Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

AMA Western Regional 125cc SX Series Final round: Metrodome In the second heat race, Travis Preston also breezed to victory, leading every lap to the checkered flag. But Preston had no room for error, as FMF /Boulder Yamaha rider I aiah Johnson stalked him the whole way. Johnson ended up settling for a close second, while Pingree finished a lonely third. Ramsey, who struggled out of the gate, worked his way up through the pack to finish fourth. He was followed across the finish line by GRP /FMF's Cory Keeney, Mota DeMarini/Planet Honda's Brad Hagseth, Tyler Evans, Kawasaki Mexico's Erick Vallejo, and Clawson.Motorsport's Rusty Holland, who grabbed the final transfer. In the last-chance qualifier, f,.-om which only the top four riders transfer, Kawasaki rider Billy Payne scored a wire-to-wire win, followed by Kawasaki of Missouri's Brian Stone, French rider Rodrig Thain, and Suzuki rider Charlie Bogard. Failing to make the show by one position was Scott Sheak on the SplitFire/Pro Circuit Kawasaki. Ramsey pulls it off By Kit Palmer Photos by Frank Hoppen MINNEAPOLIS, MN, MAR. 20 ith just four points separating Nathan Ramsey from Casey Lytle going into the final AMA Western Regional 125cc Supercross Series race of the year, the conclusion promised to be a dome burner. And it was, as the series title ultimately came down to the last few laps of the last race, with Ramsey, on the SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki KX125, coming out on top. Barely. It was a race that the 56,232 fans in attendance at the Minneapolis Metrodome won't soon forget. It all started out with Lytle getting a great start and Ramsey getting a lousy start, but the race would end up wi th both riders dicing for the lead, with Primallmpulse Suzuki rider David Pingree mixed in. Late in the race, Lytle, on the Yamaha of Troy YZ125, led the way, with Ramsey in third and Pingree sandwiched in between. For Ramsey, his main plan was to finish at least right behind Lytle; then the title would be his, no matter where they finished. But the pesky Pingree stood in between him and Lytle - and the series title - and Pingree wasn't about to let anybody by him for any reason. After all, Pingree was in contention to nab his first win since 1995, so all three riders had good reasons to fight to the bitter end. All the questions, however, would be answered three laps from the ood, when Lytle bobbled through a rhythm section and both Pingree and Ramsey scooted by him. Pingree went on to win his first race in four years, and Ramsey went on to wrap up his first major title while giving his Mitch Payton's SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki squad its eighth supercross title. Lytle held on to finish W third. Ramsey finished out the eight-race series with five wins and 170 points, compared to Lytle's no wins and 164 points. Isaiah Johnson, who finished ninth at the Metrodome, ended up third in the series with 112 points, while Pingree took fourth with 104 points and one win. "I'm so happy," Ramsey said, "and I'm happy for all the people who have supported me and told me I could do it. All week, 1 was trying to put it (the title chase) out of my mind and just do everything the same. It was a great race." Despite coming within a few laps of winning the title, Lytle was gracious in his loss. "This has been a great year," said Lytle with a smile on his face. "I'm happy to finish on the podium again I've never finished out of the top five all year, so that's definitely an accomplishment for me. I would've loved to have won the championship more than anything, but it was a great year." Pingree's first win since the 1995 season was somewhat diluted by Ramsey's and Lytle's race for the championship, but it was nonetheless a very satisfying victory for the win-starved rider. "It (the win) feels good," Pingree said. "It's been a)ong time, a lot of injuries, and the last couple of years, (Left) Nathan Ramsey saw his five-race win streak come to an end at Minneapolis, but' he was more than happy to wrap up the West Coast , 25cc title in dramatic fashion. (Below) David Pingree scored his first 125cc main-event win in four years, edging out Ramsey at the finish. MAIN With the title on the line, the 22 riders charged into the first turn at the start of the 15-lap final, and Holland put his Suzuki into the lead, followed by Lytle and Pingree. But where was Ramsey? "The starting area was kind of tacky, and I bogged the bike," Ramsey sajd. '1 thought to myself tha t things couldn't get any worse, so I just put my head do5"D and tried my best." Ramsey completed the first lap in 14th place, but that wouldn't last for long, as he immediately began passing riders left and right. Meanwhile, up front, Holland led the way until the third lap, when he got crossed up in the whoops and augured in. Holland was shaken up in the crash and called it a night, but he was in good-enough shape to join in the podi- people have been talking a lot of shit, aying I couldn't do it anymore, so... Hopefully, there won't be another gap like that (between wins)." Finishing a distant fourth in the final was Mota XXX Suzuki rider Travis Preston, while Team Stiffie/Suzuki's Tyler Evans rounded out the top five. Finishing sixth through 10th were Ryan Oark, . Andy Harrington, Greg Schnell, Isaiah Johnson and Doug Parsons. HEATS Primal Impulse Suzuki's Michael Brandes made it look easy as he started the evening off with a start-ta-finish win in the first 125cc heat race. He steadily pulled away from the rest of the 20-rider pack, crossing the finish line a good fi ve seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Team Green's Ryan Clark, who spent the whole race dicing with Lytle. Clark ran second early in the race until Lytle got him following a long pass at the halfway point. Clark, however, came back and passed Lytle on the last lap to take runner-up honors. Finishing a distant fourth was Suzuki-mounted Doug Parsons, who was followed across the finish line by a closely knit group of riders made up of Team Mex-Cal's Shaun Perolio, Team Motoworld of EI Cajon riders Andy Harrington and Greg Schnell, One Industry's Ryan Duff, and Suzuki support rider Jacob Martin, who slipped into the final transfer position. 21

• Cover