(Fa r le ft) Dube was t h e man who took the
championship in the fin al ro u n d o f the
C MRC Canadian National Motocross
Series, he ld in Walton, O n ta rio .
(Le ft) Spud Walters takes the holeshol,
wit h Ron Gilb e rt a n d Jason Dubin hot on
h is heels , u n de r t he stars at Glen Hel e n in
San Berna rd ino, Ca lifo rn ia .
VET BEG: 1. jdf Ca rdont.· (Ho n).
VET NOV : 1. G len n DtIunch (l io n); 2. Davi d Virlov l"(H onl.
SR x o v . 1. R.lnd y Dan ylo (K.1W): 2. Larry Io hoson (Ya m).
SR 11\'T : I. Mi ke Alll-nhnid (HM).
WM !\I: 1. Je nn ifer Ca p uto (Ya m); 2. Ambl.'T Pickett (Suz); 3.
<;;uz).
Shell y Ma nalu so (..
SPTSMN 250: 1. Ken !\h·uo rlin.
XR100 STK : 1. Ry an Devo nshi re: 2. Jeff Pet er son; 3. Bob
Devomhire.
XRI OO MO D: I. Ch ris Champa; 2. Scott Hl.YW
- ood; 3. u lUis
Cha mP<' 4. Ton y ~; 5. Cha rle!l libondi .
;
CLSSC O r EN" 1. M" rty Lewis (Tri ); 2. Ga ry Do1VIS (T ri ); 3.
:
Herb Wolf (Tri ); 4_Daryl m-ler (BSA): 5. Chm Rud y lH-DJ.
CL
'iSC 2..iO: I. Tom Horto n (OM); 2. Molurice Ortq;o1 (Bun; J .
'
Gary Davis lI{o o); 4. Jeff Ap ple (Bu l) .
N"QV ; I. Cory Sch mu o. (l Ion); 2. Ho1 nk Ca sto (BSA); 3. C.u y
Swan (T ri ); 4. Dave N.uzilli (Bu l); 5. Da\--idBrown (BSA).
PRO : 1. Robt'Tt Da m ion (H us ); 2. Gordo n Rud y ( Ho n) ; 3.
Mark ~asa (Hon); 4. Fr..-d
(Ya m) .
rob
Dube victorious at
Canadian Motoc"ross
By Jason T. G riffiths
WALTON, ONTARIO,CANADA, AUG. 16
The final roun d of the CMRC Canad ian Na tio na l
Motocross Series has always been the highli ght
of motocross racing in Ca nad a, an d it's beca use
of a little town called Walton , in Ontario.
A tiny little int ersec tion is a ll that ma rks the
to w n . But for the las t seven years, the fi nal
en
round of the CMRC series has be held at walton, a t the same time a nd on the sa me trac k, and
it has bec ome Ca nada 's most prestigious outdoor motocr oss ra ce. The Canad ian Amateur
Na tiona l is the trademar k of the four-da y event,
whic h finis hes with the last round o f the pro
na tiona l series.
This yea r, fan turn ou t broke all records as
10,000 p e op le showed up to wa tch JeanSebastien Roy a ttem p t to win the number-one
plate for the firs t time in his career . The series
has be a menta l battle for Roy. He desperately
en
wa nts a Ca nadian championship, but his priority
this year h.15 been the AMA Supercross and Out door series. He missed two rounds of the Canadian Series to pursue his dreams in the States,
and he un fortunately sacrificed his chances of
having a number-one plate to his name.
Coming into the final rou nd of the series, Roy
was 42 poi n ts ou t of the top sp ot , and even
though he won all four motos at Walton, he still
di d n't ga in enough to bea t out Suzuki Cana da
rid er Ma rco Dube. Roy wo n a n in cre di ble 18
m otos out of a tota l of 28 for the seven-round
d ual class series and finished secon d , missing the
number -one pla te by only eig h t points. Losing
the series was a disa ppointme nt for Roy, but one
he realized he might suffer from the begi nning.
"We we n!' loo king for the num ber-on e plate
toda y," says Roy. "We we n!' cou nting ou t the
point s ea rlier not hop ing th a t Marco (Du be)
wou ld ha ve bad luck , bu t if he did, I'd be the
one walking proudl y at the end of the da y with
the cha mpionship. But like I said befo re, I was
not expe cting to win the cha m pions hip , but I
was not expecti ng to get this close."
It wa s sa id ea rlier in th e yea r th a t eit her
Morgan or Dulle wo uld take the series . To tru ly
be num ber one in the minds of Can adi an s, the
points winner wo u ld hav e to bea t Rov on the
cha
tra ck. Dube was the man to ta ke the " mpions hip , wit h on ly five moto wins, but two o(
tho se were ahead of Roy. His dedication to the
se ries this yea r was unbelievab le. He rod e the
>
52
entire series with a torn knee ligament and came
back time and time aga in. He even attem pted to
rid e th e afternoon p rogram of the Mo nc ton,
New Brunswick , round aft er his brut al cras h
with Blair Morgan , which knocked Du W unconscious . Things were eve n touch-an d-go at Walton for DuW. During the first 12Sec mot o of the
day, the fuel line connecting the gas tank to the
ca rb ca me off on the th ird lap and pu shed Dube
to the back of the pack for a 14th-p lace finish. He
held strong for the rem aind er of the d ay for a
third-pla ce finish overall in the 250cc class and a
seve n t h in th e 125c c cl a ss , wh ich was ju st
enough to win the cha mpions hip.
"This yea r I was with Suzuki, an d the bike
was great," said Du lle. "It was a pr etty toug h
series, because I got a lot of bad sta rts a nd a t
Monct o n , New Bru nswick, Mo rg an and I
crash ed . I had to DN F a couple of motes."
Du be's per sistence paid off and now he is
looking to the futu re.
"I've got a couple plans in my head ," Marco
revea led . " I' m not sure if I'm going to do the
supe rcross series in th e States or the PJl Arenacross, beca use I' m very comfortable on the arenacross-style tracks . Or there is also snowcross.
I've had some contract offers from two snowmobile man ufactures. I don't really know what I'll
do yet."
As for the present number-one plate holder,
Blair Morgan , Walton was a chance to show tha t
his desire (or motocr oss. is still strong. Morgan
finished second in all four motes, ma ny of which
he began with midpack starts . "A slo"":start" is a
good descri ption for Morgan's season, afte r raeing a fuU year steady beginning in Apri l of 1997.
Morga n was a lready starting to bum ou t when
the na tiona l motocross series started up.
"I had mor e fun last year , because I was winnin g, bu t ou t th ere th is year I knew I cou ld
win," says Mor gan . "I just need to try har d er .
I'm still in a learning phase, I think. I started the
seaso n late. I was on a big wave from win ning
so ma ny of the snowcross even ts. Finally I started to sett le d own , bu t it was too lat e int o the
mo tocross series. No w I feel good , I' m read y to
go - and it's the end of the yea r."
It was a lso a learning year for 15-yc 41r-o ld
Kawasaki rider Darcy Lange. This wa s Lange 's
first year racing in the Pro class , and he basically
moved up stra ight from the 80cc class. Lange
has picked up fifth pla ce for the season, wh ich
was totally unexpected by a nyo ne - inclu ding
Lange himself. Big plans are brewing a ro und
Lange and his career, as he plan s to turn Statesid e in a couple of years. Lange will su rely be
the next Ca nadian treasure.
~esults
125 PRO : 1. [e an -Se bas rie n Ro y n "a w ): 2. Blair Morg an
w
( Ka w); 3 . Dercv I..t n~ l K..l ) ; -I. Rv a n Go1u ld (Y. m ); 5 . C h r ito
Pom lTOy (Hon) :
25(1 P RO : 1. [e a n- Sebastten Ro y IKaw ); z. Bla ir M o r g a n
( K..lw); 3. Ma reo Du btl (5uzJ; 4. Si mon Hl;>m. N (H o n); 5. La nce
Rich.lrd n }; 3.
[ustm Workmo1n (Kaw); 4. Dan ny Mo hr (Yam); 5. Andrew Petrie
tKa w ).
80 INT: I. Erik M..yer (Y., m ); 2. N ick Alvolr (H u n); 3. C h ri!O
CZ
McDaniels (Ho n); 4. Scoll Simon (Yam ); 5. Kevin Payne .
125 BEG : 1. Mj ke O..v is (Ydm ); 2. W(.od y St.l h l (Kaw); 3 .
Sh a w n H.l nsen (Ya m ); 4. N ic k Hines (Yam I; 5. Br.l d Goo h.b y
(Yo1 m ).
125 NO V: 1. D.w id Su UiM {Ya m}; 2. Mid ldel A nlod. (H on ); 3.
Dan Wurl ..y (Y.l m ).
125 INT : 1. Gt'rritt Ordelm<1n (Ya m l; 2. Cory G ibbollll (Ya m );
m
3. Se a n O' Co nnor IYoI ); -I. JUhtin'MaCt' (Ka w); 5. lus h Stin.-(Ya m).
125 PRO: I. Tim Langd<1n (Kaw ); 2. J, :o0n r"dilll' (K..l ).
1
w
250 BEC : I. Steve Bulloc k (Yam ); 2. G av in R.ome (Kaw); 3 .
Dou g:Cur ..y (Ho n); 4. Cam.>tt M" tht·w s (H nn) .
250 NO V: 1. limm y Rob ilUIlOn ( K..lw ); 2. Jon D" ,;d..on (Ka w);
3. T ob y Thi el ml;>n); 4. Bnlt Adudl' (Suz)
250 11\1 ; 1. Jim m y s.'ll.'SOn'(Kaw ); 2. Jl."n'nliah Moo rl!(lhm).
2.<;(1 PRO: I. Spud W.ltt·B (Ya m); 2. JO!Ot" Pl;>la!lol:1. (Ya m); 3.
Ron G ilbe rt ( Ka w ); 4. JalJO E. Fiddl> (Yam ); 5. Jm;on Dubin (SlIz).
n
i R VET NOV : 1. Dom inic Gayt,l n (Yam); 2. Ma tt ~(Irgan (Suz).
Whitaker slays Goliath at
Lodi 8T and IT
.
By Mike Law
LOOt CA,JULY11
If the Lodi Cycle Bowl had its own d ictionary,
Sco tt W h ita ker ' s pi ct u re would p ro bably be
alongside the d efiniti on of "giant-killer." Whil e
Wh itak er, aboard a 500cc Ho nda , clear ly ha d a
d isad va nt age in th e di splacement depa rtm en t
against the largely cont ested 600cc field, the crafty
ve teran definitely mad e up for it in the skill, det ermination and finesse departments . whitaker rode
wire to wire to victory on the short track, capturing both the O pen B a nd Vet Co mbi ned main
eve n ts. In wi nning, Whitak er bea t out Robert
McDo nn ell, Richard Arnold a nd Jesse Vanko l;
some of the best Open-class riders in the district.
" H o lesh o t • I got t he hol esh ot , a nd th at
meant everything," Whitak er reflected after the
ra ce. "I' ve go tten 16 ou t of 18 holes hots since
co ming ou t of re ti rement, a nd that' s w ha t it
takes to wi n races here."
Lo cal favorite Bra n do n lnderbitz in a lso
scored a do uble as he absol utely demolished the
com pe tition in the 80cc class on both the short
track a nd IT. Inderbitzin quickly esta blished the
lead bo th tim es and wa s never se rio us ly cha llen ged as he finished a head of Jared McWhi rter
and Stewa rt Barber on the short track, and N ick
Moor e a nd Barber on the TT.
Jeff Gabha rt easily gobbled up the 250cc short- .
track combined ma in event. Gabha rt rode flawlessly, as if on rails, as he scored a win ahead of Ted
Jaim e, Riley Cox an d Hisayosh i Kawah ara . The
seco nd -place finis h of Jaime was accom plished
with much drama, as Cox quickly close on Jaime
d
with an all-out dr ag race to the checkered flag, with
Jaime winnin g by about half a bike length .
Knobb y-class rider Joe Cunningto n p ulled a n
upset on the IT main eve nt as he chased do wn
the master, Scott Taylor, and then took the lead
aft er severa l lap s: Darrin Gibso n, rid ing mid p a ck , qu ickl y a p p lie d the sa me strategy a nd
p assed both Taylo r a nd Cunning ton in what
turned ou t to be some of the bes t racing of the
eve ning . Gibson paced hims elf perfectly an d finished ah ead of Cunnington, Hitoshi Aizawa and
Tay lor.
The lase r never lies , as just about the ent ire
Open A short-track field foun d ou t as they lined
up for the sho rt- tr ack mai n event. The newly
installed start ing laser caug ht just about everyone , creating many restarts and a hug e back-row
field. Mar k Key rocketed off the line with Jesse
Sa nc hez and Rob Da m ro n in hot pursuit.
Although Sanchez wa s later disqualified, Damron applied the pressu re a nd moved up to the
rear tire of Key bu t was unable to ma ke the pass
successfull y, and he had to se tt le fo r second
behind the flying Key.
Michelle DiSalvo. Steve Ha ll an d Richa rd
Arnold took to the starting line in the Open IT
main, with DiSalvo blistering into th e lea d
ahea d of the clawing Hall . Not content to pace
herself, DiSalvo continued to exten d her lead lap
after lap over Hall, who is certain lv no slouch in
the TT de partment. At the checker~ flag, it was
all DiSalvo by a wide ma rgin ahead of Hall, with
Arn old motoring home in third .
" I go t th e ho leshot a n d held on to it the
w ho le ti me," DiSa lvo sa id. "S teve (Ha ll) is
.always good compe titio n, and we go out there
a nd have a good time . Usua lly we're wheel to
wheel. My only special se tu p was to ju st ride
hard ."
Results
S ho rt T r.ack
PP : 1. Aly s:'., Brio ncz (Ya m ); 2. D.l llie lll· Ca ldd ra (Y<1 m l; 3.
• Rt'bt-cr.. law (Ya m).
r /w STK A : 1. Antho n y Fo n g (Ya m I; 2. Fra nk ie Carcia
(Ya m ); 3. Da nn y McD.Jnid (Y.lm) .
P /W STK B: 1. AIJ'!'i.'nl.z (Ya m ); 2. RdX'Cc.l Law (Yam l;
·
3. Kyle Am'dmi (Yam ); 4. Ry"n I....lw(Yam ).
r/w STK C: 1. o,m ie Ul' Ca ld t-ir. (Ya m); 2. Tra vis M cCMthy
(Ya m ); 3. J t"!<~ Ca rn" (YoI ); 4. Sh.m e Jont"S (Ya m ); 5. Brandon
m
H u bbell (Ya m ).
P /W MOO: 1. Bob by FonJ; (Act ); 2. Cod y 1....lmbo tt (Act ); 3 .
DanieileCalddra (Yam ).
P/W KTM: I. Brand
