Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 1: B C M to p irch reek o rs ortsPark ! By Jay and Sharon Hauser DANVILLE, VA, SErf. 20 0 n d a of T ro y ' s Mike Brown worked out a deal w here he go t th e opportunity to r id e some- . thi ng w it h a li ttle m ore ju ice than his H onda CR12S - a Yamaha YZ400F. Since Honda of Troy also sells the Yamaha brand , Bro wn go t the oka y to ride o ut of a local North Carolina d eal er sh ip - Al Lane's in Iron Station - in th e ope ni ng round of the AMA Eastern Four-Stroke Nationals, held just across the Virginia s tate line at Birc h Creek Motorsports Park. The e ven t is coupled up with the AMA's post-National Series, the AMA Fall Classic, and Brown was already slated to ra ce in that - so why not hop on a big thumper and take a shot at the Four-Stroke National? The end result was so me tough competition , resulting in Brown's first moto defeat in fo u r yea rs of ra cing at th e Birch Creek facili ty . H e d id , however, manage to win the overa ll. Bro wn fa'ced some stiff co m petition in the form of Michagan Husaberg rider Kelly Smith, Florida's Anthony Pocarobba, and local fav orites Jim Neese and Kevin Walk er . One letd own at the event was the n o-sho w o f la st y ea r's East Coast Champion, Keith Bow en , whom m an y w ere ex pecting to defend his title. When the field of 34 four-stroke riders let loose on the ga te, it was a sigh t and s o u n d to be ho ld . When t h ey jam m ed into the first tum, it was Birch Creek Motorsports/Hammerhead /Ballzee / Coca-Cola-s po nsored Walker showing the way over HHP/Husqvarna's Neese, Charlie Dunaw ay and Smi th . Pocarobba cut a slick insi de line in tum two and q u ickly slid h is way u p into third behind Neese while the rest of th e field tri~ to work itself into a ru nning order . [!{1 That didn't seem to w ork, howev er , as th e riders continued to swap positions all over the track for the first four laps. Neese, m ea n w hil e, too k co ntrol of the lead on the thi rd lap. Alt hough he now had Brown brea thing down hi s neck, he lo o ked to have th in gs u nder control - but that di d n't last. After showing the w ay fo r tw o m ore laps, Neese was ro bbed of victory w hen he suffered a flat fro nt tire, w hic h forced him to stop o n fo u r differe n t occasions to take on a ir. It ruined his chances for a strong overall finish. Brown q uickly m ad e good use o f Neese's misfortune and stepped up to the lead , a spo t he wou~d ho ld to th e fin- (Above) Desp ite los ing his first moto in fou r years of rac ing at Birch Cree k. Mike Brown still earned himself the overall in the ope ning roun d of the AMA Easte rn FourStroke Nationals with his 1-2 tally, (Right) Kevin Walker (859) leads Jim Nees e (42), Kelly Smith (629) and Charles Dunaway (99) thro ugh turn one in the first FourStroke mote . Smith, by virtue of his second-moto win, was the man who handed Brown his first loss. MOTOCROSS AMA E ASTC OASTFOUR ·STRO KE ATIONAL CHAMPIONS HIP N ish . The race for second was any thi ng bu t settled as Wa lker and Pocarobba went at it tooth and nail all the way to the checkers, Walker won the battle by inches over Pocarobba . Smith rode a steady race to finish fourth over Dunaway, Mark Burkhart and Texan Tod d Downs. The second moto wou ld p rove to be the most exciting moto of the d ay. Smith too k the hol es ho t aboard his Lansin g Cycle / KTM /Pro-Ac tion-backed Husa be rg, with Bro wn ri ght on h is ta il. Mea nw hile , Neese, Wa lke r a nd Pocaro bba followed Bro wn in close form ation. Sm ith sh owed th e m ost deter mination he had all day as he pulled ou t a ll the s to ps, ke p t th e th rottle peg ged a nd d id every thing he could to keep Brown behind him. Brown wasn't giving up and he sho w ed Smith a wheel on more than o n e occasion, o nly to get balked by traffic. That was th e break Smith needed . When the leaders got th e white flag , they where hand lebar to handleba r - and that's the way they rode the final lap, w ith the crowd goi ng crazy as Brown pull ed out all the sto ps . Sm ith never falte red, rid ing a flawless m oto to giv e Brown his first mot o defeat at Birch Creek. The overall victory, howe ver, still w ent to Brown, to go along w ith his tw o Pro victories in the Fall Classic, held ea rlier in the day. The m ota wi n w as still swee t for Smith and it bro ug ht him u p to second overall on the day, giving him a good shot at the series title. There w a s' n o dou b t tha t th e fans where glued to the battle u p front, but tha t d idn ' t take a nythi ng away from w ha t w as go ing on behind the leaders . Neese and Pocarobba we re locked up in the ir own w ar, wi th Pocarobba looking to secure a to p-th ree overall sco re to ge t o n th e p odium; Neese, however, was jus t trying to m ake u p for his bad luck from mot o one . Wh en the pair crossed the line jus t 10 seconds behind Brown, it was the Banza i Ra cing / P ro -Acti on / Thor-ba cked Yamaha of Pocarobba just ba rely inchin g ou t eese for third. The fi nish, though, put Poca ro bba o n th e podium, with Neese ou t of the top five overall thanks to his fi rs t- mote problems. Tha t opened the d oor for Walker and Dunaway to round out the top five overall finishing positions. C~ Birch Creek Race way Danville, Virginia . Results: September 20, 1998 (Round 1 of 6) MOT O 1: 1. Mike Bro wn (Ya m); 2. Kevin Walker (Yam); 3. Anthony Pocarobba (Yam); 4. Kelly Sm ith (Hbg) ; 5. C ha rles Du naw ay (Yam); 6. Ma rk Bur khart (Yam); 7. Tod d Downs (Ya m); 8. Andy Anaya (Yam); 9. Jim Chester (Yam); 10. CL l Wi11i.. ms (Yam), 'Ci a MOTO 2: 1. Kell y Sm ith (Hb g); 2. Mike Brown (Ya m) ; 3 . An tho ny Pocarobba (Ya m ); 4. Jim Ne ese (H us ): 5 . Kevin Wa lker (Yam ); 6. C ha rle s Dunaway (Ya m); 7. Jim Cheste r (Ya m); 8. Ti m Ch ristiansen (Ya m ); 9. And y Ana ya (Yam); to. Shane Slother (Yam) . a lA : I. Mike Brown (Yam ); 2. Kelly Smi th (Hbg ): 3. Anthony Pocabobba (Ya m ); 4. Kevin Walker (Yam ); 5. Cha rles Du na wa y (Yam ); 6. Jim Ches ter (Yam); 7. An d y Anaya (Yam) ; 8. Jim Neese (Hus); 9 . Ch ris Cra ft (Ya m); to. Jaso n Vienot (Yam) . Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Buchanon, Michigan, September 27 Round 3 - Lo ndo n, Ken tucky, Oct ober 4 00 0\ 0\ ...... ~ !-< ClJ ..0 o ..... u o 33

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