch," he said. " It seems like all the sections were ridabl e, but 1 jus t cou ld n' t m ake it all happen. I w as a little unsure of m yself. I need mo re practice." Seventh-placed Guns was only one poi nt adrift of Peter s. "I had a good time today," he said. "The sections are just like some of the riding in Canada. I hope to do more of the series, but sponsorshi p will have to playa part. Money wi ll be a deciding factor." 1':\ (Above) Home-state favorite Olivier Clamagirand was third, but the li kable Gas Gas rider was hopin g to wi n at his local venu e. The Belgian con tin ues to possess a gr ace th at the Americans lack. (Right) Canad ian Mike Guns made a rare statesi de appearance and fi nish ed a stro ng sixth ' aboard a French -made Scorpa Easy. TheMa ic returns T h e o pening ro un d of the 1996 AMA /NATC National Championsh ip Series ma rked the retu rn of one of t he se r ies' for mer top con tende rs, "Magic" Mark Man niko (right) . After finishing second to Ryan Young in 1991, the personable Colorado resident competed in a mer e three events in '92 be fore retiring from the National Cha mpionship scen e. . "I was just burned out, " said Manniko, 26. "Some people thri ve on competi tion. but I jus t did n't groove on it . I d id n 't en joy th e co m pe ti tion as mu ch as I enjoyed the rid ing, an d I was n' t w illing to do what it would hav e taken to beat Ryan." In the years since he' r'retire d," Mann iko con tinued to rid e, but competed very little, even at the local level. Then the itch to return to the Na tiona ls struck. and the '90 Globe, Arizona, National winner decid ed to mak e a comeback a t Lucern e. A fifth-place fin ish was better than eve n he had expected, an d it looks as if Manniko is back for good. " It was really, really fun," he said. "I really enjoyed it. It was a little more rad ical than I expec ted, a lot of the stuff like splatters ha ve gotten bigger sin ce I last competed . I punched ou t of some sectio ns beca use I wasn' t quite ready for them yet, but overall. I feel that I did better tha n I expected to. I'm just doing it for fun now and it doesn't matter whe re I finish."

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