Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS . Ninth AnnualCommotion By The Ocean (Left ) Team Green 's Dustin Nelson (535) grabs th e holeshot In the second Open Pro moto followed by Honda of Troy's Mike Craig , Team Kawasak i's Ryan Hugh es (hi dden), Shay Fretwe ll (917), and Ton y Amaradio (30). Craig rode well and persevered to take the overa ll win with double motowlns. slowly chip pe d at Hugh es' lead . Craig was all over his backside. With one lap to go it looked as if Hughes was going to hold off the cha rge, as Craig couldn 't find a p lace to pass. When the riders emerged from the last blind corner, Craig w as th e v ictor. "The turn was slick and I ma de a little mistake," said Hugh es. "My rear tire just sp u n and Mike (Craig) got me on the inside." In th e firs t 125cc Pro rnot o, Casey Lytle pulled th e holesh ot follo we d by Du st in Ne lso n a nd Ch ad Ped erso n . Nelson, n ot h av ing a good d a y, fell ba ck a fte r an ea rly m oto soil sample. Team Chaparral's Lar ry Brooks was the firs t rider to make a move with a pass on Jeff Willoh an d Nelson. Brooks, wh o wa s in hi s first race since badly br eaking his elbow, rod e strong but eve ntually fell off the lea de rs' pace. "Its been tw o month s s ince m y last su rg e ry," sa id Brooks. "I expected to get a litt le tired ." Up front, Pederson w as the man to beat. He di ved to the inside, slammed his w ay to th e fron t on lap th ree and n ever looked b ack. Ly tle would lat er lose one more position to his teammate Willoh . When the chec kered flag flew, Pede rson cruised in for the win followe d by W il loh. Ly tle w as ab le to By Scott Hoffman CARLSBAD, CA. JUNE 8-9 t wasn't a normal day at the beach, the surf was up , bu t so was the action at California's famo us Carls1;1ad Raceway. In a fierce two- mote ba tiTe with Team Kawasaki's Ryan Hughes, Honda of Troy rider Mike Craig astonished the crowd by roosting his HOT CR250 to back-to-hack moto victor ies in the premier Open Pro class. H u n d red s of riders and specta tors came ou t to race and see the fac tory superstars do ba ttle at Racing Enterprise 's n inth annua l H on d a Of Troy Co m motion By The Ocea n . Gobs of p rizes were awarded by AXO, Cy cle Parts West, Wiseco, Say Ow an d a host of others at the two day extravaganza . In the 125cc Pro class it was Team SplitFire / Pro-Circui t rider Chad Pederson taking top honors. Pederson took on HOT riders Casey Lytle and Jeff Willoh. Pederson sliced his way th ro u gh the field in both mo tos to take the win. As the gate dropped for the first 25mi nute Open Pro moto, it was Lars Eric Larson edgi ng out Bill Sauro and local boy Tony Amaradio for the lead . Sauro an d Amaradio m ad e the firs t move to the front as Larson started to fall back in to the field. Ryan Hughes an d Mike Craig were both on the gas and before th e end of th e first lap were ru nning first and second. H u ghe s an d Craig qu ick ly put so me distance between themselves and the field as they freigh ttrai ned their way aroun d the fast hillside track. Craig dogged Hugh es' every m ove for th e opening laps. "I knew it was a 25-minute race, the track was one- lined and th er e was nowh ere to pass," said Craig . "I could have of stu ffed him early • in the race, but we're friends an d I wanted to make a clean p ass." Cra ig finally fou nd a good line on the uph ill and motored his way to the front. Once ou t front, Craig s ta rted to p u ll away sligh tly. Hu ghes started to slow as Craig took contro l of the race. "Th is is m y firs t race ba ck since I b roke m y jaw ," said Hu ghe s. "I felt good except for a little ann-pump during the mid dle of the race." With Craig and Hughes ou t front , the race was fo r the th ir d spot. Team I (Above) Ryan Hugh es made his retu rn to raci ng at Carlsbad afte r having to sit out quite a wh ile since break ing his jaw at th e Charlotte SX. Here, Ryno (5) battles with eventual winner Craig (17) in the second moto. (Right) Team SplitArelPro-Clrcuit rider Chad Pederson put on a determined performance after third-place starts in both motos. Aft er falling early in the second mota; Pederson reeled In the leaders and took the ove rall for the day with a perfect 1-1. Green/FMF rider Dustin Nelson had co m man d of th ir d by this time, but KTM's Lance Sm ail was working his way through the pack to challenge. "I got stuck behi nd of bu nch of slow guys an d it too k me a while to find some good lines," said Smail. A frustrated Smail was within striking distance several times at the latte r part of the moto, bu t w as unable to tran sfer. When the clock expi red, it was Craig with the first moto win followe d by Hughes and Nelson . ln moto two Hughes was ready and determined to take the w in, but someone forgot to tell Craig. Nelson grabbed the ear ly le ad w hi le Craig, Shay .Fretw e ll, an d H u ghes trailed. Nelson qu ickly found hi mself on the ground during the opening lap and Craig inherited the lead . Nelson would later come from beh in d to take fifth for the day. Fretwell sta lled his bike and this left the doo r open for the second Craig /Hughes battl e of the day. Hugh es was all busi- ness in the second moto; on the second lap he put a move on Craig to take the lead , but Craig wa s no t willi ng to give in as he stayed within shadow d istance of Hughes. Back in the field Arna radio, Smail, and Kevin Gewyer ha d their own race for third. Amaradio was able to hold 'off the pressure of Smail for the entire race to finish the day in third. Smail, one of the fastest ride rs in practice, had to settle for fourth. The race made a tum on the fifth lap fo r the leaders whe n Craig a lmos t cras hed. Cra ig hit the side of a wall and hi s feet were eve rywhere but o n the pegs. By the time Craig rega in ed hi s composure, Hughes put some ground between the two. Craig was not wi lling to throw the race away and kicked in the afterburners. "I wa nte d to give the crowd a good race and I wanted to give Hughes a run for his money," said Craig. With the la ps wi n d ing down Craig maint ain his pace and finish the moto in third . Lytle started the second moto with another h oleshot as Tyler King and Pederson tra iled close beh in d . Pederson's hopes fo r a two -moto sweep were al most lo st when his fro nt wheel w ashed out on the second lap. He quickIy remounted, but knew he had to pull ou t all of the stops if he still wanted the win. Lytle saw h is window of opportunity an d pushed on only to see disappointment. At about the halfway point Lytl e' s bike sta rted to ge t lou d er and louder and he started to lose power. "I am not sure what ha ppened," Lytle said . "I think the packing in the silencer blew o u t a n d m y b ik e lo st all k in ds of power." Lyt le rode h ard, bu t hi s lead began to shri nk. Pederson was charging through the fie ld and passing anyone in front of him, blow ing by Fretwell, Brooks, Nelso n, and King . With open track ahead, Pe derson set his sights on Lytle and

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