Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Ultracross Series, Round 8 Events By Craig Cole WlCHlTA, KS, MAR. 19-20 immy Wilson was the man to beat at the eighth and final round of the PACE Ultracross series, held at the Kansas Coliseum. Wilson had two wins and two second-place finishes and most likely would have gone four for four if not for a crash early in Friday's 125cc main event and anoUler late in Saturday's 250cc main event. Series points leader Brandon Bartz put his YZ125 in . front .of Wilson on Friday, and hometown favorite Jeff Hedden did the same aboard his KTM 250 on Saturday. Wilson had a wheel on Hedden for the holeshot in Friday's 125cc main, but it did not la t, as Hedden went down just seconds into the race, taking Wilson with ltim. Wilson remounted, but not before the entire field had bypassed both him and Hedden. Hedden was able to rejoin the race in last place and eventually worked his way up to a 10thplace finish. Bartz, who was third at the start, suddenly found himself with the lead going into the whoop section. Austin Raubs, Trent Hansen and Matt Smith held down the second, third and fourth spots, respectively, as the field came over the triple. Greg Braet cro sed the finish with a slim edge on Smith. Wilson, meanwhile, was on fire and with the help of a great drive through the rockers he had already worked his way to sixth. Going into the first turn, Wilson went around Smith, moving up from 14th to sixth in the span of one lap. By the third la p, Bartz had broken away to a moderate lead. Wilson was now up to fourth after passing Braet at the end of the whoops, and after the 1:riple he was hounding Hansen. At the halfway mark, Bartz was by ltimself up front, with Raubs still in second. Wilson was third, but he was having to deal with a couple of lappers. Hansen and Braet rounded out the top five. As the race was nearing the final laps, Hansen, Braet and Smith began a heated battle for the fourth spot. Braet ended up crashing before the triple, moving Smith up to fifth. Michael Koch also moved around the downed Braet, picking up sixth in the process. Wilson finally cleared the lappers and WIth three la ps to go made ltis way around Raubs and set ltis sights on the leader. At the white flag, it was still Bartz, Wilson and Raubs running up front. Hansen and Smith continued their..duel for fourth. Smith had the better line coming out of a turn, and he passed Hansen by tripling the rhythm section. As the front three took the checkered flag, Smith crashed in the same turn where he had taken Hansen the previous lap, letting hin> back by. Koch also took advantage of Smith's misfortune, picking up fifth. The Yamaha-packed podium included Bartz with the win, followed by Wilson and Raubs. Hansen was fourth, and Smith recovered from his wreck to finish sixth. Friday's 250cc feature was also led by Wilson, but tltis time he stayed up and was a bike length ahead of Raubs going into the rockers. Smith moved up alongside Raubs after the whoops, and the two were joined by Hansen after the triple. Third-placed Smith crashed as the second lap got started, letting several riders by. Bartz and Braet each picked up a position and later in the lap they both got around Hansen, moving up to third and fourth. Hansen held on to fifth, while Jon Hedden and Brandon Lacey were fighting over sixth. Braet J ended up going down, giving up his fourth position to Hansen, while the hard-charging Smith had worked ltis way back into the top 10. He eventually worked ltis way up to fifth after running down and passing Jon Hedden, but just after the last turn on the last lap he went down again and Hedden got by to finish fifth. Smith got up quickly enough to beat Cory Francis for sixth. Meanw.ltile, Bartz was finally able to work his way up to Raubs' rear wheel. The pressure took its toll on Raubs, and Bartz moved around him just as they were taking the white flag. Wilson took the checkers, followed by Bartz and Raubs. Braet was first out of the gate in 'Saturday's 125cc main, but he was quickly overtaken by Francis. Meanwhile, the carnage behind them continued, as several riders were trying to negotiate the tum where they had all piled up behind the bobbling Francis. Joey Pra tt managed to bring his Yamaha out of the fray in third, followed by Hansen and Smith. Francis continued leading through the second lap until they reached the last turn. Wilson chose the inside line and forced Francis aside, taking over the lead for good. Jeff Hedden was fifth, having taken that spot from Smith. Hedden passed Hansen at the line a few laps later, only to throw it away by craslting at the start of the whoops. The race between Hansen and Pratt for third had been boiling for several laps. Hansen was finally able to clear Pratt and he held the third spot to the checkers. Braet and Koch also engaged in a scuffle - over sixth place - as the race moved into the final laps. When Koch wa forced to double. the triple, Braet went through the opened door by tripling past him. With Hansen, Pratt and Smith nose to tail in traffic, it was not long before Braet was also in the picture. With only a handful of laps left, Braet made a move inside Smith in the last turn, forcing Smith wide, but he held ltis ground and crossed the stripe in front of Braet. Smith was able to improve his position by one on the final lap by passing Pratt. Wilson came away with another convincing win, ahead of Francis, Hansen, Smith and Pratt. Wilson had another stellar start in the 250cc feature, with Jeff and Jon Hedden in his wake. There was a huge crash in the first turn behind them involving several bikes, and getting the worst of it was Bartz, who had to leave tile race. . Wilson moved out to a lead the length of the rhythm section over the Heddens early in the race. On the fourth lap, Francis went down at the end of the whoops, and his apparently broken wrist forced him from the race. With five laps to go, the unthinkable happened for Wilson as well. Wilson's hands came completely off the bars going over the triple and he crash-landed. Hedden took the lead in front of the roaring crowd, but Wilson was able to recover before Jon Hedden could catch him. Jeff Hedden held a huge lead, but it was not long before Wilson started whittling away at it. With three laps remaining, Hedden killed his bike before the triple, but. he Brandon Bartz (966) and Jeff Hedden (370) battle for the lead during Ultracross action In Wichita, Kansas. Bartz took the 125cc Pro win on Friday and Hedden came away with the 250cc Pro honors on Saturda.y. Jimmy Wilson took the other two Pro victories on the weekend. got it refired before Wilson could capitalize on .the mishap. The laps ran out on Wilson, and he had to settle for second. Jon Hedden finished tltird. Although Hansen was the next to cross the line, he was disquaIified for allegedly jumping the triple while the red-cross flag was di played earlier in the race. Smith was credited with fourth and Pratt moved up to fifth. _ Kansas Coliseum Wichita, Kansas Results: March 19-20, 1999 (Round 8 of 8) Frid~y 125 PRO, 1. Brandon Bartz (Yam); 2. Jimmy Wilson (Yam); 3. Austin Raubs (Yam); 4. Trent Hansen (Hon); 5. Michael Koch (Yam); 6: Matthieu Smith O

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