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GP runners Jacky Martens (27) and Daryll King (2) appeared to be play-riding while leading early in the first moto. King ended up with heat-induced problems in both motos ; Martens won the first race but DNFed the second beca use 01 the Texas heat. he pulled into the pit s for se veral laps to effect repairs. That let teammate /manager Martens have the lead, but elson passed him before long. "O nce I led them for a while, when Jac ky Martens pa ssed me bac k, I realized that about all the lin es tha t I was ca tchi ng him with, he had moved into when he was behind me ," Nel son said. "H e d efinit el y s tu d ie d m y lin es and used them. He knows wha t's going on, that's for su re." All he could d o was hold on as the more expe rienced Martens moved back in front for go od. Ne lson held on for seco nd whi le Corpu s Ch ris ti Motors p or ts- ba cked Todd Down s, the on ly Texa n contes ting th e en tire seri es, finished thi rd . Pow erhouse Yam aha racer Nathan Woods claimed fourth ahead of Myers, w ho put on the ride of the moto in charging up to fifth . Mota two saw King fly immediately to the fore o nce a g ain . This li me, he seem ed mo re ser iou s a bou t it , and it showed as he stead ily forged a growing lead. Martens rode a bit more subdued; indeed , after a few ' laps he stopp ed to ge t a drink of water, and he lasted a few more laps befor e the heat beat him. "We came from - what was it in Belgium, 15 degrees (Celsius - 59 d egrees ' Fahrenheit )? - where here it 's like 40 (J04 degrees Fah re nheit). That's the ' biggest problem ," the '93 500cc World MX Champion ad mi tted . King, unfortunately, didn't last much lon ger - or, rather, his bike ' s ignition d idn 't. It gave up the ghost, leaving the '98 500cc world number two with a DN F to show for his efforts. Woods inherited the lead a t that point, but it w ou ldn't last for him either as he fell twice. That d id it for Woods, who wo uld not repeat his mo ta win at round seven in Albany, Oregon . Hi s 4-4 day would net h im fourth overall , though . This mota would go Nelson's wa y. "Th a t secon d mot a I tri ed to p ace myself so I wouldn't do w ha t 1 did in the first mot a," elso n said. "I definitely wasn't the fas test gu y out there , but it ended up working out for me. "I'rn just pumped. Another overa ll, I finally got a mo ta wi n - I waited until th e last race , the last moto of th e whole se ries to get a mota win, but I'll take ' e m wh en I ca n get ' e m . I'm ju st pumped . It was tough out there; it was hot, humid - took a lot out of yo u jus t to do what you had to do and go fast . It cou ld be a 125/250cc a tiona l tra ck . It w a s d efinite ly tough . Th ere w as so m e good ra cing, lots of lines for passing." However , Downs seemed jus t as pleased, if not more sa with his 3-3 runner-up performan ce , h is best of the series: "I knew I rode rea lly strong at Ward Creek (in Washington at the pre- viou s round), and I've bee n picki ng up momentu a ll series lon g. "I rod e grea t, I was happy with the way 1 rod e, and it was just a fun event. I missed Lance Smail being here because he' s a legend in the series, bu t we did ha ve th e European g uys her e, wh ich was an ho nor, and it was grea t for the series. It was (unfortuna te) that they had bad luck, but it was grea t racin g, a nd I'm just stoked to ge t second ." Myers picked up second in the mota, giving him third overall ah ead of Woods. After fading to seven th in the first mo ta, Lane picked up fifth in mot o two for fifth overall, crediting su spension ad justments between motos for the improvemen t. o. Lake Whitney MX Park Whitney , Texas Results: September 6, 1998 (Round 9 01 9) O /A : 1. Du stin Nelso n (Y.1m ); 2. To d d Downs (Y.am); 3. Scott My ers (Yam); 4. Na tha n Wood!' (Ya m); 5. Dean Lane (Hbg ), 6. And y Anaya (Ya m); 7. whisperin' Sm ith (Ya m ); 8. Jacky Martens (H us) : 9. Billy Ak er s (Yam); to. Sprint Hay nes (Yam). UNOFFICIAL AMA WESTERN NATIONA L FOUR· STROKE M X SERIES r OlNT STANDINGS (Afte , 9 of 9 ro unds); 1. Lance Sma il (363); 2. Greg Schnell (306); 3. Dustin Nelson (283 ~; 4. Scot t Myers (260); 5. Nathan Woods (20)); 6. Robert Na ugh ton ( 94): 7. Tod d Downs (90); 8. An d y Anaya (176); 9. Jim La Ma ~tu ~ ( U 2); 10. Bill Binckley (134 ). Stop by the Ducati tent at the Las Vegas 7 /2 M ile on October 3rd and see some incredible new '99 Ducati motorcycles. While you 're there, you can enter to win a Ducati Performance Fogg y leather jacket. U U If you can 't make it to the race, call your nearest Ducati Dealer and see all the latest Ducat; motorcycles. 800-237-6696. DUCAT' f, 35