Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127823
MOTOCROSS CMC/SUNSTAR GOLDEN STATE NATIONALS By Scott Hoffman 22 GORMAN, CA, JAN, 5 ith sheer determination and plenty of talent, Team Thousand Oaks/Pro Circuit rider Rusty Holland scored wins in both the 12Scc and 2S0cc Pro classes at Hungry Valley's OHV park. Holland took on top pros from all over California at the opening round of CMC's 21st running of the Sunstar Golden State Nationals. Mother Nature wreaked havoc on most of California all week, but Sunday blessed racers with clear wea ther and tormented them with cold temperatures. Over 500 riders did battle on the Marc Peters-prepared track to grab their share of factory contingency money and valuable series points. As the gate dropped for the first 12Scc Pro moto, it was FMF /Motoworld-backed Dustin Nelson with the huge holes hot, followed by Cory Keeney, Rusty Holland and Ray Crumb, Nelson was on the gas from the get-go and quickly put some real estate between himself and the field. Holland was the first to make a move to the front, snatching the runner-up spot from Keeney on the second lap, and' he had his sights set on the leader, but never got within striking distance. "1 was just trying to ride consistently," Holland said. '1 had a few bad lines during the fi;st part of the moto, but Nelson was just hard to beat." Holland had to settle for second as the field ignited into a race for third place. Keeney was the first to fold under the pressure, slowing'temporarily due to severe arm pump while FMF's Spud Walters started to kick into gear. WaIters started off the race slowly with possible- bike problems, "1 landed off a jump on the first lap and my bike just stopped," Walters said, '1 thought the engine seized and 1 took it easy for a few laps.." 1: GDtman, California (Above) Doug Parsons (23) grabs the holeshot in the second 125cc Pro moto, followed closely by class winner Rusty Holland (72), Cory Keeney (53) and the rest of the pack at round one of the CMClSunstar Golden State Nationals in Gorman, California. (Right) Rusty Holland rode consistently and won the 125cc and 250cc Pro classes with first- and third-place moto finishes in both classes. Just past the halfway point, Walters was all over the tail end of Crumb when he-caught an inside rut with'his foot and Walters capitalized on his mistake. WaIters continued his charge to the front, but there was no time left to close the gap on the leaders. Another rider having problems was teen sensation Nick Wey. Wey suffered from a poor start and had to settle for sixth spot at the end of moto one. When the checkered finally flew, it was Nelson with the win followed by Holland and Walters, In moto two, Holland came out swinging when the gate hit the dirt. Doug Parsons got the jump on the field, put Holland was right there to spoil his . lead. Parsons quickly fell off the pace as Wey, Walters and Keeney were all scraping for position, Walters had his sights set on Weyand dogged his every move. With only a few laps to go, WaIters was in position to make the pass until a bad move cost him a position. "1 was trying to set up Wey for the pass and I slid out and went off the track at the same time," Walters said. Nelson, the first-moto winner, was able to capitalize on Walters' misfortune. Nelson suffered from a terrible start and had to slice his way to the front. "1 got pinched off at the start and it is so hard to make up time when the races are only six laps," Nelson said. At the end of moto two, Holland was in ,cruise mode and easily took the win and the overall. Wey turned in a great ride in the second race, followed by Nelson in third, In the 2S0cc Pro class, it was KTM's Lance Smail taking the first-moto win. Smail nailed the start to take the lead, followed by Crumb, Walters and Jason Partridge. For the opening laps, the top three positions held, but the back of the pack jumped around. Both Rusty Holland and Dustin Nelson had to work their way up to the front after poor starts; Holland was the first to advance to the front, while Nelson had to come back from 10th. Holland eventually worked his way to third by the end with a pass on ,Partridge and Crumb, Nelson had his work cut out if he wanted to salvage a decent first-moto finish, Nelson slowly picked riders off one at a time, but timi!