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MOTOCROSS AMMfAXtAfA WESTERN FOUR·STROKE NATIONAL MOTOCROSS SERIES Helen Raceway By Don Schneider Photos by Kinney Jones SAN BERNARDINO, CA, MAY 11 TM's Lance Smail isn't perfect, it's just starting to· look that way. At Glen Helen Raceway, Smail continued his recent run of perfection, taking both motos en route to the overall victory. With Shaun Kalas' win in the second round of the series almost a distant memory, Smail's success at Glen Helen put him on a four-far-four mota run that has made him appear rather untouchable. The reigning class champion again took no prisoners as he stormed to a double-mota win, topping Husaberg's Kalas and Kawasaki's Ty Davis, the pair mirroring each other's 2-3 finishes with Kalas taking the runner-up spot via his better performance in the second mota. KTM-mounted Robert Naughton and Steve Drew ended the day fourth and fifth, respectively. Smail's .flawless day in Southern California left him with a 22-point cushion over Kalas in the championship point standings, 195-173, with four of eight rounds completed. Davis is third in the series with 156 points, well clear of fourth-ranked Mike Healey, who was sixth overall at Glen Helen. The newly revamped Glen Helen Raceway - easily the longest and toughest track on the circuit thus far - provide.d a rugged test for the four-stroke men. The very long up-and-downhill sections took all the horsepower the big fourstrokes could throw at them, and it was all very much appreciated by the large turnout of fans at the support race to the AMA 125/250cc National Motocross Series. As the riders sped down the long start straight and into the first corner, it was Smail on his Tom Moen/Jeff Pritchard-tuned KTM 620 LC4 SX, looking over just in time to see the Husaberg FC501 of Brian Roth squeezing past on the inside. (Above left) Lance Small (1) got the Jump on the field et Glen Helen and he stayed there, winning both motos for the second successive race. (Above) The big fourstrokes power up one of Glen Helen's many hills. (Left) Small leads the championship over Shaun Kalos, 173-156. "I was focused on the line that I wanted in the first turn," Smail explained later. "I glanced over just in time to see this bright yellow Husaberg with a short little dude who was standing on the pegs, wheelying, crossed up and heading right for me. I couldn't believe he was there - what a nut!" . Exiting the turn, Roth grabbed a handful of throttle and ran wide. Smail, followed by Spud Walters, railed the au tside line and took the lead as Roth recovered in third place. Dustin Bloomfield, Robert Naughton and Steve Drew outpowered Davis, Bill):' Binckley, Kalas and Healey up the first long uphill. Kalas then flew down Animal Leap like a man possessed, only to encounter trouble shortly thereafter. "I didn't want Lance (Smail) to get away early, so I kept my momentum up and went to the outside of Animal Leap and headed up Mount St. Helen," Kalas said later. "I went to the outside and clipped Binckley's rear tire and went down." As the pack disappeared over the top, Kalas quickly remounted and started his charge. Walters, meanwhile, headed toward the Carousel double jump with a bit of uncertainty. "Man, I heard that bike wail and wasn't jumping that massive double," Walters said. "So I went to the right, just in time to look up and see the underside of his frame." The frame in question belonged to Roth, who gave his version of events: "Coming doWD the hill into the left-hander, I went to the inside, pulled in the clutch and grabbed a handful. Walters went wide and I jumped over the top' of · h lID. " The move put Roth into second place, but Smail was long gone _. putting some 10 seconds on the field in the opening lap. "I could see Lance was gone and I knew I couldn't run his pace," Roth said, "so I thought I would get into a groove and ride my own race." His own race didn't end up being a very good one. Halfway into the second lap, Roth hit a hole and was tossed over the bars, hyperextending his right arm in the process. Unfortunately, he was out for the day. Walters had his own misfortune on the second lap. "Just after I landed off a downhill jump, the chain derailed and wrapped itself up beside the case," Walters said. "1 was frantically trying to get it out, but it was just wedged in too tight. It took forever to get going." By lap three, it was Davis in second with IMS/ Primal Impulse-backed Healey some five seconds arrears in third place. Team Noleen/NCY KTM'~ Drew, Premier Motorsports KTM's Naughton and BBR-mounted Gordon Ward followed, with Kalas working his way back into the top 10. At the halfway mark, Smail's lead was insurmountable. Ditto for Davis, who was a lonely second, but not so for Healey, who was beginning to feel the heat from Kalas. Healey's Honda XR400 was soon behind Kalos' Russ Fletchertuned FC501, but Kalas would advance no farther, as it had taken him the better part of six laps to dispose of Healey. Naughton held on to fifth after a heated battle with Drew. Bloomfield, Scott StiJImock, Ward and three-time AMA National Motocross Champion Gary Jones rounded out the top 10 finishers. It didn't take Smail long to get thing~ going in the second moto as he led thl pack with another familiar holeshot Davis had his KDX 360 in second chased by Kalas, Drew, White Brothersbacked Spud Walters, Healey, Binckley Bloomfield and Stillmock. The first of the top men to have prob· lem~ was Drew. Coming out of the Bud's Creek section, Drew swapped and was tossed off, quickly remounting only to lose .his seat. Still, he was able tc maintain his composure, riding to an eventual seventh-place finish. Davis, with Kalas in hot pursuit, wasn't letting Smail get away - at least