Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127935
GR california Winter MX series North, Round 3: Oatfield Raceway
a
e~
By Jim Enos
TURLOCK, CA, MAR. 1
uzuki/FMF /Smith-backed Tyler
Evans made it look easy as he' took
charge of both the 125 and 250cc
Pro classes at the third round of the GFI
California Winter Series at Oatfield
Raceway. The J 8-year-old Salinas resident is certainly on a roll, as he has
managed to win a Pro-class race in each
of the first three rounds of the series.
With the five-race northern series
schedule rearranged due to recent bad
wea ther, more than 300 riders once
again made the trek to the AMP-operated Oatfield Raceway to do battle, and
one of those ~ticipated battles involved
AMA Supercross and Arenacross contenders Jeff Willoh and Evans.
When the gate - filled with 14 250cc
Pros - dropped, it was a mad dash to the
first turn, and leading the pack ou t of
the turn was Jeff Northrop. The Team
Green/AXO/Scott-backed Northrop,
however, couldn't make the holeshot
stick, as Willoh quickly motored by him.
Nonetheless, Northrop showed good
speed and took back the lead at the
whoop section, bringing along some
tough company, such as Evans and Brett
Racine, the latter aboar.d a Team
Green/Fox/Pro Circuit-backed Kawasaki. By the third lap, Evans and Racine
had made their way around both Willoh
and Northrop and were setting a blistering pace in the single 20-minute-plusone-lap moto.
Evans, with clear real estate ahead of
him, began to pull away from Racine
and, by the fourth lap, opened up about
a five-second lead.
Meanwhile, behind Racine, Willoh
and GP Sports/FMF/Fox-backed Rick
5
(Top) Winner Tyler Evans (417) dives to
the inside of Jeff Northrop (15) In the
125cc Pro class at Oatfield Raceway.
(Above) Brett Racine (499) and Northrop
mix It up at Oatfield.
Ryan, aboard a Suzuki, were making a
charge and had displaced Northrop for
third and fourth place, respectively.
Also on the move was Yamaha-mounted Jeff Pestana, who also got by
orthrop to take fifth, and then he
made a run for Ryan.
Up front, Evans and his Suzuki were
carving lines, and the two opened up
about a la-second lead over Racine, who
was being pressured by Willoh. Willoh
latched on to Racine at the entrance of
the whoop section and ended up in
front of Racine at the other end.
When the white £lag flew, Evans had
a commanding lead, followed by
Willoh. Behind WilIoh, though, things
were hot and heavy for third, involving
Racine, Ryan and Pestana. Ryan tried to
make a pass on Racine over the tabletop,
but Racine was able to hold him off. A
little later, Ryan tried again to pass
Racine but ended up going off the track
and handing over fourth place to a
patient Pestana. At the finish, it was
Evans, Willoh, Racine, Pestana and
Ryan, in that order.
"I was expecting to battle with
Willoh today," Evans said. "I felt good
the whole race and the track was in very
good condition."
Willoh, backed by Team Suzuki,
Stiffie and Westwood, seemed content
with second place.
"Tyler rode a good race and pushed
hard," Willoh said, relaxing in his truck.
"1 got a good start and 1 thought I could
reel him in. It was tough getting a drive
out of the tight left-hander before the
long tabletop."
Racine, having turned Pro about six
months ago, was pleased with third.
"The track felt pretty choppy, but I
had good lines through the whoops,"
Racine said. "Even though my arms
pumped up in the middle of the race, I
started to catch up to Willoh near the
end.'t
In the 125cc Pro race, nearly all the
same players from the 250cc race lined
up on the gate, and again it was "Mr.
Holeshot" - Jeff Northrop - leading the
16-rider field to the first tum. This time,
Northrop, a little more at home on a 125,
made the holeshot stick - at least for half
a lap.
Evans was right on his tail, and he
promptly put his Suzuki up front
through the whoop section. Two familiar faces, however, were missing' from
the lead pack: Willoh and Ryan. Willoh
had gone down about three turns off the
start, and he took Ryan out with him.
"My bike kind of landed on top of
him, and 1 took it easy taking off," Ryan
said.
Both Ryan and Willoh had their work
cut out for them; Willoh was dead last
after the first lap. Evans, on the other
hand, would capitalize on their mishap
and open up a huge lead on Northrop,
Racine and Pestana.
Making a charge behind the lead
pack were Suzuki pilots Dean Matson
and Auggie Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who
had stalled his bike on the first lap in a
tight left-hander, was able to hold the
pack behind him and was running fifth
behind Pestana by the end of the second
lap. Pestana, however, stopped in a turn
before the double jump and eventually'
pulled off the track for an unknown reason.
Meanwhile, Ryan had quickly moved
up through the pack after the earlier gettogether with Willoh, and by the fourth
lap he was involved in a battle for
fourth with Rodriguez ana Matson.
Ryan would eventually win that battle
as he made a smooth pass on Rodriguez
before the big step-up jump.
As the laps wore down, Evans was
way out front with Racine a comfortable
second, followed by orthrop, Ryan
ahd Matson. Ryan was obviously not
content with fourth as he steadily reeled
in Northrop and passed the Kawasaki
rider on the spectator tabletop to secure
third. With a wave of the checkered flag,
Evans would make a clean sweep of the
premier Pro classes, followed by Racine,
Ryan, Northrop and Matson. Willoh
would end up a very respectable sixth.
Evans, with his bike and gear all
loaded up, was all smiles. '1 had another good start and rode another good
race," he said.
'1 took a center gate position next to
Jeff (Northrop) and I had a good start,"
Racine said. "1 diced with Jeff for about
two laps and then passed him before the
downhill double. 1 felt good the whole
race and just started racing 250s about a
year ago."
In the 250cc In termedia te race,
Harold Hageman put in an impressive
1- J score for the overall over Merced
Powersports-backed Cory Morais. However, Hageman and Morais made it
interesting in the first moto as both riders came over the finish line in a near
photo finish. Hageman ended up taking
the win by half a knobby.
In the 125cc Intermediate race, Hageman once again took the overall, though
not without a fight in the second moto
from Kawasaki-mounted Mike Northrop.
Danny Swith was at first leading
until he crashed, leaving Hageman and
Northrop to battle lap after lap. Their
battle, however, eventually deteriorated
as Northrop was overtaken by a fastmoving Craig Truglio and later by Rich
Stephens. Northrop eventually went
down two turns before the checkered
flag. At the turn before the finish line,
ick McBride appeared to have fourth
in the bag, but he got stuffed by a hardcharging Danny Omelas.
l."'"
Oatfield Raceway
Turlock, California
Results: March 1, 1998 (Round 3)
Pee Wee Track
50 FIT (4~6): 1, Michael Bologla (Act); 2. Lacey
Perales (Yam); 3. JessiCl Lucas (Yam); 4. Michael Brooks
(YLlm).
50 STK BEG (4-6): 1. R'uben Hemande7 (Act); 2.
MichLiel Flores (KTM); 3. joshua Greco (KTM); 4. RYLIn
Bowen (Cob); 5. Ty Keenom (Ad).
50 STK BEG (7-8), 1. Ryan MM'in (I