Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

_ ,EV N S ET EDITED BYCAMERON COATNEY T r.ans-Cal Motocross Series, Round 2 (Far left) Chris Wheeler rode to a firstplace finish In the 125cc Pro class and a second In the 250cc Pro class at the second round of the CMC Tra ns-Cal M otocross series held at the Quail Canyon OHV Park in Gorman, Cali fornia. (Left) Spud Walters rode to victory in the 125cc Pro class. By Tony Aless I ..... .... <:li ..c o ..... u o 28 GORMAN, CA. SEPT. 14 hris Wheeler showed his potentia l by winning the 125cc Pro class and finishing a close second behind Spud Walters in the 250cc Pro d ivisio n du ring round two of the CMC Su nS ta r Tra ns -Ca l Motocross Series held at the Quail Ca nyon OHV Park. Nea rly 500 riders were treated to a rare visit by the newest member of th e Tea m Cha parral /Yamaha sq uad , Jeremy McCrath, who was flown in by th e "Fo x chopper" to sign autographs; talk to fans a nd genera lly han g o ut w ith Tra ns-Ca l locals . W he el e r had a ro ugh s ta r t in the o peni ng 125cc P ro ra ce a ft e r ga ti ng nea rly last. "O ur bike was jelled for sea level - it just would n' t ru n up he re at 3000-foot elevation," Wheeler explained. "We will have th ings changed befo re the next mo to." Sp ud Wa lter s, on the other hand, appeared to have his Yamaha running pe rfectly as he took the early lead and raced mostl y unchallenged for the remainder of the race. On ly Honda of Troy rider Casey Lytle could keep Waiters in sight, and he finished in the seco nd spot. Wheeler cha rged all the way to third, in front of rookie Pro Jeremy Chaussee, Team Green's Tim Langdon and Tea m Thousand Oaks' Jimmy Varis. The second moto saw Langdon pu ll the holeshot, with Walters and Wh eeler in hot pursuit. Walters may have been a bit anxious; he performed a hasty pass on Langdon, then promptly bailed off. "Spud passed m e on th e first lap," recalled Langdon . "But after he passed me , he started to slide and then he highs ided. Me a nd a few more riders ran into him - it was pretty much a mess." . Wh eel er a ssumed th e lead after a brief battle with Brian Roth and ran away for the moto and overall vict ory. Lytle once again placed seco nd, while Roth and Walters, who charged from nearly last, ro unded out the top fou r rid ers . • All I want is to have W heeler and Lytle on my team next year," said former Pro (and owner of Pit Pr o ) Ru ss Wageman. "With a little wo rk on diet an d tra inin g , th ese two could be th e nex t big names . Take Wheele r , fo r example: He has been racing since Pee Wees and now he ha s just started to come into his own. There is a lot we can do wit h a rider like this ." Walters got his revenge in the 25!Jec Pro class, but he had to ge t the victo ry the old -fas hio ned way: by wo rk ing for it. Wheele r came o ut s wi ngi ng in th e opening moto and posted the win , while Walters, Billy Joe Me rc ier and Tony Sulek - a very popular rider in the desert regions - rou nded out the top four. . Th e second moto saw argua bly th e bes t ba ttle of the day, between Walters a nd Wheeler. Walte rs had the early a d va n ta ge, bu t W h eele r chased h im do wn and made no thing s ho rt of an awesome pass near the starting-line tum. Wheeler made the pass by cutting the tum short, then pulling his Suzuki into a wheelie and landing his front wheel right in Walters' line as he tried to exit the tum. It was trul y a brilliant pass and was certa inly, without a doubt, the pass of the day. In the end, Walters got back a round Wheeler on th e final lap while both rid ers were dodging lapped traffic, giving Walters the moto and overall win, in front o f Wheel er, Simi Valley Kawa saki's Bill y Joe Mercier, Sulek and And y Ana ya . Billy Payne and South African Michel Constan tin ou faced off in th e 250 and 125cc Intermediate cl asses a nd had nothing s ho r t o f a four-m oto brawl. Pa yn e won tw o m ot os and Const antinau won two, with Payn e scorin g to p honors on his Thousand Oaks Kaw asaki in the 125cc Int ermediate cla ss, while Con stantinou won the 250cc Intermedi- a te div isio n . Both riders ' la p time s would ha ve easily placed them among the top five Pros, as th ey each turned imp ressiv e 1:48- to 1:49-second lap tim es for inost of the day. Payne wo n the o pe ning 250cc mot o by pulling his famo us holeshot on his Pro Circui t / AXO-backed KX, w hile Constantinou d id his best imita tion of Mike laRocco by starting in the back of the pa ck and charging to th e front. Payne wun the o pe ning moto over a fas t-closing Constantinou, Chris Cooley, Jason Padill a and Chris Neit7A'1. The se co nd moto saw Pa y ne get ca ug h t and passed by Constanlinou, who had the look of true determination before and after the moto. Constanti nou took the ove rall win with his 2-1 finishes over Payne's 1-2. Cooley had a solid 3-3 finish, despite fighting suspension problems. The 12Scc Intermediate race had the exact opposite outcome, wi th Pa y ne coming nu t on top this time . Con stantinou won the first moto over Payn e, but "Billy Boy" came back in the ali-important second moto to lead the race from wire to wire fo r the mo to a nd overall victory over Cons ta ntinou a nd Chris Gosse laa r. Gosselaar has started to loo k mo re at home on a 125 and also see ms to hav e learned the ways of 12Scc racing after his debut last week at Glen Helen. And rew Labrador had a strong ride for fourth, w hile Cooley p ost ed a so u nd fifth in fro n t of Mike Co llier, La nny Turner, Em mitt Kling, Jason Padilla and Kevin To wnsend in o ne of the d a y' s largest cla sses, w ith m ore t h an 30 entries . The Racers Edge-spo nso red Sco tt Mum ford looks to have his race program on track as he took over the points lead in the series today after winni ng bo th motos of competition in the 12Scc Novi ce class. Mumford battled wit h the FMF/ Ho nda of Jeff Eide and the Lunde Racin g Yamaha of Greg Chimi in the o pening moto. Mumford took control ju st b efore th e halfway m a r k, then kicked in the afterburners and pu lled away for the eventual win. The seco n d moto had the same appeara nce, as at first only the players were different. Mumford started inside th e top five, th en stalked and pa ssed earl y race leader Kurt Long for the firs t posi tion . Loog put up a good fight for most of the mota, but Mumford wa s a littl e faster a nd a little s tr o nger, and, o nce agai n, pulled awa y o n his Simi Va lley Kawasaki-sponsored 125 for the o vera ll win. Long posted a solid second in the moto, while Chimi finished third, in front of Matt Carpenter . Twelve-yea r-old Ge rard Patin had a g reat day in th e 125cc Beginner class, winning bo th mote s of competition and taking over the poin ts lead. Pa tin an d last wee k' s winner . And y Rasmussen . faced o ff in both m otos, w ith Patin pulling away in the first moto for it con v in cin g vi cto r y o n h is FMF-ba ck ed Yamaha. The second moto looked like Patin wou ld perform a r e p e a t o f his fi r s t mo to , but a flat fron t ti re slowed his cha rge late in the race. Rasmussen managed a last-lap pass but, in th e exci tement of it all, he rod e off the side of the ra ce tra ck and cras he d. Patin went on for the moto victo ry, while Rasmussen pick ed him self up off the g ro u nd and sa lvaged second , in front of Bret Sulli va n, who had a n u neve ntfu l rid e in '" third . Quail Canyon OHV Park Go rm an . Cali forn ia Res ults: September 14,1 997 so (4-61: 1. Du l>ti n Ptpe (KTM); 1. Sh aw n Butter s (Act); 3. Ky.... Smith (KTht); 4. Chance Seely (Yam ); 5. Br,md t>n Pl.,11 (Y~m) . 50 17-4) : 1 . Col.. Sn-Iy ( Actl; 2. Billy Ba tles te rc (KThH; 3. Tylor Hem me .n Coll i.., (K.aw); 3. Kl"V Rubt·r1:.. (f-Inn); ... o.lty l Ecklun d (Yam) ; in 5. Kyk MAQ'

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