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/127981
(Left) At Anaheim, Nathan Ramsey won his third supercross in as many events and has moved into second In the series points standings. (Below) Casey Lytle posted his fourth podium finish of the season, finishing second to Ramsey. Lytle sits atop the series with 100 points to Ramsey's 98. Johnson moved up to third, just ahead of Rusty Holland. Shortly thereafter, Johnson and Holland connected over a jump when Johnson came up short. Meanwhile, tiffie/Westwood's Charley Bogard slipped by Huffman for second that same lap, while the redcross flags flew for the downed Johnson. With one lap remaining, Yamahamounted Isaiah Johnson dived inside of Huffman for third, as Ramsey was busy whipping his bike sideways for his hometown fans. Ramsey took an uncontested win, followed by Bogard, Isaiah John on, Huffman and Chris Wheeler. Holland, who remounted after the ugly crash, amazingly finished sixth, ahead of Stiffie/Pirelli's Tyler Evans, 'F&S Suzuki's Tommy Clowers, and FMF/ Honda's Stephan Demartis, who took the final transfer position of that. race. LAST·CHANCE QUALIFIER FMF/Honda's Rodrig Thain took the holeshot in the LCQ, with Kawa ki of Mexico's Erick Vallejo on his heels. Thain pulled away the first few laps, but AMA Western Regional 125cc Supercross Series, Round 5: Edison International Field Ramser's hattricll By Dave Deringer Photos by Kinney Jones ANAHEIM, CA, FEB. 6 athan Ramsey, no doubt borrowing on his newfound confidence, rode a smart and strong . race and was rewarded with his third straight win of the Western Regional 12Scc Supercross Series. This time, ]Samsey emerged victoriol;'s a t Anaheim's Edison International Field. In the main event, the SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider rounded the first turn in fifth but made quick work of hi rivals to move into the lead by lap five. Ramsey then wasted no time in pulling away from the pack for another win. With it, Ramsey moves into second place in the point standings and is only two points behind series leader Casey Lytle, and there are only three rounds remaining. ''It''s real tight now," Ramsey said of the points race. "I'd be on top of the world if I won the championship. My Pro Circuit Kawasaki i running killer and everybody is behind me." . Lytle, on the Yamaha of Troy/Sinisalo/Renthal YZ12S, rode to an impressive second-place finish after leading the race at one point. His finish marked the third time that the young Californian has stood atop the runner-up step on the podium this year. Casey Johnson, who won the opening two rounds of the series and was the series points leader going into the Anaheim race, suffered a horrendous heatrace crash that took him out of the event as well as the rest of the series. In heat race two, the Yamaha of Troy team rider cased a triple jump and was promptly landed on by Rusty Holland. Johnson's injury comes as a huge blow, as the young Californian not only held a comfortable series lead but has already been struck down by a couple of injuries N throughout his career. The exact details of the injury are not yet known, but according to Johnson's team manager, Erik Kehoe, it is bad enough to end it all for this series. "He broke his right arm between his shoulder and hi elbow," Kehoe said. "He's going to see a specialist, but he will be out for a while." ow owning the series lead is Lytle. ''I'm not really focused on the points right now." Lytle said, "I'd really like to win some, though. It's really going to come down to who wins these last few races." Fini hing a re pectable third on the night was Boulder Yamaha/FMF/ Answer /Sunstar-backed Isaiah Johnson. The New Mexico native has been steadily improving his results lately, and Anaheim made for his best-ever supercross ride. He currently holds down the fifth-place ppsition in the series points chase. "! had fun ou t there," the soft-spoken Johnson said. '1've got to thank all my sponsors, because they are doing a great job, too." Fourth overall went to Primal Impulse Suzuki/Bill's Pipes/Shift-supported David Pingree. Although Pingree nailed two strong holeshots on the night in his heat race and the main event, he simply dropped back in the final. Despite it being his best result of the year, Pingree was still not overly happy. "I've been sick all week and! just faded, that's all," Pingree said. Fifth place went to the stealthy Greg Schnell aboard his Motoworld of EI Cajon/Thor/Pro Circuit-backed Yamaha, and he was followed across the finish line by R&S Kawasaki/Bridgestonesupported Ryan Clark. Siefert's Motorsports' Chris Wheeler crossed the line in seventh, while Pro Circuit/Bobby )'S Keith Johnson finished eighth. inth went to Primal Impulse Suzuki's Michael Brandes, who was involved in a bizarre solo crash. Clawsons Motorsport's Rusty Holland rounded out the top 10. HEATS Pingree nailed the first holeshot of the night, with DeMarini's Brad Hagseth and Xtreme/One Industries' Steve Andrich in. tow. Pingree's team- mate Brandes and Clark quickly moved into second and third, while the other 17 riders battled for a top-nine finish to transfer directly to the main event. Lytle was mired back in the middle of the pack but was making progress, advancing several positions by the end of the race. Meanwhile, Brande and Clark had closed in on Pingree and were looking to pass him. Clark motored by Brandes through the rockers on lap five, then passed the Suzuki-mounted Pingree a lap later through the same section. Clark took the win, followed by Pingree and Brandes. Lytle worked up to fourth and Schnell finished fifth. Moto XXX's Travis Preston, New Mexico's Keith Johnson and Mach 1 Motorsports' Daniel Blair finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively,'and Andrich held on for the final transfer posi tion in ninth. Planet Honda/Pro Grip's Ryan Huffman gated best in the second 12Scc heat race, but Ramsey got out of the gate well, also. Anaheim's previous mainevent winner, Casey Johnson, who started in eighth, was busy making passes while moving to the front. Ramsey block-passed Huffman for the lead at the end of lap two, while Vallejo hung tough, reeling in the French rider and making the pas for the win two corners from the finish. Motoworld 'of EI Cajon's Andy Harrington finished third, while Honda-mounted Akira arita took the final 12Scc main-event starting position. MAIN EVENT Pingree performed another perfect holeshot and was the early leader of the IS-lap 12Scc final. Lytle, Huffman, Schnell, Isaiah Johnson and Ramsey filed in behind him. Soon, Pingree and Lytle began to distance themselves from the pack, as Ramsey moved past Schnell and Huffman. Brandes, who started in ninth, was also advancing rapidly. Ramsey got by Johnson for third on lap two and was closing fast. A lap later, Lytle made a midair pass over Pingree for the lead and then, a lap later, Ramsey squeaked by Pingree for second. Brandes was still on the move and was up to sixth. Ramsey quickly reeled in Lytle and then made his move for the lead through the rockers on lap five. Ramsey proceeded to pull away during the next several laps, while Johnson began to close in on Pingree. . g: en ...~ 9