Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

MOTOCROSS Round 4: Lincoln Trails Motosports AMA FALL CLASSICIEASTERN FOUR·STROKE NATIONAL SERIES f " " - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - -- -- ----' By Merle Acord CASEY, IL, OCLI0-11 • ith a one-poin t spread in th e series point stand ings between first-placed Kelly Smith and second- p lac ed Anthony Pocorobba, with Jim Neese lurking 24 points away in third , there was reason for apprehension whe n the lead ers docked at the Linco ln Trails Motospor ts starting ga te for roun d fou r of the A.<'vIA Fall Classic and Eastern Fou r-Stroke MX Na tionals in lllinois. The p rofes s ionall y prepped tr a ck was hill y , fea tu ring s ha r p co rne rs , sw itchbacks, ba rrel turns, d oubles and ' triples. Su nny , crisp fall weather enticed 5~ 0 rid ers to sig n on for th e two-d ay event. Neese (aboard a Hu sqvarna 610), Kelly Smi th (on a Husaberg FC50l) and Anthony Pocorobba (piloting a Yamaha YZ400F) finish ed 1-2-3 in the first moto o f th e Fo u r-St ro ke Nati on a l cl a ss, putting important series po ints on the lin e in mot o two. Kev in Walker , w ho was looking to add poin ts as we ll, took the ho lesho t, wit h Smith and Pocorobba ~fJJ in tow . Poco robba took over the lea d through the w hoops, a nd Neese and Smi th jockeyed for the next two slo ts. eese went to the inside to p a ss Pocorobba for the lead . Then Smith also got aro u nd Poco ro bba , a n d h e had Neese ri g ht in fro nt less th a n a bike leng th away. . At th is point, it was a race for th e checkers . The finish line was a sharp left-ha nde r at the end of a set of d eep whoops. Smit h's Husaberg , wi th the d rive throu gh the Whoo ps, edged ou t Neese at the wi re for the ace and second overall . • "I like this track," Smith said . "With all the tu rns , there are lots of places to cr iss-cross an d p ass. I was in second place in the first moto, and , on the last lap , a rider go t in my way and Anthony go t by for second . That mista ke and a third-pla ce finish cost me the win . (Bu t) I won the last rnoto ." "The track got a little choppy , bu t it was a good track," Neese said . "I liked th e wh oops ri ght a fte r th e tripl e fo r passin g. I had a good line, and An thony got a little wide, and I took him ." "I was second in points going into th is race , and I finishe d behind th ose (Above) Brian Stone (87) leads the start of the 125cc A class. Jim Neese (42), winner of the Four-Stroke class, and Ja son McDonald (986) give chase. (Left) Kelly Smith took runner-up honors in the FourStroke divis ion. guys a nd lost four poi n ts," Pocorobba said, "but I'm stiIl in second, so that's good. I made a little mistake late in the first mo to, I hit Kelly's fender, wen t a little wide, and Neese got by . In the first mo to, I stayed in third u ntil the last lap, and Smith ma de a mis take in th e whoops, and I went right around him for second place. The second moto wa s another battle all the wa y through. I had Smith on e time right after the finish-line co rner, but I braked too so on when I thou ght he was going to cu t in and I lost hi m . I like th e whoops; most of th ese guys have more power, bu t their bikes are a lso hea v ie r, and they d on ' t get thro ugh the whoops as we ll as the lighter machin es. I liked the jumps and the tight co rners , bu t, of co urse, they have it on the straig ht." Jason Thomas aced mo to one of the 250cc Pro class, and Doug Stone set up the mo te-two runoff for the overa ll by finishing second. "I felt good ," Stone said. "This is the first race back, since I had knee surgery, tha t i felt th ings w ere worki ng goo d eno ug h for me to win."

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