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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127823
(Left) KTM's Lance Smail won the first 250cc moto, but a bad start in moto two held him to
second place for the day.
(Above) Nick Wey (586) battles with Spud Walters (64) in the 125cc Pro class. Walters finished
third overall with a 4-7 moto tally, while Wey settled for fourth with a 6-2.
(Below) Kenny zahrt came out and won the Over 40 Masters class with 1-1 moto finishes.
ran out and fourth was as far as he
advanced.
Up front, Smail pulled out a comfortable lead and kept the field at bay the
entire moto. Walters railed Crumb on
the second lap to take over the runnerup position, but was unable to close the
gap on Smail to take a shot at the·lead.
At the end, it was Smail with the win
followed by Walters and Holland.
In the second moto, the race
belonged to Holland, who gated perfectly to take the lead and roost the competition, and throughout the race was
never challenged. Keeney, Billy Mercier
and Walters trailed Holland on the first
lap. Walters was in position for the
overall win if he could take over the sec,ond spot, but a lack of patience saw
Walters take a soil sample while trying
to pass Mercier.
'1 tried too hard to and I went for the
pass on the inside of Mercier, and we
slammed together," Walters said. 'We
both ended up going down."
With Walters and Mercier out of the
picture, Nelson was in position to capitalize on the mistake and move into
third. One lap later, elson moved past
Keeney for second.
First-moto winner Smail was pinched
off at the start and had to work his way
through the field. Smail had to place
second if he wanted to take the overall.
Smail moved past Keeney early on and
slowly chipped away at the gap
between himself and Nelson, but
couldn't make a move. In the end it was
Holland's day, taking a well-deserved
second-moto win and the overall victory. Nelson crossed the line for second
f.allowed by Smail.
In a 125cc Intermediate field of 37
racers, it was Team Green-backed Brett
E.acine sweeping both motos. Racine
battled with the likes of Andy Anaya,
Tim Langdon and Aaron Chesishe.
Racine was on fire when the gate
dropped for the first moto, and from the
second turn the race was for second as
Racine left the pack. Andrew Labrador
held second early on, but a hard-eharging Cheselshe took over on the second
lap. Cheselshe held second until the
end, while Labrador eventually fell back
to .fifth.
Anaya, Varis and Langdon duked it
out for third for most of the race, but a
disappointed Varis threw it away
halfway through the race and fell back
.to eighth. At the finish, it was Racine
with a huge lead followed by Cheselshe
and Anaya.
In moto two, it was a repeat performance as Racine took a wire-to-wire
win. Anaya rode hard to take second in
moto two and second for the day. Varis
came back to prove he had the speed to
take third in moto two, but his crash in
the first moto left him back in the standings.
In other race action, FMF/Maxima/
ZLT-backed Michael Young made easy
work of the 80cc 14- to 16-year-old divi-
sion, taking the overall victory with two
moto wins. Young had a little trouble
early on with Sean Hamblin until he
kicked in the afterburners and took a
wire-to-wire win. Hamblin held second
for most of the moto until he ran into
problems on the last lap, when Chris
.Gosselaar and Jonathon Shimp got by.
In the second moto' it was Hamblin
with the early lead, followed by Young
and Gosselaar. Young had a brief duel
with Hamblin until he made a pass on
the back straight. Young went on to take
the moto win followed by Hamblin and
Gosselaar.
t.~
CMC Golden State Nationals
Gorman, California
Results: January 5, 1997 (Round 1 of 6)
P/W (4-6): 1. Cole Seely (Act); 2. Shawn Butler
(KTM); 3. Andrew Couto (LEM); 4. Dustin Enochs
(LEM); 5. D.vid Medin. (KTM).
PfW (7--9): 1. Dennis Jonoo (KTM); 2. Jared Partridge
(KTM); 3. ShaM Rhinehart (LEM); 4. Gerald !

