Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Events Grand Canyon Stale Classic Series, Round 8 Lewallen wins big at Ocotillo By Johnny Whiteboots ELOY, AZ, APR. 11 t the end of the day's racing, Jimmy Lewallen found him elf in a winwin situation, earning top honors in 250cc Intermediate and Over 30 Vet Intermediate in round eight of the Grand Canyon State Classic Series, held at southern Arizona's Ocotillo Raceway. Lewallen completely dominated both classes with four moto wins aboard his YSA/Piper-sponsored Yamaha. The action unfolded for the first combined 125/250cc Intermediate moto at the drop of the gate, and Lewallen found himself lead ing the 250cc class but chasing the 12Sec riders Greg BrydIe and Brandon Schlensig. Behind Lewallen was Marty Estes, Jason Birdsong and Ryan Phillips. BrydIe and Schlensig set a torrid pace for the first half of the race, and it was not until lap six that things started getting interesting. BrydIe found himself pushing the tires too hard and he washed out a tum, letting Schlensig, Lewallen and Estes go by. Lewallen pressed the rest of the moto but Schlensig managed to hold him off at the checker, taking the win for the 125cc Intermediate class. Lewa lien secured the first-moto 250cc Intermediate win by six seconds over Estes, who was slightly ahead of Birdsong and Phillips. Lewallen was not about to cha e anyone in the second moto, as he nailed the holeshot and took off for the checkers. Hot on his tail were Birdsong, Brydle, Schlensig, Phillips and Estes. Lewallen managed to pullout a few seconds' lead over Birdsong during the first few laps. Schlensig managed to pass BrydIe on lap three and then moved to catch Birdsong. Schlensig put Birdsong behind him on lap five and then looked ahead for Lewallen. Schlensig maintained his pace and passed Lewallen during lap six, but Lewallen had his eye on the bigger prize of the 250cc Intermediate overall. At the checkers, it was Schlensig with the overall for the 125s and LewaJlen taking the trophy for the 250s, followed by Birdsong, who ecured second overall; Phillips, in third for fourth overall; ;lnd Estes, who took third overall. It appeared that one class just was not challenging enough for Lewallen, as he went to the starting line for an encore performance. Coming off the first gate was the Vet Pro, Over 30 Intermediate and Over 25 Intermediate classes, with the Over 30 Novice class coming off the second gate. Over 30 Intermediate Mark Mortensen emerged from the first turn with the holeshot, followed by Lewallen, Vet Pro Wade Morlock, and the rest of the Over 30 Intermediates. Morlock went around Lewallen before the halfw.ay point of lap one and 'closed in on the leader. Morlock made the pass on Mortensen over the finish-' line tabletop, grabbing the lead and never looking back. Lewallen engaged Mortensen in a battle for the lead of the Over 30 Intermediates, and the pajr pulled away from Lenne Suppes, James Brosius and Ted Mink. Mortensen once again gave up the inside line at the end A Mark Mortensen (181) nails the second-moto holeshot over Jimmy Lewallen (127) and Lenne Suppes (111) during Over 30 Intermediate action at Ocotillo Motocross in Eloy, Arizona. of lap two, and Lewallen took advantage to make the pass for the lead over the finish-line tabletop. As the lead trio pulled away, the real racing action was coming from back in the pack, as Brosius and Suppes dueled for fourth overall, third in class. Further back was the struggle for the Over 30 ovice podium between David Erwin, Steve Hendrix, T. Carlson and the six other racers in the class. Erwin managed to pull out a nice lead over Hendrix, who was racing with Carlson for second place. Carlson made the pass during the second lap after a Hendrix bobble. Richard Schumate engaged Hendrix, a nd the pair raced to the checkers. Morlock brought out the checkered flag to end the first moto. Lewallen came across the stripe second for first Over 30 Intermediate, followed by Mortensen and then Greg BrydIe, with Over 25 Intermediate honors. By the end of the moto, Erwin had managed to catch and pass some of the Intermediates, finishing ahead of Suppes, Brosius and Slaughter to ea ily win the Over 30 Novice moto. Carlson maintajned second, Hendrix held on for third, and Schumate was fourth. Mortensen proved to be the holeshot master, as he managed to put together another holeshot to make the start of moto two seem like deja vu. Morlock and Lewallen were in second and third. Morlock and Lewallen made the pass on Mortensen during lap two. Lewallen stayed close to Morlock throughout the moto, but at the checkers it was Morlock, Lewallen and Mortensen. The big difference in the moto came from Brosius, who put together a better start than Suppes and carried it to the checkers for third overall. The Over 30 ovice class was once again all Erwin's, as he led from start to finish to nail first. Hendrix put together a solid performance to fini h second. Schumate received third, marking one of his best finishes this year. _ Ocotillo Raceway Eloy, Arizona Results: April 11, 1999 (Round 8) SO BEG 0-1, 1. jackson Paquette (KTM); 2. jacob Bechinna (KTM); 3. Danin Taylor (Yam); 4. Brandon Coble (KTM); 5, Elliot Lilikes (KTM). 50 BEG 0-2, 1. Bryan Christenson (KTM); 2. Leslie Colasacco (KTM); 3. Trey Adamsen (KTM); 4. Jackson Paquette (KTM); 5. justin Quinn (KTM), SO NOV, 1. Scott Maxwell (ATK); 2. Ryan Best (ATK); 3. Znchary Buzzard (KTM). 50 OPEN: 1. Scott Maxwell (AT.K); 2. Zachary Buzzard (KTM); 3, Ryan Best (ATK); 4. Trey Adnmsen (KTM); 5. Bryan Christenson (KTM). 60 BEC: 1. Ryan Jones (Kaw); 2. Drew Brownell (Kaw); 3. Mitch Wise (Kaw); 4. C.}. Jensen (Kaw); 5. Chase Sims (Kaw). 60 NOV: 1. Brent Davey (KTM); 2 Daniel Wilburn (KTM); 3. Jeffrey Jenkins (KTM); 4. Brandon Carlson (Kaw). 60 OPEN: I. Brent Davey (KTM); 2. Daniel Wilburn (KTM); 3. jeffrey jenkins (KTM); 4. Mitch Wise (Kaw); 5. Brandon Carlson. 80 BEG: 1. Cory Bulliner (Yam); 2. Todd Miller (Hon); 3. Trenton Straub (Hon); 4. Ryan Robinson (Yam); 5. Michtlcl Falls (Yam). 80 NOV: 1. Eric Ramirez (Hon); 2. Dennis Cooley (Yam); 3. Drew Mwphy (Hon); 4. Rocky Colasacco (Suz); 5. Tyler johnson (SU2). 80 OPEN: 1. Eric Ramirez (Hon): 2. Rocky Colas.'lcco (Suz); 3. Todd Miller (Hon); 4. Michael Falls (Yam); 5. Ryan Robinson (Yam). WMN, 1. Tll1Ti1h johnson (Yam); 2. Lynsey McDade (Suz); 3. jeanrue Zortman (Hon). 125 BEG: I. Jon Schwartzman (Yam); 2. James Strnub (Han); 3. Tll1Ti1h johnson (Yam); 4. Robert Lop'", (Yam); 5. Matt Petrucci (KTM). 125 NOV: 1. Bryan Ehrman CKaw); 2. Timmy Westhafer (Suz); 3. Danny Milchell (Kaw); 4. Josh Schuetta (Hen); S. Michael Mazura (Hon). 125 tNT: 1. Brandon Schlensig (Yam); 2. Greg Brydie (Yarn); 3. Ryan Mazura (Hon). 250 BEC: I. Randy Hill (Yam); 2. Jessie Erwin (Yam); 3. Curtis Vestal (Yam); 4. Robert Young (Suz); 5. Sherman Taylor (Suz). 250 OV: 1. Kory Taylor (Yam); 2. Jeff Parr (Kaw); 3. Johnny Suor (Hon); 4. Kevin McKnight (Yam); 5. Mike Eddolls (Hon). • 250 INT: 1. Jimmy Lewallen (Yam); 2. Jason Birdsong (Yam); 3. Marty Estes (Hon); 4. Ryan Phillips (Kaw). 250 PRO: 1. Jimmy LaMastas (KTM); 2. Ryan Mortensen (Yam); 3. Zack McKinley (KTM). 25+ BEC: 1. Robert Lopez (Yam); 2. William Barr (Hon). 30. BEC: 1. Sherman Taylor (Suz); 2. Frank Dusnnek (Suz); 3. Bryan Greene (Yam); 4. Brian Landry (Hon); 5. Michael Messing (Yam). 25+ NOV: I. David GronJul\d (Yam); 2. Frank Victorine (Yam); 3. David KO~1wn (Yam). 30+ NOV: 1. David Erwin (Y~m); 2. Steve Hendrix (Hon); 3. Richard Schumate (Suz); 4. T. Carlson (Kaw); 5. Mike Coble (Yam). 25+ INT: 1. Greg Brydie (Yam); 2. Marty Estes (Han); 3. Merlen Slaughter (Yam). 30+ INT: 1. Jimmy Lewallen (Yam); 2. Mark Mortensen (Yarn); 3. James Brosius (Hon); 4. Leone Suppes (Hon); 5. Ted Mink (KTM). 30+ PRO: I. Wade Morlock (Yam). 40+ AM,!. Kipp Fletcher CKaw); 2. AI Corte (KTM); 3. Fred Lalikes (Kaw). S/SK OPEN: 1. Wade Morlock (Yam); 2. Kory Taylor (Yam); 3. Brandon Schlensig (Yam); 4. Bryan Ehrman (Kaw); 5. Jayson Holcomb (Suz), BMBR A: 1', Dan Townsend (Hon); 2. Kevin Wallin (Yam); 3. Ken Carr (Hon); 4. Ted Mink (Y;un); 5. Jerry Becker (Hon). BMBR B, 1. Daniel Shepherd (Yam); 2. jerry Ga'es (Yam); 3. Robert Hawes (Han); 4. john Stallsmith (Hon). Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship Series, Round 1 Leivan gets nasty By Frank Leivan STEELVILLE, MO, APR. 11 teve Leivan began tlle defense of his nurnber-one plate with a convincing win at the opening round of the Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship. Leivan, a six-time and defending champion, took over the lead early on the opening lap and stretched it out to more than a minute by the end of the race. The series kicked off under ideal racing conditions with an 11-mile course S laid out by the Nasty Creek Dirt Rjders. The event was one of the most technical and challenging rounds of the series, with many rocky, off-camber trails, creek sections, and a grass-track section thrown in for spectator appeal. At the start, Chris Nesbitt shot his J&W Cycles Yamaha in front of the 13rider AA pack. Chris Thiele, in his first race ince a knee injury last year, followed in second, with lIlinoi rider John Roth and Yamaha-mounted Brandon Forrester in tow. Leivan's race began from the sixth-place position. After blasting down the open creek section right off the start, the riders headed up a hilly, off-camber ection. While trying to remove a tear off, Ne bitt lost control and went down, moving Thiele into the lead. Nesbitt was able to hold on to second, though only briefly, as he went down again just a few yards down the trail, this time collecting Forrester with him. Due to the two-man crash, Roth moved up to second and Leivan took over third. Leivan closed in on Roth a couple of miles into the lap, while Thiele opened up a comfortable lead. "When I caught up to John (Roth), I couldn't see Chris (Tltiele), which made me a little nervou ," aid Leivan. "John moved over and let me by as soon as I caught him, which was pretty cool, and I picked it up and went after Chris. It took me until about halfway through the lap before I ran him down." When Leivan reeled in Thiele, he was surprised that Thiele moved over and allowed him to take over the lead. "I was a little tentative out there," said Thiele. "It was my first race back and all. I didn't have anything for Steve, so I let him go and tried to follow." Now in the third position, a minute and 20 seconds back, was Brock Busenbark, with YZ400 rider Ken Yount close behind. "After the creek section, the bike missed a couple of times," said Leivan about his second lap. '1 thought maybe we had some water get into the fuel or something, but after a few seconds, it cleaned out and was okay for a few miles." Thiele main tajned his cushion over the Yount/Busenbark battle. Yount took over third after two laps, while Busenbark fgllowed only three seconds back. Mike Windmann, the runner-up in the 1998 series and the overall winner of the Nasty Creek event last year, moved up from seventh on lap one to fifth at the end of the second circuit. Leivan's third lap wa quite eventful, as the water problem surfaced once again. This time it was a little more severe. 61

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