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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127960
Hibbs wins at Watkins MX
By Gregory K. Corns
Photo by Dawn Winczewski
AURORA,CO AUG. 16
,
All Star Promotions (w hich is co mp rised of Den nis Montoya, Matt Cort ez and former Colorado
Pr o mot ocross ers And y Atkin s, Scott Fulcher
a nd Dave N e we ll ) ho st ed round five of th e
Rocky Mountain Motocross Association 's Spring
Series at Watkins Racewa y in Aurora, Colorado,
a nd Mi,JI:e Hibbs s hoo k o ff th e co bw ebs for a
clea n 1-1 swee p in the Ov er 30 class. Th is is all
the more remarkable as Hibb s returned. to racing
only rece ntly after an l 1-year hiatus.
Marking the mid wa y point in the seri es . o ne
would think the rain y season wo uld have ended
mo nth s ago; no t so . Week-long rains throughout
the ar ea le ft th e tr ack in a less than favo ra ble
condition, but thanks to the promot e rs' hard
work a nd a few tra ck a lte ra tio ns , everyo ne
enjoyed a spec tacu lar d ay of racing. Excep t for a
few nasty ruts that developed, the track turned
out to be in excellen t co ndi tio n, with fabulous
tra ctio n.
With lig htning cras hing d o wn all a ro un d ,
th e wi nd kicking u p and a lig ht rain beg inning
to fa ll. th e- Over 30 C class ro cke ted from the
lin e, with DOl le Ta na ka grabbin g the ho les ho t.
Kevin Geiger an d Fred erick S tro ng fo llowed .
Th e three Ho nd a-mo unt ed ri d ers w er e quickly
u nd er fire from th e KTlvl-sad d led H ibbs, and
N e ls Da nielso n o n Ka w asak i. W ithin o ne la p,
Hibbs assu med the lead a nd bega n to pu ll aw ay.
Ten seco nds back from the lead er, Tanak a and
St ro ng d ueled a nd swapped positio ns for seco nd . As Geiger a nd Daniel""n slipped ou t of th e
top five, Bria n McDonald jockeyed his YZ400F
in to fourth, with Fay Meyers-backed Barry Ha ll
mot o rin g his KX in to fifth . Hibbs co m fo rta bly
cro ssed the checke rs w ith 10 seco nds to spa re.
With Tanaka falling to seven th, Strong w as able
to co llect a clean seco nd, wi th McDo nald taking
thi rd . Howa rd Viea n charged u p from the back
of the pack o n his yz to claim fo urth, and Hall
came in fifth .
''I' m used to tig ht, narrow sing le-track riding
u p in th e moun ta ins, so a ll the deep ruts.o u t
there didn't bo ther me too muc h - I rea lly hked
th e tr a ck, " sa id a happy H ibbs in betwe en
mo tos.
Moto tw o go t under way wi th Tanaka aga in
launching his CR from the line an d gra bbing the
holesh ot. Unfo rtu na tely, seco nds later, he d rifted
wid e in a comer .md his bike got stuck in some
thick mu d, allo wing the en tire pac k to go by. On
fire, Hibb s ca p ita lize d o n Tanak a 's er ror an d
jumped into the lead . Daniel""n held down second and kept Hibbs honest by stayi ng within five
bike lengths of him . Ha ll go t off the line in third
and maintaint. d the spo t for two laps until Viea n
.>
moved u p from fifth to captur e the pllSiti? n. The
four front-ru nners pmceeded to pull a commandin g lead on the rest of the field . The w hi te fiag
appeared a nd Hibbs turned up the w ick a bit on
his fina l circu it as he enjoyed a five-seco nd cushion on second . Hall outmaneuve red Viea n in the
back whoop section on the las t lap to ga in third.
Hibbs came across the line in first, wi th Daniel so n seco nd , Hall th ird an d Vican fourth. Bria n
Smith, abo.1fd a Hond a, collected fifth.
Resu lts
50 (4-6): 1. Anth0 B: I. Kirk fl u ff (Ya m); 2. rh il S tt·vt'n.. (KolW); 3, Da rin
C Ul-m e (Kaw); 4 Cha rlt"!l Schleicht,. (Ya m l.
2..'ill C: I . Brad Harri.'! (Kaw); 2. leny !l.ft>erkoltz (Ka w); 3. Bri.ln
MeDon .ll d; 4. Rick u rson (y .,m ); 5. Jt-rt·my Wht"t·ll·r (Ii tln ).
25. EX; J. 51....·e Stt'wart (Ya m); 2. Stew Tambonc (y .,m ); 3.
.
l.lntt Far k (Yam); " , Billy Mitehd I IY,)m ).
25. NON-E. : 1. £'hil Stt·vet\!o(l<.1w 2. Darin G Ut' m e Uuw );
X
);
3. KC\in CarNu~ (KTM ); 4, Lcon
nie Brede50fl (H ol)) ; 5. Thoma~
Mint,. ( K., W) .
30. A: I. Ste\ 'e Stewart IYam ); 2. Damn Burkart (y.lm ); 3. Jdj
Qut"fU'I'T(Ya m); 4. Jill.' Sht."liron ( K.l w); 5. Sh.-J\\"Tl Smith (Yam ).
30. B: I. J.1Y lft'yinj1; (Ho n ); 2. lonni e Bred eson m OIl ); 3.
Oe,)n Hai ght IYa m ); 4 ScCltt H.11l (Ya m); 5. Ke vin C.u b,l ug h
(KT M) .
30. C: I. !l. ikt' Bibb!. O..
l
'TI.f); 2. B.lrn' Hall (Kaw); 3. How ard
Viean (Ya m); " . Frl"dt"
rick Strung (Ho nl ; 5: Nc b Dani ebon (K.tw).
.w. A: I. lvle Schrock (Yam); 2. BruCl"Jone!< (K., W); 3, J(·tl
Gt'Orgt' (Suzl ;". jo h n Lofl~WI'1I (KTM ); 5. DavXJri ckl'lt ( Ka w) .
010. C: 1. Jim Wril/iht OIon); 2. ~lichad Hall (kiM); 3. J.lmt'!i
M.1rtell (K.,w) ; 4 , 5 t(... e Micht.·I~ (Ho n); 5. G.uy Smith (Ka w).
·
O rEN 4-STRK : I. ly lt" Schrock (Ya m ); 2. Ch ri s Mo rg an
(}-Ion) 3. Jeff Reg an (y .,m ); 4, 0.11 Winczcwski (Ya m); 5. G regll ry
;
e
CClrns(Yilm) .
WMN A: 1. Dawn WinCZew<;ki (Y.1m).
WM N B: 1. Laym' Cihm lSuz ).
WMN C: 1. Kd lv lonKWell (Kawl; 2, Ro!;(' Bro mberg: 3. Jool
Sputgl.'Ol1 (Ho n); " , N~ "'11e CUt'lTi...(l<.1w ); 5. Angi(' Fron (KolW).
Shafer's a "Shark" at
Pleasure Riders Hillclimb
By Bud Northrup
Photo by Mark Lewis
GEORGETOWN, IL, AUG. 22
Ma rk Sha fer wa s th e fas tes t m an o n th e hill,
w hile Jason No rt hrup, Mark Goo dman and Bob
Fis he r each we re do u bl e cla ss w inne rs at the
Pleas u re Riders hillclimb on August 22. Sha fer,
from Arcola, Illin ois, deliv ered his fast~ti me run
in th e 600 cc cl a ss o n h is se cond ri d e . " Fa s t
... An dy" Fortn er had run an exce!lent . .153 sec~
3
onds o n his fin;t rid e to take the flTst ~round lead ,
ahea d of Sha fer, w ho had ru n a good 3.226 seconds. Fortner w a s hoping for bo th a cla ss wi n
a nd ano ther fas t-t im e tro p hy, bu t he saw th e
fas t-time a wa rd go to Ja so n No r th ru p wh en
No rt hru p nailed a 3.080-seco nd tim e in the 750cc
fir st -r ound a ct ion. Th en Shafer, li ke a s hark
wa iting in a mbus h, blas ted over the hill in second-ro und act ion in a blisterin g 3.032 seco nds to
take the 600cc~dass win a way fro!" Fort ner and
the fas t-time trophy a way fro m N or thru p. Fo rtner cha lleng ed har d on his seco nd ride, but his
3.116-second time w as still only good enoug h
fur seco nd. Nort hrup finished third, followed by
Kelly Brad y a nd Scott Petty.
Nort hru p picked up two class wi ns, his firstround 3.0BO-$eC nd ru n on his H ond asaki triple
o
ta king the win in the 750cc cla ss, w it h An d y
Fo rtner running second o n his tri ple in 3.273 seconds . John Hilla rd a nd Da n Wal st ad finis hed
third and fou rt h.
Nort h ru p 's secon d w in w as in th e 400cc
cla ss , in w hic h h e rod e h is ' s tuck S po r t land
Yama ha YZ400F thumper over in 3.9H2 seco nds
for the wi n, jus t ahea d of Steve Shafer, who ra n
a goo d 4 .064 se co n ds on h is n e w ly rebu ilt
YZ400. Mike H illa rd wa s close be hi n d Sha fer
w ith a -t.Iu-sec on d ri de on his Ya ma zuk i, w ith
Steve Doug herty and his KTM 273 close behind
hi m w ith a 4.185-second tim e. Bill Stark picked
u p fifth place on his Ho nd a 360.
Good man's firs t w in ca me in the 200cc class,
in which he was t he only rider to break the four seco nd mar k, turning a fine 3.9 10 seconds on his
K.X125. Kevin .Ryan came c1
o!'CSt to him, taki ng
sec ond place wi th a good 4.232-second ru n on
h is KX125, fo llo we d bv Scu ll Shee ts a nd hi s
KDX200 in 4.414 second s. Gou d man pic ked up
a no ther wi n in ex hi bitio n ac t io n , ta kin g th e
Stock-class w in on his KX250 wi th a good 3.758second run . Th is was w ell a head o f Ja son
Nor thru p, who ra n his th um per over in 4.033
seconds for se cond place, a nd Andy For tner ,
who ra n a 4.135-seco nd tim e on his CR250.
Fishe r' s two w ins ca m e on hi s S u perio r
Cycle Sportste r, a s he cla ime d th e Open-elass
w in with a good 3.993-second time, slipping by
Steve Sha ft. r, \\·ho ran a 4.l 61-st"Cond tim e o n his
Harley. The tw o had a rematch in Pushrod- class
ac tio n a nd " Flv in'" Fis her ca me o ut o n top
aga in, 'blasting his Harl ey over the to p in 3.970
S<.'Conds, with Shafer sto p ping the clock in 4.092
seco nds . Da n Wal stad too k th ird"pla ce o n his
BSA, wi th Tim Wiggins co mi ng in fourth on his
Triumph.
Kevin Wea ver retu rn ed to his w inning wa ys
in the Senior class, topping the hill in 4.314 seconds on his CRSOOto claim the win, ruining Bob
G lenn's hopes fo r th a t hono r. G len n post ed a
4.326-seco nd tim e on his KTM 550 and wa s in
fir s t p la ce a t int ermissio n. Keit h Klett , ridi ng
And y Fo r tner's RM2 S0, pull ed in thi rd p lace
w ith a 4 . 3 98~ st:' cond run, with Mark C oo d man
Jr. and Dan Walstad finishing fou rt h and fifth .
Blake Cappe llo d id n' t qui te make the top of
the hill o n his Lem , bu t his 11O~foot effort w as
just good enough to take the SO
cc-elass wi n as he
bar ely beat Don nie Robbins and his JRSO w ith a
IOf>.foot effort. Dyla n Brad y tuo k thi rd pla ce.
Chris River s snagged the 85cc-elass win with
a nice 4.857-second run on his RMBO, the only
rid er in th e class to break in to the fours. Eric
Skaggs wa~ d ose, however, turning a S.(x) "C7-sc..
o nd time on his Suzuki for seco nd place, jus t
a head of Becka Williams, w ho ran 5.055 seco nds
on her KX80 fo r th ird pl ace . Da mo n Ma yo n
topped the hill in 5.105 seco nds on his KXBO for
fourth, while his brother N ick too k the fifth-place
tro phy on his CRBO wit h a 5.168-second time.
And y Fortn er pulled off a win in the one- ru n
da sh- for -cash King Of The H ill class, com ing in
ahead of Jas on N o rthrup, Mark Go od ma n Jr.
a nd Steve Shafer.
Re sults
50 AUTO : 1. Blake C,lPf't"IIt> 2. D()flnit> Robbin...; 3. Dyla n
;
Br,)dy.
85 YTH: 1. Chris Riven; 2. Eric SUgg.'l; 3. 8l'('k.a William 5;-I.
D.-tmun ~IAV(l; 5 . Nick M: vo.
a
200: 1: M.uk Goodm"an Jr.; 2. Kevin RY 3. Scott Sht·...t5; 4.
oln;
C hm. Rin-r.o; 5. Becka Will i-um•.
250: 1. Kevin Ca ppe llo; 2. Mu k Vlud ma n Jro;3. Andy Fort m,. ; 4. Dnn Barber Jr.; 5. Juhn Elliott .
400: 1. la!'(ln No rt hrup; 2. Stev e Shafer; 3. Milt' Hilla rd ; 4.
Stt."Vt! Dt.OlI~y ; 5. Bill St.-.rk.
6C(l: I. Ma rk Sh.1f..-r, 2. Andy Fortner; ] , JillIOn Nurt hru p; 4.
Kt'ilv Brad y; 5. Scott Pet tv.
' 750: 1. jason !':orth~p; 2. And y Fort n"; 3. John Hilla rd ; "
Doln Wa l~t.tt.1
•
OPEN: 1. BOO Fisher; 2. SI('\f~ Sh.lt£T
v
f'SHRD: 1. Bu b Fisht"; 2. Sn- e Sh.Ifcr; 3. D an Walsl.lJ; 4. Tim
Wiggin. ,
s
SR: I. Kev in weave r: 2. Bob Gle nn; 3. Keith Kll·tt ; 4. M.n k
(',oodmiln Sr.; 5. Dan Walst.ld .
"
STK: 1. M.u k Coodm.m Jr.; 2. Jol '.•n Nor thru p: 3. And y Fortner; 4. Tim lambe rt; 5. Kelly Brady.
Ka n l: 1. Andy For lnt'r ; 2. J.lst." No rthrup; 3. Ma rk Good ma n Jr.; 4. Steve Sha fer.
FAST TIME: M." k Shllft'r rHon).
Mercer aces Delta GP
By Keri Cockrell ,
DELTA, OH, AUG. 23
The Iro n Man series pro ved. again to be exciting .
It w a s g u a r a n t e~d to be du s t ·fre~, as Mo ther
Na tu re pro v id ~d ju s t eno ug h water th e nig ht
be for e to help co ndi tions remain good all day.
The holeshot went to Mike Priehs, bu t it di d n't
last lon g: A p ack o f 250cc Expe rts mad e th ei r
way by.
By lap
of the one- ho u r race, Mik e Mer cer app eared to be ga in ing on the lead er s. He
q uickly picked off all of them and beg an to pull
away, se tting a blisterin g pace, and it.looked as
if he had the w in in hand . Jus t p n or to th e
halfvt a v po in t, the yo ung Suz uki pilot mad e a
r
co u p le of stops , o nce for goggles a nd once for
gas .
.
Th e second s to p all o w ed KT M- mo u n ted
Chad "Sna il" Coo n to inh erit the lead , but Mer cer wa s not to be den ied a nd soo n was hot on
Co on 's heels. Wit h ju s t half a la p rem a in ing,
Me rced dartl. d across a mudh olc, beatin g Coon
to the entra nce to the woods sect io n a~ d takin g
the lead fo r good .
In the Open Fou r-Stroke class, Cody Mastin
p iloted his Hon da to the w in o ver Rick McDowell.
""'0
#
Re sults
. 00
0\
0\
,.....
125..200 BEC : 1. Da ni t'l D' Amo ft· (K.1W); 2. Bria n Cu Jlia u
h
n
(Ho n); 3. Mall Dilu,l; c rty (KTM); 4. Dol Da ug herty (KTM).
125-200 NOV: 1. Mati R.1m5ey (Kilw); 2. Il'f f Ruot (Ho n); 3.
Jdf Ort bring (}(aw).
125-2lK11 NT l EX: 1. Rich Jul:'.l k (Y.l m).
2s n·SO(l BEG: 1. Ra nd y Ht-s.. (Yam ); 2. Ju n Kaml'i ISuz.); 3.
.
Eric Goff (!-fon); 4. Bruce H udd lc!ito n (Yam ); S. N ichol;t!i Spa no
(Hunl.
250-500NO V: 1. Jim E;ax (K.1W); 2. Kl'n t Smith (y.,m ).
250-51.10 INT/ EX: 1. Mike Mt'TC'l"r {Su7.I; 2. Ch.1J Cou n (KT M);
3. Tod d Cuprys (Yam); " . Jim Almo th (KTM ); 5. Mikt' Prieha(Suz).
O rEN 4·ST RK: 1. Cody M a ~ti n (H un ); 2. Rick M: Do wd l
c
(H u, l.
JO+ VET : 1. Michild Hill (Suz) .
40. VET : I. Jim Squ ire (Ho n); 2. }df Webcr (Suz ); 3. Robert
Northt-m (Stu ); 4. Jim Mon tgOl1lt'1)' lKa wl.
67