Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AMA D·37 Big Six Grand Prix series, Round 4 Sbamuo 5bow~o By Matt Freeman PALMDALE, CA, MAY 2-3 he fourth round of the AMA District 37 Big Six Grand Prix Series came to Los Angeles County Raceway, and with it came a plethora of talented off-road and motocross riders. Racers such as FMF /Honda's Scott Slleak and motocrosser-turned-off-roader Mike. Healey upped the ante for serieS regulars Steve Hengeveld, Paul Krause and Eric Hallgath. When it was all said and done, the wealth of the checkered flag was evenly distributed at the 12th annual Sunland Shamrocks Grand Prix. The first race to kick off the two-day event was the Unclassified race. Lined up in no particular order, several lines went off in approximately 30-second intervals. Team Green's Hengeveld was tqe first off line one, and he maintained the lead position all the way around the 2.3-mile course for 45 minutes, giving the KX250 rider his first win of the weekend. KTM 200M/XC-mounted Hallgath worked his way up from a third~row start to finish second, and the 620 LC4 ridden by Healey rounded out the top three. Yet another Team Green rider was on top at the finish of the Senior/Magnum Expert and Amateur-class race. Rex Staten and his KX500 pulled the holeshot over the 250s of Bob Maxwell and Willie Kennedy, and he was never headed. 'The race went great," Staten said. "I just had to learn the jumps and the cor~ ners because 1 didn't ride the Unclassified race. Some of them you've got to jump and then turn right away, and then some of them you have to jump and keep going straight. It's been so long s~ce 'l've been here, 1 forgot. It's pretty rocky out in the sand wash, but it's fun." Healey returned to the starting line for the 0-200cc/Mini/Four-Stroke race, and he wasted little time in getting the lead when the banner dropped. "I got the holeshot so I didn't have to worry about anybody else after that," said Vosburg Racing/IMS-backed Healey. "I found some good lines out there and started hopping over the rocks in the wash instead of running into them." • rHealey's KTM teammate was not as fortunate. "I had a great start," Hallgath said. "¥e and Healey passed everybody and an the four-strokes, but for some reason D:\Y bike just locked up. Mike (Healey) and I were supposed to ride the Pro Team race on my bike today. It looks like we'll have to ride his 125." With Healey out to a commanding lo:\ad and Hallgath sitting in the pits, the rest of the pack was left to do battle with one another. Yamaha rider Chris Keefer was holding up second overall and second 200cc machine for the first half of the race, followed by Sheak, Hengeveld and Oakley Lehman, who was leading the Four-Stroke class on a KLX300 that h,j! had borrowed from his dad. As the l'lps wore down, Sheak, who sat out the Supercross season due to an injury, b~an to make up time on Keefer. "I was 'Ieading Sheak for about half tlie race and he finished right in front of me," Keefer said. "I could pull him out T A there in the desert section, but then he would kind of pull away in the motocross section. We were neck and neck for five laps, though." KTM-mounted David Rees crossed the finish line behind Keefer for fourth, followetl by Hengeveld and Lehman. Lehman's sixth-place showing was good enough for the Four-Stroke honors. "I can't believe how much fun that was on that bike," Lehman said. "The bike is almost totally stock and it's the first time I raced it, but 1 had a blast." Healey's winning ways continued into the Team race, as he and his Vosburg/IMS/KTM .of Mojave teammate Hallgath ran away with the win. Sheak and his partner John Brasch held on to second, followed by the team of Hengeveld and Lehman. On Sunday afternoon, when the Veteran Experts and Amateurs·lined the starting line, Team Greens' Krause was fresh off a second-place finish in Sunday's Unclassified race, which was won by Hengeveld. Due to" the tight, motocrosslike layout of the course, the Shamrocks chose to line the 250cc Vet Experts on the first row and the Open Vet Experts on the second. At the drop of the banner, the 250s raced to the first corner and as they cleared the third turn, the 500s were let loose. CR250-mounted Brad McLeod jumped out to an early lead, ahead of the 250s of Andy Segale, Jon Parks and John Rudder. Krause headed up the Open lilLe, followed by the CR500 of Ed McCoy, Rick O'Donnell, Rick Daniel and Abe Baumann. By the second lap, Krause had set his sights on race leader McLeod. "I caught the Honda really quick once 1 could see him, and then we got out in the desert section and he started slowing," Krause said. "I think he was getting tired, so 1 passed him, gapped him a little bit and then just rode safe and comfortable." While Krause was riding comfortably, Staten was working his way up from a back-of-the-pack start to the front by the finish. On the white-flag lap, Staten was 12 seconds behind Krause but bobbled and fell off the pace. "I was closing on him but I think I needed another 30 minutes," Staten said. . Segale finished behind Staten for the Vet 250cc win, and McLeod nursed a flat tire to fourth overall, second 250cc in class. CR250 pilot Parks rounded out the top five. The 500cc and 250cc race saw the return of Healey, but it was Lehman aboard his KX250 who got the holeshot to the first turn. Healey moved into second toward th~ end of the first lap as Lehman began to fade, but Healey's lead did not last long, eitner. On the second lap, Healey fell victim to a rear flat and handed the lead to Krause. With less than half of the race left to ride, Krause crashed in a turn, injuring his knee and taking l:Umself out of the race. Hengeveld's second-place position paid off as he sprinted into the lead and began to take control. Just before the white-flag lap, disaster struck for Hengeveld when his linkage.broke, and Lehman once again found himself in the lead. n Eric Hallgath (shown) and Mike Healey teamed up to win the Team race at the Sunland Shamrocks Grand Prix. Healey also won the 1.25cc Expert race. "I got lucky," Lehman said. "Steve (Hengeveld) broke his linkage, so tha t turned out good for me." KX500 rider Dave and as of Team Green finished second overall, first in the Open class, and KX250 rider Doug Chiapuzio finished third overall to best Matt Murphy in what was an epic racelong dice between the two youngsters who regularly team up with one another in team races. With a badly broken bike, Hengeveld barely bea t ou t KX250mounted Joey Lanza for fifth overall. CN Los Angeles County Raceway Palmdale, California Results: May 2-3, 1998 (Round 4) UlCLFD (Saturday): 1. Steve He!lgeveld (Kaw); 2. Eric HaUgath (KTM); 3. Mike Healey (KTM). UlC(FD (Sunday): 1. Steve Hengeveld (Kaw); 2. Paul Krause (Kaw). OPEN BEC: 1. Clint Burtle (Kaw); 2. Ethan Allen (Hon); 3. Mickey Tedde.r (Yam); 4. Brad Daugherty (KTM); S. Erik Kessinger (Hon). OPEN NOV: 1. Kevin Duffy (Yam); 2. Dan Austin (Yam); 3. Steve Miller (Hon); 4. Sean Daly (KTM); 5. Leonard Holder (Hon). . OPEN INT: 1. Greg Cook (Hon); 2. Mark Durand (Kaw); 3. _Ray Murray (Hon); Steve Heffernan (Hon). OPEN EX: 1. Dave Ondas (Kaw); 2. Randy Norman (Kaw); 3. Brent Farrell (Hon); 4. Erik Wolfe (Kaw); 5. Ron Schuler (Kaw). 250 BEG: 1. Nick Uribe (Kaw); 2. Ryan Orefice (Hon); 3. Brett Daugherty (Suz); 4. Peter Mayforth (Hon); 5. Bryan Barker-(Hon). , 250 NOV: 1. Jeff Watts (Suz); 2. Steve Hernandez. (Hon); 3. Mike Grasper (Kaw); 4. Chilly White (Suz); 5. Deran Benavides (Yam). 250 tNT: 1. Morgan Crawford (Kaw); 2. Burt Bla_kenship (Han); 3. Brian Walker (Kaw); 4. Ron Warren (Kaw); 5. Rob Peters (Yam). 250 EX: 1. Oakley Lehman (Kaw); 2. Doug Chiapuzio (Kaw); 3. Matt Murphy (Hon); 4. Steve Hengeveld (Kaw); 5. Joey Lanza (Kaw). U5 BEG: 1. Brad Daugherty (Suz);2. Rocky Pinnery (Yam); 3. Chris Ferko (Yam); 4. Cody Lehman (Kaw); 5. Kevin LiUywhite (Yam). US NOV: 1. Jeremy Ferro (Hon); 2. Jay Johnson (Hon); 3. Steve Burford (Kaw); 4. Dustin Murphy (Hon); 5. Nathan Junei (Yam). . 125 !NT: 1. Dusty Nabor (Yam); 2. Chris Neitzel (Yam); 3. Brenden Lutes (Kaw); 4. Ron Noz.,ki (Kaw); 5. Jared Franks (Hon). { US EX, 1. Mike Henley (KTM); 2. Scott Sheak (Hon); 3. Chris Keefer (Yam); 4. Dnvid Rees (KTM); 5. Steve Hengeveld (Kaw). 80 BEG: 1. Dustin Brako (Hon); 2. Adam Benavides (Han); 3. Tyler McIntosh (Han); 4. Garret Warren (Knw); S. Andy Vadenberg (Hon). 80 NOV: 1. Drew Dawson (Kaw); 2. Vincent Bengvides (Hon). 80 !NT: 1. Craig GuLled~e (Suz). 80 EX: 1. Kurt Caselli (Kaw); 2. Bobby Steffan (](aw). 4-STRK BEG: 1. J.D. LavanciJ (Suz); 2. John Zivsa (Yam); 3. Chad Holzer (Han); 4. Craig Connor (Hus); 5. William Randolph (Han). 4·STRK NOV: 1. Nick Uribe (Kaw); 2. Tim McNulty (Yam); 3. Mike O'Donnell (Hon); 4. Cody Padmor (Hus); 5. Greg Duffy (Suz). 4-STRK INT: 1. Jay Wahl (Hon); 2. Dean Nazzaro (Yam); 3. David Jensen (Hon); 4. Rich Suitor (Yam); 5. Marc Lundgrew (Han). 4-STRk EX: 1. Oakley Lehman (Kaw); 2. David Glass (Hon); 3. Brad Cameron (Hon); 4. Jim McGrath (Hon); S. Mike Seeley (Hon). D/SPT BEG: 1. J.D. Lavancil (Yam); 2. Donald Ishikawa (Hon); 3. Martin Ryder (H.us). D/SPT NOV: 1. Rick Kanatzar (Hon); 2. Chad Holzer. D/SPT INT, 1. Miguel LavareU (Hon). D/SPT EX: 1. Kelly Yancey (Kaw); 2.ljiU Maxim (Hon). • WMN BEG: 1. Amber Pickett (Kaw); 2. Kristen Evenson (!

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