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MOTOCROSS WHITE BROTHERS FOUR·STROKE MX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS By Don Schneider and Robert Van Damme Photos by Kinney Jones SAN BERNARDINO, CA, APR. 26 espite being chased down and f) passed by a hard-charging Tony Amaradio in the second moto, Yamaha YZ400F rider Doug Dubach relied on his first-moto win to lock up the overall victory at the White Brothers Four-Stroke MX World Championships at Glen Helen Raceway. Dubach rode a steady and strong race in the first moto, scoring the win over Husaberg's Lance Smail. In the second moto, Dubach looked to be headed for a sure win, but he was caught by a surprise attack. That attack was led by Amaradio, who charged past Dubach on the last lap for the moto win, but Amaradio's fifth in the first moto ruined any chance he had of taking the overall. The racing action got under way when Dubach put his Yamaha into the lead ahead of Phoenix Premier Motorsports riders Robert Naughton and Tony Graves in the first moto. Chasing the two Husaberg riders was two-time AMA Western Four-Stroke National Motocross Champion Smail; he was followed by Yamaha/White Br.othersbacked Spud Walters, Travis Marks, Rusty Holland, Dustin Nelson, Ryan Mortensen, BBR's Willy Musgrave, Tony Amaradio, Scott Myers and Ty .Kady, who was aboard a Premier Husqvarna 1998 prototype TC410. Graves dropped back a few positions as Marks passed him in the riverbed section for the fourth spot. Unfortunately for Marks, he suddenly went down, taking out both Graves and Mortensen along with him. None of the three were able to make up the lost ground. Up front, Dubach held a three-second [f) " Glen Helen Raceway cushion over Smail, while Naughton held tough in third a few seconds back but would eventually lose his spot to Walters on the third lap. By the halfway point, Dubach and Smail were way out in front, some 10 seconds ahead of the third-placed rider, Holland. Earlier, Holland had inherited third . when Walters washed out and crashed. And he wasn't the only one to go down. Nelson, too, lost his front end in a sandy comer on lap five and fell back to 15th. Naughton wasn't close enough to pass Walters and held fifth, with room to spare over Amaradio. Myers, Tim Sharp and Gordon Ward were all within shouting distance of Amar.adio. Meanwhile, up front, Walters made an aggressive inside move on Holland, passing him through a turn just before taking the white flag. Dubach maintained his advantage over Smail and they crossed the finish line one-two. Walters looked to have third place in the bag after passing Holland but went down again on the last lap, handing the third-place position back over to Holland. Elsewhere on the track, Amaradio pu t his stamina to good use by reeling in aughton late in the race. The duo waged a great last-lap battie, with Amaradio prevailing for fifth. Naughton took sixth, just ahead of Ward. In the second moto the holeshot again belonged to Dubach, with Holland a close second, follC1Wed by Naughton, Smail, Walters, Drew, Myers, Amaradio, Graves and Ward. On the second lap, Smail sped past Naughton and closed in on Holland. But things suddenly went from good to bad for Smail. And Naughton saw the whole thing. "Smail had it twisted up, and all of a sudden his rear end began to swap via- lently up past the river wash-out," Naughton said. "Then his body was like a projectile as he slammed in to' the fence." The crash was only the beginning of Smail's problems. "We stiffened up the suspension and the rear just broke loose. I really got my bell rang and cut my chest and arm up," Smail recalled. "I just couldn't get the bike refired and, after Doug came around again, I still tried for quite a while before pushing it back in." By lap three, Dubach still owned the front of the pack, holding a five-second lead over Holland, followed by Walters. Amaradio passed Naughton for fourth, and Myers, Drew, Woods, Ward, Anaya and Kady filled out the top 10. (Above) Doug Dubach (57) grabs the early lead, ahead of Robert Naughton (5) and Tony Graves (73), in the first Pro moto. (Below) Dubach led the charge In the first moto, took second in the second moto, and walked away with the overall win.