Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Abov e) Charlie Venegas (center) wi ns the Aub urn track ch amp io nship in Auburn, California. (l eft ) " Fast Andy" Fortner had two cla ss win s an d the fastest ti me in Cayug a. Indiana, Fortner fantastic at Cayuga Hillclimb Venegas victorious in Auburn Speedway By Bud Northrup Photo by Mark l ew is By M. Sober Photo by Gen Moo re CAYUGA, IN,SEPT. 5 Andy Fo rt ner came in late for the Pleasure Riders nigh t hillclimb, ge tting there just before halftim e but a rrivi ng ea rly eno ug h to spo il a couple of rid ers' hopes for class wins . . Mark Goodman Jr. had se t the fast time in the 250cc class with a 3.359-second time on his KX2S0. Fortn er, however, flew his RM250 ove r the top w hen he arr ived in a blazing 3.331 St .''Conds to take ove r the lead by a mere .028 of a second. The time wo uld prove to hold up in sece nd-ro un d actio n for the w in. Kev in Ca p pello took thi rd on his KX250 in 3.399 seconds, wit h . Suz u ki-mo unteed Don Bar ber Jr. tak ing fou rth in 3.847 seco nds and Roy Sena ldi taking fifth on his YZ250 with a 4.115-sc 'COndrun. N or th ru p's ho t Honda had been in pieces for the past two we e ks, a nd he was riding a KX500 bo rrow ed from Mark Shafer. No rt hru p d elivered a 3.297·second fir s t-round tim e o n the Ka wa saki a nd w as not o n ly siUing in the class lead but also on the fas t time of the night. Fortne r chang ed a ll of that as he launched his CRSOO. Fortne r's fron t wheel left the ground at the to p of the 25-foot first break er , and he lan d ed o n his back w hee l far past the seco nd br eak er w ith the power o n. Fort ner rod e the w hee-lie pa st the IIO-foot ma rk, whe re the front whee l touched down eve r so bri efly and the n popped up again as he flew hig h and far over the to p of the 125-foo t hill in a br e at hta king 3.037 sec on ds . Northrup improved his firs t-round time to 3.238 seco nds in seco nd-round action but had to settle for second pl ace, w hile Jo hn Scroggins brou ght his CRSOO ho me iri th ird place wi th a nt 3.362-second run . Darrell Tre and Kelly Brady, both ridin g Honda s, finished fourth an d fifth. Results AUBURN, CA SEPT. 4 ., Flamboya nt Speedway ve teran Cha rlie "Th e Edge" Venegas added anot her credentia l to his Speed way resu me w hen he to pped a very talen ted field to lay claim to the 1998 Aubu rn track cha mpionship . The Fast Fridays cha mpio nship em ploys the stand ard Speed way cha mpi onship forma t of 16 rid ers co m peti ng in 20 fou r- rider hea ts. Th e heats are gro u ped int o five round s of four hea ts each, with each rid e worth th ree poin ts for a win, two for second place and one for third . Ian Ferris, w ho finished the regu lar seaso n with two co nsecu tive H a n d icap m ain w ins , s u r p rise d every o ne by ta king th e w in in heat o ne over Ven eg as in heat two beat Bob Hicks and Billy janni ro. N atio nal Cha mpion Mike Faria saw his tit le hopes go d o wn in flames w he n the borrowed bik e he wa s on co uld n't survi ve the race. Ba rt Bast had to co me from behind in the next hea t, bes ting qu ick ga ter Matt Becker in the secon d la p o n his way to three poin ts. Th e first round of fo ur hea ts ended with Ran d y De f-ra ncesco, who o utgated and beat ing Rose Racing's Jimm y " The Jammer" Sisemore. Sisemore o pened the seco nd ro und wit h ano the r seco nd-place finish, thwarted this time at the hand s of Hicks. Faria easily won the next heat over Pat Linn an d Vance Felicio. In event seven, Def-ra ncesco was disqualified for brushing the starting tapes. Venegas, who started first in each try, led the way over Matt Becker and an Essa ry a nd Tomm y Hed d en, w ho fell in turn two an d couldn' t catch up . Bobby Hedden got his act toget her in his second ride, taking a big wi n ove r Ba s t as Jann iro wil d ly fl ung h is cha nces away with a lap- fou r cras h. . Fari a co ntinued his stro ng comeback in the opening rid e of round thr ee , outdista ncing Becker and Ferris. Bast used his inside starting posttio n to good advant age, as he claimed a dose win over Hicks. Tommy Hedden go t on the winners' board in hea t 11 wh en he outga ted [an nir o an d Robert C u rry, Ro und thre , ended with a e ban g, literall y, as po int leader Venegas was sen t into th e tu rn -th ree wa ll w he n Sisem o re a nd Van ce Felicia went to the d irt on the first lap. On the re tart , Bobby Hedden once ag ain got s out in front, taking the chec kered flag and the th ree poi nts. Sisemore, was d isq ua lified a nd left standing on the infield as Hed den too k the only po int a nyo ne wou ld ge t fro m Venega s in the mee ting. Venegas and Bast met in the opening ride of rou nd fou r, wit h Venega s getting the start from the po le while Bast tried to rally. Bast had to settle for seco nd , Sise more's poo r day con tinul. d > in event 14, w hen he wa s in vol ved in a no the r spill, this tim e with Janniro and forme r Nationa l FA'iT TIME: Arn.Jv Fortner (HOld . 50 AUTO : I. Bld~' Ca ppe llo ( tem); 2. Dyla n J. Brad y (Suz) . R5 YTH : 1. :"Jick M,l yO (Hon ); 2. Chris RiVt''B (Suz) ; 3, Damon Mayo (K.lw ); -I. Bt-ck.l Will iams (Ka w) ; 5. Donald Barber III ( K., W). 200: 1. l\.f.lrk Cood men Jt. (Ka w); 2. Kev in Ryan (Ka w ); 3 Chri s Rivers (Yam); 4. M ,'H WC,lwr (Kaw); 5. Scott S'-'b (K., W). 2S0: \. And y Fortner (Su z ); 2. Ma rk Good man Jr. lKawl; 3. Kevin C.1ppc llo (Kaw); 4. Dl.ln"ltt Barber It . (Suz); 5. Roy 5I.-n IJ i a (Y, m). l 4('. : 1. Mikt, HiII.ltd (Ya m); 2. [ason No rth ru p (Ya m); J. 5 It'\'(' 0 Doug herty (KTM); 4. Steve Sh.lft:r (Ya m ); 5. Mike M aylt~ lYa m). l bon: 1. And y Fortner (Hunl; 2. J, so n No rth rup (Kaw ); 3. [ohn 5m:~ills (l-Inn); -I. Darrell Trent (Ho n n 5. Kelly Brad y (Hon l. 750: I. la!l(ln No rthru p lK., W); 2. [o hn Hilla rd (K., W); 3. Andy Ft.rInt."t (K.1W). O PEN: 1. Steve Sha fl"l' (H-D); 2. Bllb Fisht'" (H- Ol; 3. Joh n Hilla rd (H-D). SR: 1. Kl"'\'1n Wl'av e r IHun) ; 2. Gdy lt" k n kins (Hun); 3. D.," Wal:dad (lISA); 4_Tim WiAAim (Tri); 5. BobClt'Nt l KTM). PRO D: 1. Bub Fi ~ht."t (H-D); 2. ,.lim"" Rotx-rts (Tri); 3. Dan 58 Wal s lad (OSA); 4. Ste-ve 5ha!~ (H · D); 5. Tim WiAAin" (Tri) . STK: I. Mark Coodman Jr. (Kaw); 2. Ja....-m Northrup (Yam) ; 3. . M ik Pu! \ 'lT (Su z) ; 4. Kelly Brad y (Hon ); 5. ~t' 5h.1fer (Kaw). Ju nior Spee d way Cham p io n Ma tt Becker. Sisemore made a good s ta rt on the re-go, bu t he once agai n fell to seco nd as [anniro got his on ly wi n of the event when Sisemor e went wide in tum tw o. Hi cks con tinued his soli d riding in the next heat, winning from gate fou r ov er Tommy Hedden . Bobby Hedden closed out the fourth round wi t h o ne of the fines t mov es seen this year at Fast Frid ay s. Faria got t he s ta rt and lo ked to be headed fo r ano ther patented victoo ry w he n sud de nly Hedden found th e perfect ou tside dirt line in turns o ne and two on the seco n d la p . H e deft ly drove clea n a ro u nd th e .Nati onal cha m p to the win . Th e fina l round of fou r heats be gan w ith Fe rris ta kin g th e win , [a n n iro was the ea rly lead er a fter a good s ta rt bu t co u ld n't hold o n a nd finished his n ight's work wit h a s pectac u lar but fo r tu na te ly in jury-free loop a lo n gside th e back-straight wall. Ven ega s had but one ra ce to go' to claim th e o ve ra ll victo ry , w h ich is jus t w hat he did in heat 18. Ven ega s mad e short work of Chad Felicio, Ro b er t Curry a nd Rich Marcucci, Bast kept th e heat on Bobbv He dde n a nd Hi cks w ith a w in o ver Faria an'd To m my Hedde n . Bobby Hed d en b ro ke t he t ie w it h H ick s in t he final race , o nce aga in ta king th e w in wi thout the ben efi t o f a par ticul a rl y good s ta r t. Th e ni gh t' s dri z z ling ra in helped s us tai n the ou tsi de di r t that Hedden g ra tefu lly ut ili zed t h ro ug hou t t he eve n ing , in clu d ing th e r un o ff in w hich h e tr a ile d ea rly but eve n tua lly won fro m s ta r ting ga te fou r. Results TRAC K C SHJr: 1. C h,u lit' Vl' nl"nl1N (Jaw); 2. Bobby Hed den (Jl1w ); 3. Bart IMsl (]ol ~'); 4. Bob l'licks (J.' W); 5. Mike Far ia (G M). 0- 2 CSH II': 1. David Booth (Ja w); 2. Hill Newby (j., ·W); 3. H arl.1n &lsl ( W~); 4 . Shawn Eldrid ge (Jolw l. 0-3 CSI flP: 1. Dt..'l'i Silva (Jaw); 2. Bobby Ch ir m" n (Wt~ ); 3. k G k-n n So-ott (Ja w); 4. JOt.' WhitinK (Wt':i ). Goodwin doubles up at Silver State Motocross By DIck Goodwin PAHRUMP, NY, SEPT. 5 "Railin' Ronn ie" Goodwin too k out two classes a t Silver Sta te Su perc ross Pa r k as he gave a demonstration of his ever-increasing mot ocros s talent by besting the Pee Wee (7-8) division a nd the Juni or Cycle (6-8) class . Goodwin faced so me stiff competitio n in the Pe e Wee fas t-guys' class, as Tra vis Le a vitt bro ug h t his Cob ra d o w n fro m Bunkerv ill e , evade, to ma ke sure that a nyone getting honors in this class would rea lly ha ve to ea rn them. He set th e tone ea rly, ju m ping out in front of KTM kicker Cody Ca nnon and Goodwin to start ra ce o ne. As Leavitt bla zed a ro u nd lap o ne , Goodwin made a stro ng pass before the tabletop to take over seco nd . Carl Morris wa s hard on the gas in fourth, As Leavitt continued his blistering pace, Go od wi n w a s ab le to jus t keep him in sig ht and the two pull ed out a huge lead that would see them finish o ne- two in the firs t hea t. Cody Ca nnon kept his KTM on the pipe to finish in the final pod ium spot. "T oo To ug h " T ravi s Le a v itt b la sted hi s Cobra to the front once ag ain to sta rt the seco nd ha lf, just ahead of Ca rl Morris a nd Cody Ca nno n. Ro nnie Goodwin, the ot her Co bra quickster, mad e two quick passes in to seco nd and set off after lead er Leavitt. It took him a couple of laps to catch up and mak e the pass, bu t when he di d , Travis hung to ugh and refuSl--d to go away . Good win and Leavi tt were way o ut in front a nd, by ra ce ' s .en d , Ronnie G ood w in wa s a ble to wo rk u p a fiv e-sec ond lea d o n his wa y to the wi n and the .over all Pee Wee (7-8) crown. Travis Leavitt's solid seco nd eam ed him Sl."COnd over· a ll, w hil e Cody Can non too k a we ll-dese rved th ird . Goo d w in se erned to ha ve it smoo the r a nd easie r in th... Juni or Cycle (6-H) di vision, as he took the hol eshot in and smo ked bot h heats, finishin g se co nd ove rall each time ou t to a nd Junior (9-11) class win ne r and overall winner COry Avers. Bigger bikes we re also testing the trac k at Pahrump o n Sat urday as the 125cc No vices we re getting it on . Jason O'Conne r blasted ou t in front of the e ighth-liter hotshoes to start race one , just a head of CI~1T k A becassis and Dav id Munoz. Hoe Krahenbuhl quickly joined the lead pack on his Yam aha, Abecassis wa s ted no time, taking the' lead on the first lap jus t after the tab letop. Ab ecas sis co ntin ue d s tre tching his adva ntage, lea vin g Munoz an d Krahenbuhl to fight o ve r seco nd a fte r O'Conner went down. Cla rk Abecass is sold ier ed o n to a n easy wi n, while Kra hen b u h l w a s g ive n se cond wh en Muno z went down by the hill un the last lap . Clark Abecassis s mo ked the s ta rt over Boe Krahenbuhl and Jason O' Co nne r. Abecassls was off to the races, and that's a ll she wrote fo r the mo to and the overall 12Sec Novice tro ph y. Secon d place was more drama tic, however, as Boe Kra henbuhl circ u la ted around in the number tw o spot until he d ro pped it in the pit. Thi s allowed David Mn noz a nd Jaso n O 'Conner to take seco nd and th ird a nd capt ur e seco nd and third o vera ll in the 12Sec Novice class, Results rr« (4-h): I. Tanner Kra hen buhl OcrM ); 2, Robert Ca m pbe ll (laM); 3. Joshua Byington (I.cm ); 4. Dylan Po ol (I...' m); 5. Mt'g'lI\ Md nd ly (Yam ). .... r / w (7·14): I. Ronnie Coud win (Cob); 2. Tr.w is Leavitt (Cu b); 3. Cod v Ca nnon (KT M l; 4. Colton Morris (KTM ); 5, Tony K<;pus itu (Y am) : ' 60 (6-S ): I. Ronnie Good w in (K.I W); 2. TOl YCaputo ( K., W); 3 l Z ack Mcl nelly IKawl ; 4. Jo na than Willia ms (Kaw l 60 (9· 11): 1. Co ry Ayers (Ka w); 2. J...ss ... Pa t rick ( Ka w) ; 3. Manbcw Li~ou ri (!(aw ); 4. Jon., trum B.lndazian (I<.l w ). 80 BEG: 1. Joh n Staffurd (Kaw ); 2. Don nie H.....vcr ( Ka w) ; 3. Jeff Page ( K.1W); 4 . St:'Ott T.l ack (Unn); 5. Nick VO;"l'nia (K.l w ). tlO (7·1l): 1. ~tichM:1 Pa rker (Hnn) ; 2. Matt Rt.-incke (Ho n); 3. Kyk' Cha mbl...lain (Hn n) 80 0 2·16): 1. Derek Co!>tclla l Kitw ); 2. Robtoy Wou~h lH o n); 3. h Ty Morrow l Kaw); -I. Tony Wl"St ay Oc;olW) . 125 BEG: I. JoMFanning (Hu n); 2. COil' Pl"lU1Y(Ya m ); 3, Dt-nni.. Rctdrigu e z (Kaw ); 4. John 51l ~tzfus (Ka w ); 5. Dnick John. . -'iOI1 (Hon) . 125 NOV : 1. a.uk Abt."Cassis (Kaw); 2. David Mun o z (Htm) ; 3. Ja.o;on O'Conner (H0I1); 4. Bor Krahenbuhl (Yaml. 125 II\1T I . Rantlv Sld.1n

• Cover