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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127953
DIRT TRACK ANDY TRESSER MEMORIAL HALF MILE SPOKANE, WA. JULY 10-11 a tio na l-number 40, Jeff An ne n, d efinit el y ea rned th e bragging right s among Pro -class p a rti cipa n ts at th e ina ugura l An dy Tresser Memorial Ha lf Mile. An nen domina ted during the two consecu tive nights of racing in the heart of downtown Spokane, at the Play Fair Race Track, Washington's oldest racing facility. The race memorializes the late Andy Tresser, who at Play Fair las t August scored w ha t would be his final AMA Pro Iational win befo re his tragic death at Rapid City. Tresser won the 750cc class at the Spokane Ho tShoe round , marking Ducati's first win in d irt-track competition, and this plannedto-be-an nu a l event was established to ho nor the man and his success . An nen , best known as a GNC-ealiber TT rider, proved his all-around durability by winning the 600cc Expert main events bo th night s, beating local favori te Lonny Kopp during Friday's final and then fend ing off TT legend Mickey Fay on Saturday to finalize his swee p. For his efforts, the Lopko /Lynnwood Cycle/O' Brien Racing Products-backed Annen pocketed over $1500. Joi ning Annen in the Pro-class wi nner's circle we~e Kopp and Steve Liberty , who we re wi n ners of th e 750cc Expert main events on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively, and they also earned a chunk of the Pro purse offered by Doug Donally, Bert Mars h and crew. The event, w hich drew riders from five wester n sta tes, was also u s ed as a "wa r m up" fo r the upcomi ng AMA ational Hot-Shoe rou nd here. Spo ka ne's Tod d Somers scored a Friday nigh t wi n, his final race in his ProSport career, w hile on Saturday it was Brian Watson who was victo rious. Spokane Play Fair Race Track between Libertv (Nationa l number 72), Kopp ( ationa{ num ber 46) and Simo nsen (who carries the National 37 plate). Simo nse n, w ho came f rom the pena lty area , and who is also best known for his TT efforts, quickly challenged the duo of Liberty and Kopp. Simonsen's charge effectively saw the Castle Rock , Was hi ngton , rider move to second place, bu t in the everchanging battle, it would ultimately go Kopp's way by virtue of a bit of luck. Liberty's ride ended as the Post Falls, Idaho, rider dropped back to fifth. well behind winner Annen, Kopp and Simonsen, but ahead of Paul Mo rgan and Joshua Currey. lI FRIDAY 44 Qualifying opened up the evening's progra m (which, by the w a y , ended with a nearby tornado an d heavy rain), An nen easily wo n his heat race, setti ng fast time in th e pro ces s on the sa ndy, cushioned track at 31.59 seconds . Jim Monegan scored a win in the first of two 600cc Pro-Spo rt heat races, bea ting Ton y Fox and Frank Marker to net th e firs t position on row one . Somers' superb eve ni ng started off by virtu" of a heat -two win over Wa tson and Wa rren Os terma n. Th e Expert Da sh Fo r Cas h, w h ich only inclu ded th e top five q ualifiers, lined up an impressive field of veteran AMA Exper ts, w it h $250 goi ng to the w in ne r of th e three-l ap d a sh. An ne n jumped out in fro n t o f the pack into SATURDAY w lia t w ou ld be a n easy win, w hile be hi n d h im a three -w a y battle was wag ed for second between Kop p, liberty and J.P. Simo nsen. Kop p u ltima tely prevai led . So me rs, w ho on ly n eed ed th ree point s for an Expert adva nce me n t, sa t on the pole position for the 12-rider. 12lap, 600cc Pro-Sport final, choosing the inside position to lead the field . However, Fox came fro m th e outside to steal the lead coming out of turn two . Trail'ing them were Somers, Monagen and Wat son. A close battle between the Rotax-mounted Fox and Somers' Honda seesawed back and forth for several laps before the confrontation went in Somers' favor. Mon agen then displaced the fading Fox to set his sig hts on Somers (w ho a t this poi nt had built up a tidy lead ), closing in on th e local rid er in th e la te r stages . But Mon agen 's charge would fall sho rt a t the finish, resulting in a win for Somers and signaling an end to his sho rt Pro-Spo rt career as he advance d to the Expert class. Monagen , Fox, Ma r ke r, Rob Kopp, Watson, Os terma n and Mike Allen trailed. Annen used the outs ide pole pos itio n to lead the 600cc Expert fina le; Kop p, Larry Marsh, Liberty and Simonsen held down the top five positio ns . A n nen quickly established himself as sole possessor of_first p lace, bui lding up a nice lead in the early stages - one tha t would grow to a qua rter-lap - while behind Annen waged a runner-u p swapfest (Above) Jeff Annen was a hard man to beat in the 600Cc Expert class at the Andy Tresser Memorial Half Mile. Annen was the fast man on both nights of racing. (Left) Lonny Kopp topped the field in the 750cc Expert class on Friday night. (Right) Todd Somers scored Friday's 600cc ProSport final win - his last ever In the class, as he moved up to the Expert class for Saturday night's program . He finishe~ fifth in his Expert debut. Fay pu t a da mper on Annen's Saturday night plans, first by showing up to the facility, then by posti ng the eve ning's fastest tim e wit h a 31.22-seca nd lap, and finally by winni ng the seco nd of two he a t races aboa rd t he Arai / Dic k's Suz uk i-b ac ke d Wo od Rot a x, in which he bea t Lib er ty a nd Ma rs h. Th e moth er o f a ll hea t races, though , was the first Exp ert hea t race, wh ich Annen eas ily won . The surprise, how ever, came as Some rs, in his Expe rt debut, edged -Ko p p for second and a ticket to the Dash For Cas h race. Annen again added $250 to his poc ket by hold in g off the advances from Na tional number 13, Fay, in the th reelap Das h For Cash. Fay finis hed in second place, ahea d of Liberty and Somers. Pol e sitter Fox's inside positioning p ro ved to be a bad choice for h im, as Monegan, Watson, Eric Beers and Justin Young would lead him to tu rn one at