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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127858
(Above left) Charlie Bogard reeed with detennlnatlon to win the 125 and 250CC Pro classes
al the Suzuki RMCup, held al 1he Cooperland Raceway In Stillwater, Oklahoma.
(Above) Arizonan Nic k Beaver won the 250cc Novice cl ass.
(Below) The 1997 RMCup Champions : (Front row,left to right) Suzu ki's Pat Alexande r;
Matt Barnes, 80cc (7-11); Gene Stull. 80CC (12-13); Dusty Founta in, 80CC (14-1 5); Mark
Morris, Vet Master; and promoter Guy Cooper. (Back row, left to right) Trevls Pastrana,
125cc B; TIm Egge rs, Vet Amateur; Charley Bogard, 125cc A and 250cc A; Trevls Gage,
250cc B; Nick Beaver, 250cc C; and Nathan Tleam ey, 125cc Novice.
By Kat Spann
By Jeff Cox and Spann
STILLWATER, OK, SEPT. 6-7
harley Bogard stayed ahead of a
gate of 39 250cc Pros all th e way
to th e winner 's circle at the third
-annual Suzuki RM Cu p, held at
Gu y Coo pe r' s Cooperl and MX facility.
Bogard th en repeated hi s efforts in th e
125cc Pro even t, which had to be scaled
down by tw o division races and consolations .
Almost 400 en trants, including riders
from 33 states and Cana da, made up the
forma t for the two- day event, wi th pra ctice and quali fyin g hea ts o n Saturday
a nd th en th e co nsolatio n s a nd m a in
events on Sunday.
In th e 2S0cc race, Bogard gated
four th bu t powered his American
Suzu ki I FMF I MSR-RM in to th e lead
whi le exiting the off-camber first turn .
From there, he held his ground all the
way to th e checkered flag.
"I really felt good about m y RM2SO,"
Bo g a rd sai d. " I haven' t had m u ch
op po rtu nity to race it thi s year. Once I
took the lead. I kept focused."
Tony Lorusso gated third and chased
Jo sh Demuth for h alf th e ra ce b efore
passin g for the number-two spot.
"I caught Josh (Demuth) over a stepup jump coming out of the back," said
Lorusso at the finish. "I actually ov erjumped the step-up and outlanded him
for the pass."
"I wa s really happy to see Charley
Bogard out front and putting on a good
show," said th e event's hos t, Gu y Cooper.
The 125cc Pro event had both Bogard
and Brian Deegan race up the hill to the
first tum, with Deegan em erging out of
the corner first . Immediately, both riders
charged the course, showing no mer cy
to the jumps and tu rns as they roo sted
the competition. It was during lap three
tha t Bogard twist ed it u p an d passed
Deegan for the lead, wh ich he held to
the finish.
In th e m ean time, Lorusso rac ed u p
o n Dee g an to challenge for second,
while a ba ttle ensued between Dem uth
and Rick Ryan. By the end of lap four,
Boga rd already had a four -second lead
on th e pack. Ryan passed Demuth on
the downhill straightaway, while Lorusso closed in on Deegan.
It came down to a bar-to-bar contest
for secon d wh en De ega n and Lorusso
headed into the first creek crossing. Deega n pulled on Lorusso just a fraction at
th e exi t, but Loru sso d id not give a n
inch, staying on Deegan 's rear tire. On
the sixth lap, Lorusso raced high on the
off-camber finish-line tu m wi th Deeg an
at h is si de. Lorusso edged in fro nt of
Deeg an to take over the number-two
spot.
"Deegan w as really going fast the
first two laps:' Bogard said at th e finis h.
"The track was really good, and I ha d a
lot of fun with it, and it seemed to really
fit my style."
"Charley rode really good this weekend: ' said Deegan. "It ended up being a
good battle. Basically, I wa s just ho lding
it on and seeing where I wa s landing to
m ake up any time I co u ld to s tay in
front of him. "
Th e best Vet-class racing was produced by the 31·rid er-stro ng Vet Amateu r e vent. Georgia' s Greg Roberts
took the holeshot and led into lap two
before local rider Greg Brown passed
him for th e lead. Roberts stayed close
to Brown, but hard-charging Vance
Earl and Tim Eggers were coming up
quickly from behind. Eggers used the
next lap to pass bo th Earl and Roberts,
an d th en he se t hi s s ig h ts o n Brown.
Brown he ld off Egge rs in to the ne xt
lap, as Eggers was reeling in the leader
in a con si stent m a nne r . Eggers
attached himself to Bro wn's rear fend er as th eir battle headed into the fifth
lap . Egg er s passe d Brown for th e lead
and Brown cou ld not keep up. Instea d,
Ear l t oo k a dva ntage of the tiring
Brown and passed him o n th e fina l lap
fo r sec ond. Brown still finished on the
podium in third.
"After I gated about seventh, I ju st
went for it:' Earl said.
" I ga ted abo u t e ig h th and really
didn't expect the lines to open up for me
like that:' a w inded Eggers sa id from
the winner's circle.
Dusty Fountain raced at the head of
the class in the 80cc (14-15) class, es tablish ing a five-second lead by the midwa ypoin!.
"I got a good start and kept my head
on straight," Fountain said.
Greg Hochmuth gated second and
held his position until the las t lap, when
Casey Barnes made one of his repeated
pass attempts stick and sna gged second
overall. Hochmuth too k a di sappointed
third.
Travis Pastrana made his win in the
125cc B event look easy. Jason McDonald raced in second to beat th ird-p lace
finisher Nick Metcalf, while Californians
Oscar Valdez and [errad Frish er round ed out the top five.
'"
Cooperland Raceway
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Results: September 6-7,1997
80 (7·11): 1. M.Jn Bamd; 2. Chris Whitcraft; 3. Ryan
Mil.l.s; 4. B.l, HuntsinPil!'l'; 5. Brad Rippl e.
80 (12·13): 1. c..me Stul l; 2. Derrick Fisher; 3. David
Wh itcraft; 4. K yle Mo~k; S. Brad Modjewsld .
80 (10&.15): 1. Du sty Fou ntain; 2. Ca wy Dameli; 3.
Greg Hochmu th; 4. Rob Rollin,,; 5. Nick Warnt"r.
125 NOV: 1. Na tha n TH'u nq ; 2. Mikf' Ma!lOl1; 3 .
MicNcl Steveruon; 4. Na than Craig; 5. Ca~ Barre.
W INT: 1. Travis P45tr'ana; 2. Jason McDonald; 3.
Nick Metcalf: 4. Oscar Valdez; 5. Jcrnd Fnshcr.
US EXiPRo, 1. ClwIey Bogonl; 2. Tony lmwoo; 3.
BIUn Deej;;m.; 4. Chris Wheeler, 5. Josh Demuth..
150 NOV: 1. Nick Bu ve r; 2. Mi ke Mu on; 3.
AntOOny On; " JOOn A