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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127951
50
The opening moto of the 2S0cc Pro
Sport A got under way wi th the KTM of
Kelly Smit h quickest to the fa st lefthand sweeper. Jimmy Wilson was seco nd , followed by [esse rna n, Brad
[erorninski and Vince Kamow. [essema n
took his Cemic's Suzuki into the tight
inside b erm before La Ro cco ' s Leap,
carving under Wilson for the second
sp o t before completing the first lap .
Lansing C ycle /Michelin /Fox-backed
Smith had established a small two-seco nd lead over Fombell, Pennsylvania' s
Jesseman. These two front-runners then
ou tpaced the field in an exhibit io n of
s peed a nd high-fl yin g antic s . Wilson
wa s in the third spo t but not up to hi s
usual speed o n hi s Nicolson ' s /Sinisalo /FMF-backed RM.
" A t the Mou n t Morris Na tio na l, I
was runn in g in sid e the top 10 in th e
openi ng stages of th e 12Scc National,"
Wilson ex pla ined, regard ing his conserva tive ride . "Bu t I went o ver the front of
th e bike and m y thumb ben t over the
bars, tearing the ligaments. I cut my cast
off yest erday to qualify for Loretta's. I
just need to qu alify tod ay. I have a d octo r' s appoi n tment Monda y to g e t
ch eck ed , and h e isn 't g o ing to b e
happy."
By the fourth lap of the six-lap mo to,
Sm it h almost w ent off the high side of
the M on z a Wall. Jes s e m a n s a w th e
o pening an d za p ped Smith. Jesseman
had the lead , but now it w as Smith who
w as hounding th e leader for an opening.
[esseman nev er faltered and ca me home
wi th the opening- mo to win, with Sm ith
close in second . Wilson was back so me
10 seconds in third, wi th [e ro rnins ki and
Kamow in tow.
The ga te d ropp ed fo r the second
moto and Wilson's Suzuki ripped the
holesho t, followed by Smith, [es seman,
[erominski and Karnow. The top five
speedsters we re attacking th e track and
we re the onl y riders in the class jumping
the Valley Triples. Jessema n then o utg u n n ed Smith up the Mo nza Wall on
the ope ni ng circuit. A t the com ple tion of
the first lap, it was the freight train of
Wilson, Jesseman and Sm ith lead ing the
pa ck. jesseman had en ough of following
Wil son a nd ch allen ged the lead er up
throu gh LaRocco ' s Leap. Wil son held
off the ad vances of [es seman, but Jesse'm a n attacked th e off-camb er co rner
p rior to th e FMF Table top to sail pa st
Wil son with an o utside air m ov e. Th e
top three s p aced th em selves a pa r t
en o u g h to get creativ e on the jumpfilled Red Bud course . But the showboating too k its toll on Smith's KTM; he
developed a flat front tire. [essernan
co n ti n u ed to show th e field h is rear
fend er, taking the s econd-moto w in
(Above Left) Jason McDonald grabs a holeshot en route to winning the 250cc B class at a
Lorella Lynn'S Regional Qualifier held at Red Bud Trac k and Trail in Buchanan, Michigan .
Darby Fowler (34) finished fourth In the class.
(Above right) Louis Kossuth (ins ide) and Mike Faria (outs ide) crashed in the first allempt at
the Scratch main event at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, California. On the
restart, more crashing ensued, but Faria ran off with the win.
ahead of Wilson, a struggling Smith in
third, Jerominski in fourth, and Kamow
in fifth .
The first 250cc moto was good, but the
second was even better as Smith took the
holeshot, with Kamow, [erorninski, Wilso n and Jesseman in pursuit. Sm it h
pulled a slight lead on the ope ning la p as
[esseman was on the move, ge tting past
[ er orninski in th e Va lley Doubl es fo r
fourth. Kamow was under at tack by both
Wil son and [esseman before la Rocco's
Leap. Smith had a thr ee-seco nd lead over
Wilson, who h ad tak en secon d fro m
Kamow as [essern an also moved by him
to take third . The seco nd-lap action saw
Smith increase his lead over Wilson , who
was fending off jes seman 's every attack.
T he b att le for fourth ra g ed between
[erominski, Kamow and Devin Banks of.
Kentucky. On the third la p, Jesseman set
up Wilson before the fini sh-line jump
with an outside line. The outside groove
worked fo r [essernan, bu t Smith had
opened up a good advantage in the lead .
For the remainder of the moto, jesseman kept his RM on the gas, closing in
on the KTM su ppo rt rid er. It came down
to the fina l corner, as Smith too k the
insid e line and Jessem an took his wide
to th e checkers. It was too close for me to
call in th e announcer's tow er, bu t th e
word came ove r the two-way radio that
Smit h had won. It was the on ly defeat of
the weekend fo r [essernan, but he still
ea rned the overall, top pi ng Smith and
then Wilson.
"I felt at home out there today," Smith
said after the race. "I had some good lines,
a nd so me bad lu ck with flat ti re s and
s tu ff, bu t it was a good w eekend . The
track was fun a ll weekend lo ng, with
good track conditions and great jumps. I
ca n' t wait until the a tiona l in tw o
weeks! I am shooting for a top- 10 finish
and ha ve been training hard to d o just
that. I have learn ed one thin g from riding
the Nationals: You have to be in shape!" 1:\
Red Bud Track and Trail
Buchanan, Michigan
Res ults: June 20-21, 1998
125 A PR O- SPT : 1. Bra nd on [essema n (Su;d; 2.
Kelly Sm it h (KTM); 3. Na tha n Mille r IHon ): 4. Karl Scott
(Yam ); 5. Brad Icrominsk i (Kaw).
12S A: 1. Ra ndy Va lad e (Ka w}: 2. Dave Dette l
IKaw ): 3. James Abbott (Suz ); 4. Jason Vicnot (Ydm ); 5.
Ryan Dewey (Yam ).
125 B MOD: 1. Jason McDo nald (Su z) : 2. Sam
Yannitelli (Ya m) ; 3. Kyle Kohler (Ya m) ; 4. Mich ae l
Mercer (Suz); 5. w illiam Ursie (Suz).
125 B ST K: 1. Ja son McDo nal d (Su z ); 2 . Sa m
Yanni telli (Ya m); 3. Jamie Beckett (Suz); 4. Kyle Kohler
(Ya m); 5. Justin Paris (Suz).
115 C MOD: I. JoeySly (Han); 2. Todd Trowb ridge
(Ho n); 3. Jud d Bagladi (Kaw); 4. Ch ris Lindhurst (Suz);
s. Blake Pierson lSuzl.
125 C STJ(: 1. Eric Han lin (Suz); 2. Jason Berg er
(Yam 3. Bruce Harlan (Yam); 4. Blake Pierson (Suzl; s.
);
Brian McVay (Suz).
250 A PRO·SrT: 1. Bra ndon Iesse ma n (Suz); 2.
Kelly Smith (KT M ); 3. Jimmy Wilson (Su z); 4. Bra d
Jerom ins ki (Kaw) ; 5. Vina.-nt Kamow (Suz).
250 A: 1. Ran d y Va la de (Ka w): 2. Dave Oertel
( Ka w ); 3. Richard Watson (Suz); 4. Jaso n Vit.-not (Yam);
5. Joel Dienbart ( Ka w ).
250 B MOD: 1. Ja son McD onald (Su z ); 2. Joe
Prather ( }(aw); 3. Sam Yannitelli (Yam); 4. Darby Fow ler
(Suz); 5. Kei th Seeger (H on) .
250 B STK : 1. Jas on McDona ld (Suz): 2. Sam
Ya nn itelli (Ya m ); 3. Fo rres t Butler ( Han ); 4. Da rby
Fo w ler (Suz); 5. Jami e Beckett