Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS 21ST ANNUAL GNC INTERNATIONAL MOTOCROSS RNAL (Left) Jeff Dement nailed the win In the 250Cc Expert class with a pair of solid rides. (Right) Charley Bogard came back from poor starts to card the overall win In 125cc Expert racing. By Tony Alessi MOSIER VALLEY, TX, MAR. 14-16 exans Jeff Dement and Charley Bogard used the home-court advantage to post overall victories in both 125 and 250cc Expert divisions duri;1g the 21 st annual running of the GNC International Motocross Final held at Mosier Valley Cycle Park. After 15 years at the historic and scenic Lake Whitney Cycle Ranch, the race was relocated to Mosier Valley Cycle Park. "If was legal issues (that caused) the change in venues," said Jerry Surber, the GNC race promoter. "Mosier is a good change since we are in the heart of the Metro Plex - everything from fine dining to hotels is just a block away." Over 1000 racers from 37 states and three countries squeezed into the newly prepared pits, under threatening skies and frigid temperatures. Rain forced the cancellation of the national semiqualifiei, giving all entrants a free ticket to the main event. Armed and ready was the only way to describe "home boy" Bogard before the start of the 125cc Expert race as, despite getting a poor start, he would come back to nail the win. When the gate dropped, Team Green's Brock Sellards jumped out to an early lead and set the pace while Bogard was buried in the pack. "I spun off the gate," Bogard said. "I think I was second from last going into the first turn." Joining Bogard in the back of the pack was ic Wey, who also was a spinner. "I was just trying too hard," Wey said. "I haven't been riding because (Right) Costa Rican Emesto Fonseca (69) is chased by Brett Racine (493) in 125cc Intermediate Stock racing. Fonseca took the overall, Racine finished second overall. Fonseca also took wins In the 250cc Stock Intermediate and 125 and 250cc Open classes. everything is frozen b'ack home in Michigan." Team Green's Dement was flying and took the lead from Sellards just after the second lap. As the riders reached the halfway point in the mota it was quite clear that Team Suzuki's Bogard was the fastest rider on the track as he charged through the pack like a knife through butter. Bogard made a quick and clean move on Dement and pulled away for an undisputed moto win. "I thought those guys would be more competition, but that was really easy," Bogard said. Rookie Pro Jiri Dostal collected second after passing Dement, who settled for third, citing shock problems, while Idaho's Danny Smith and Wey fought for fourth down to the wire with Smith getting the nod at the line. What about Sellards? A mechanical problem early in the moto. left him struggling to a disappointed eighthplace finish behind Shae Bentley and Nevada's Shane Esposito. The second moto saw Esposito grab the holeshot while Bogard spun his rear wheel wildly once ag;tin. Wary about his poor start in the first moto, Wey sat further' back on his seat this time, nailing a good start to jump into second while Dostal, Smith and Sellards rounded out of the top five after the first-turn chaos. Wey followed Esposito for three laps before he made his move. "He was going good and I was riding not that great, but I was able to pass - him," Wey said. Once out front Wey pulled away for the moto win while Dostal crashed himself out of overall. When the dust settled it was Bogard scoring the gold with his 1-4 finishes, followed by Wey (1-5), Smith (4-3), Sellards (8-2) and Dement (3-7). Dement rebounded for a doublemoto victory in the 250cc Expert division over a hard-charging Bentley. Dement rode without challenge after working past teammate Bentley in both motos and gave credit for his victory to his family, his mechanic Alan Brown and God. Costa Rican Emesto Fonseca and Californian Jeff Northrop battled all week in multiple classes ranging from 250cc Intermediates to the 125cc Open class. Fonseca and Northrop had a classic knock-down-drag-out battle in the allimportant second 125cc Open moto for ·top honors in the class. After colliding with orthrup, Fonseca recovered in time to finish second, which was good enough for the overall win. "I hit a whoop too hard and my wrist went down and pulled the throttle wide open," Fonseca said. "I tried to clutch my way out but he was stuck on me," Northrup said. In the end Donovan Mitchell got a free ticket to first place and won the moto but a sixth-place in the first moto left him third overall runner-up behind Northrop and overall winner Fonseca. Brett Racine started his season out on a positive note by winning the alwaysexciting Schoolboy 12- to 15-year-old division. Racine chased down and passed last year's Mini 12- to 13-year-old AMA Champion Jeff Gibson for the overall win, while Bryan McGavran inherited third after Matt Walker crashed himself out of the top three. "He hit Gibson hard and crashed," . McGavran said. "I had a feeling that was going to happen." Justin Buckelew picked up where he left off last year by once again leaving no doubt about his superiority in the Mini 14- to 16-year-old ranks. Buckelew raced unchallenged en route to a six-moto sweep of the 80cc Stock and Modified 14- to 16-year-old divisions and the 80cc Open classes on

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