Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ EVENTS S ETRA High P H re Scramble oint a Ramey III hits a High Point By Kenneth Kin g PERRY, GA, ocr.19 ETRA'S Ha re Scrambles Champion, Franklin Ramey Ill , started the new season by taking the overall win at the High Point Hare Scrambles on private land in Perry. Ramey, on h is new KTM 250EXC, wo u ld finish the 64-mile cou rse in two hours, 12 minutes a nd 53 seconds, just 27 seco nd s a head of seco nd overa ll Bryan Ada ms , w ho wo u ld m a ke the course wi th a 2:13:20. Team Green rider Ashley Brewer, who has been ridi ng in top form, wo uld fini sh just one secon d behind Adams for the third ove rall spot. "I had a lot of fu n and just tri ed to relax and ride smooth," Ram ey sa id. "I .d id n ' t ge t th e s ta r t I wa n te d , but I charged ha rd on the first lap and tried to ge t u p fron t." La ndowne r Bru ce Douglas a nd his frien d Steve Johnson laid out an almost perfect hare scrambles tra ck. It was 16 mil es long and filled with just the right am ount of tight woods and wid e-open , fifth-gear straights - basically, a very fun course.·The race wou ld consist of four laps, and all the rid ers would start at 1 p.m. There were close to 220 riders out to race on a go rgeo us autumn day. Rain a few d a ys ea r lie r guaranteed th ere wo uld be no dust and, with very pleasant temperatures and not a cloud in the sk y, you co u ld n' t ask for better racing conditions. With an AA class of seven rid ers, and a s tro ng 250cc and Open class, Ramey knew he would have to be on the gas all day. The riders started on the pasture wi th a d ead-engine sta r t, fi red thei r bikes and raced abou t 75 yards straig ht into th e woods. To m my Vea tor pulled the holeshot, followed closely by Brewer and newly prom oted Steve Saunders on his RM, with Adams d ose behind Saunders . Ramey was pushed off the course and took a little d etou r throu gh the trees befo re getting back on the trail. KTM's Allen Grav itt had so me probl ems starting his bike an d brought up the rea r. " I had bee n practicing on my starts, a nd I kn ew I coul d pu ll the start," Gravitt said . "When I kicked the bike, nothi ng happened. The engine didn't turn over. It took me a few kicks to gel going ." The first half of the course wa s very fa st, with a lot of pastures to cr oss . Veator held on to his lead as long as he cou ld, but soon succumbed to Brew er and the onslaught of the other AA5. At the end of the first lap, Brewer se t the fast time with 32 minutes, 37 seconds. Adams was right on Brewer's rear fender, coming through the scoring barrels just three seconds behind him. It didn't take Ramey long to make h is way through the pack - he would so on be ju st seve n seco n ds behind Adams. Gravitt w a s ne xt , with a 33.03, and Saunders wa s hounding him, just fou r seconds back. On lap two, Ramey managed to get by Adams a nd Brewer and take the lead . Brewer was in hot pursuit, coming S S wanCycleParkP roChalle M nge X Brown above par at Swan· By Kat Spann Photo s by Deb Hershman rx TYLER, OCT. 26 ike Brown had it his way at Swa n Cyde Park at the third annual Pro Challenge, taking home a good chunk of the $20,000 Pro purse by winnin g both 12Sec motos and then using a 1-2 punch in th e 250cc ranks to collect even more cas h, which was earned in the individual m otos . The Yama ha of Tro y-backed rid er fro m Te n nessee ch as ed Okla homa's Robbie Reynard to the checkered flag in th e first mo to of the 250cc class, but used a come -from-be hind sta rt to tak e ove r the race o n lap five of th e second moto for the wi n. "I love coming to Swa n," an elated Brown said. "This track is fast, ro ug h an d wide. " Ohio' s Bro ck Se lla rd s and Texan Team G reen /D&S Kawasaki's Chris Torrance shared the ho leshot honors at the start of the fi rs t 125cc rnoto, but Brown quickly took the lead by the end of the first lap and held it to the finish of the 22 -minute-plus-one- Iap race. American Suzuki's Charley Bogard collided with a no ther rider off the start and headed back to the pits with a bent pipe as Brown bega n the race in third. "Ali i sa w was a yellow fender," Bogard sa id, "a nd then I cartwheeled into the trees!" A pa ss o n both Torrance and Sellards in th e early turns of the first lap saw Brown lead out of the wooded section. KTM-mounted Keith Bowen gated fifth but worked hi s way to third in th ree laps, first pa ssing New Mexico' s Keith johnson and then Torrance before chasing Sellards for three laps until he could nail a pass on the younger racer. Bowen then began to reel in Brown, who had a six-second lead on the pack, M r-, 0\ 0\ ...... 0\ ...... .... OJ "E OJ > o z 30 to a second and a half by the end of lap 10. En rou te to th e white flag , Bowen passed Brown ov er a jum p out on the ba ck se ction . Bro wn al mos t took th e posi tion back over the midfield jump on the last lap, but Bowen held his line. Th ey were sid e by side in the final two turns of the cou rse, with Brown out po wering Bowen just short of the checkered flag to take th e lead back and the win by o nly a bike length. Sellards hung on to thi rd, followed by Keith johnson, Tim Ferry, Oiff Palmer and Torrance. Ne w Mexico's Ryan Clark holeshot the second mot o of the 12Sec class and held his lead to the hal fw ay poi nt of the first lap before Brown made a move for th e front spot. ja cob Martin , a roo kie Pro from Oklahoma, wa s in third, followed by fellow rookie Nick Wey and Texa n Caleb Leath . Wey got around Martin on the second lap and chased Clark for fou r more laps before attac king for seco nd and taki ng that position . By t he end of lap eight, Brown already had a 13-second lead on Wey. In the meantime, Bogard , who gated poorly, ran through the pack to get hehi nd Cla rk, u sin g an ou tside charge off of jum p number eight to go bar to bar wi th Clark up the next hill and make a pass o ver the top. Cla rk , however , ha d no inte n tio n of givi ng up third pl ac e to anyone, and he chased Bogard , taking his position back just after the white flag and holding it throughout the final lap to the finish . Reynard nailed the holes hot in th e first moto of the 250cc ra ce, with Brown at his rea r wheel and 44 rid ers be hind them. Brown charged by Reynard at the end of lap three to take th e lead, but Reynard took it back in th e bot tom of the first downhill on the next lap. A race for seve nth place ensued between Cliff Palmer and Tim Ferry a t th e ha lfway poin t in the mot o, wit h Ferry passing Palmer at the start of th e whoops on the next lap . By thi s time, Reyn ard had an eigh t-second lead on Brown, proving he wanted that $2250 firs t- place m ot o money. Nick Wey crossed the checkered flag in third, followed by Shaun Kalos, Palmer and Ferry. Grayson Goodman used the force of his Kawasaki of Carrollt on-backed 250 to take the holeshot ho nors in mo to two, chased by Sellards, Palmer, Bowen and Brown. Sellards passed Goodman at the top of lap two for the lead as the rest of the top five followed suit, pushi ng (Above) A pack ol25Occ Pros rounds the first turn during the th ird annua l Swan Cycle Park Pro Challenge MX In Tyler, Texas. Mike Brown (not shown).was th e day's big winner, to pping both the 125 and 250cc clas s es. Goodman back to fifth by the end of the third lap. The gloves were thrown and the fight was on , as Palmer did his bes t to keep second behind Sella rds, but Brown ha d o ther plans for the Okla homa racer . Bowen , too , put th e pres· sure on Palmer as soon as Brown made his pass, pushing Palmer back to fourth by the end of la p four. Brown passed Sellards at th e top of lap fiv e for the lead , a nd then Bowen d id the sa m e, u s in g a " ve t " move to g et b y th e younge r racer. In the meantime> Reynard was making his wa y back from behind. "I got bumped out off the start and was almost dead last," Reynard said , "but I came up on th e pack and just ke pt pa ssin g everynne I saw." By the end of lap five, Reyna rd was in fifth place. After Bowen ' s pa ss o n Sell ard s, Bowen spent the next two laps looking dow n a t his b ike, as m otor g remlins took o ver the KTM and shut Bowen out of a decent finish . Sellar ds took back the second position and did all he cou ld to hold off Reynard, bu t Reyn ard was on a mission a nd wasn 't about to let Sellards or lapped riders hold him back from the ch unk of cha nge that came with the win. In half a,lap, Reynard went from fifth to second place, but th e 30 minutes were up too soo n to reel in the leader, Mike Brown, for the win. '" Swan Cycle Park Tyler, Texas Results: Oct ober 26,1997 125 O /A: 1. Mi" t> Rrown (Yam); 2. Brock Sellards Squinoo.. <5uL); 4. Jeff ~t (Yam); 5. Chri!O TOfTa ~ (Kawl; 6. Jacob Martin (Suzl; 7. IUlah ju hneon (Ka wl; 8. Mich<1el Peacock (Yam ); 9. Dennie Ow ens (K.aw); 10. Travt:§o Riley (Ka w ); 11. Hutch Weast (KA w ); 12. Dax Kastrin (Suz); 13. Cody M.1re1r.. (Han ); 14. JOCO')' Pr

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