Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127966
(Above) Jason Thomas, shown here in the 125cc A class, had better luck on his 250. He
topped the 250cc A cl ass o n a Yam aha .
(Ri ght) Chad Thompson won the Over 25 class.
(Below ) Ronnie Skaggs roosted t o victory in th e 125cc A clas s.
Stone had o n ly to finis h in the top
five a nd keep Thoma s behind him to
win the overall go ld . But it was not to
be .
In mota two, Mark Burkhart, a fte r a
dismal 34 th -p la ce rna to -one fini sh ,
roared back with a v"ng"ance o n hi s
Yamaha of Tro y-b a cked YZ , but he
could n' t get around [eff Gibson until the
white-flag lap .
"He go t behind a cou ple of Iappers,"
Burkhart said , "and I wen t around him
and squared off."
In their battle for the o verall, Thomas
and Stone were lite rall y rubbing fenders
in the thi rd- and fourth-place slots. Late
in the mo ta, lap pe rs became a problem
for the leaders - except for Thomas, who
used t he lap pers to his adva ntage by
ta kin g over th e thi rd spot la te in the
mota.
.
A ti ring Stone fa d ed slig htly, a nd
Smith too k over the fou rth spot, dro p- p ing Sto ne to fifth in th e second mo ta
an d thi rd overall.
"It was b e tw een Sto ne a nd I, and
w hoever w on (the mota ) go t the overa ll,
and I knew it," said a smiling Th omas.
"Icou ld n't get aro un d Stone in the early
laps , bu t I fina lly got close enough to try
it off a jump, so I did it, and it worked
out. I won."
" I just cou ld n't do it," said a w eary
Stone. " I ca me ba ck feeling pr etty good
this y"ar after breaking an elbow in '9 7;
th en I tore my knee up in Los Angeles
and had to have reconstructive surgery.
I've been rid ing since May. Today is the
fir s t day I can say that I felt I w a s as
good as I was before I got hurt. I'm ge ttin g th ere . I wa s happy with m y ri d"
toda y. I did run ou t o f gas a lit tle bit.
The tra ck is fast, and it w as ge ll ing a littIe cho ppy , bu t the bollom line is, I just
wasn't good eno ugh."
Robbi e Ska g gs and An d y Anaya
rounded ou t th e top five.
In the 125cc A class, Ska ggs had a soso start, bu t he.finally too k the lead fro m
Stone on the white-flag lap. Stone finish ed second , with his broth er Brian
th ird .
"I had a few prob lems in that moto,"
Skaggs said. "I didn 't have a good start,
and the start on this track - because it is
so fast - is important. I caught u p to
Doug (Sto ne) in the w hoops ju st a fter
the triples and ha d a better lin" an d got
around him . Now if 1 can ju st w in the
seco nd mot o."
Skaggs got his w ish and cam" back in
moto two for another win and the overall.
Round ing ou t the top three were the
Stone bro thers, Doug and Brian .
In the Over 25 class, Ma rk Smith was
firs t off th e li ne, with Tom Moore and
C hris Sc h m u lbach in tow , but w hen
the y ca m" aro und the scoring tower at
the co m p le ti o n of t he fir st lap , Chad
Thom pson was out front a nd he held it
the re the rest of the w av,
Malo two w as a repeat, with Thompso n taki n~ over th e lead in the ea rly laps
a nd carrying it 10 the checkered flag.
"This is o nl y m v fo u rth rac e ba ck
after a bad car wreck last year," Thompso n sa id . 'T hey ha d me flat-lined a couple o f ti mes; it was that bad. I figure
after that , 1 gotta live each da y."
Smith, who took the holeshot in both
motos, w ent 2-2 for second ov"rall.
l~
Li ncoln Trails Mot or sports Park
Casey , Illinoi s
Resu lts : October 10-11, 1998 (Round 4 of 6)
S1 STK n-i- 1. james Cra w fo rd (Cob); 2. Bla h '
Schillin g lea h ); 3 . Ty le r Bay lis ( KT M); 4 . Co lli n
Rennison (Cob); 5 . Bn..n no n Kershaw (KT M) ,
51 STK 0 -2: 1. Vince Friese ~Co b ); 2. Dillo n H