Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 2: Prairie City SVRA Park MAZDA TRUCKSIAMA 250cc NA TIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MX SERIES Series points leader Sebastien TOttelll's day went something like this: He went down in the first tum during moto one and worked his way up to seventh. In the second outing, Tortelll got pinched off at the start and then suffered this crash, which set him back to fifth in the moto, seventh overall. starting grid. Windham, Emig, Ward and Kawasaki's Damon Huffman circled the first lap in front of Lamson as well. Albertyn's and Lusk's chances of an overall win went from good to slim when both riders went down just on the other side of the first turn. "It was really dusty in the first turn, and I couldn't really see," Lusk said. "I slid out, high-sided and picked myself up near last. From there I made a charge." Lusk made a charge indeed - one that was just as impressive a TortelIi's come-from-behind climb in moto one. But Tortelli himself was the victim of another bad start, though he did fair much better than Albertyn and Lusk coming out ofthe first comer. '1 was right next to Albee, but we kept banging each other," said TorteIIi, who came within a hair of going down as well. '1 went around the crash, but just barely." Lusk and Tortelli were not the only Honda riders mired toward the back of the pack. "In the second moto, there was a pileup in the first turn," Pichon said. '1 avoided that, and then there was another pile after that by the finish-line jump. I almost hit them, too, and I'm like, 'F%@#, they're all crashing out.' Shll, I was 12th or something." Pichon later dropped out of the running for a good' finish when he landed off a jump with his foot down, tweaking his right ankle. His poor first-moto finish was due partly to a tender left ankle. Coincidentally, Albertyn remounted from his crash to finish 12th in the moto and sixth·overall. With some stiff competi tion still chas- B.rieflv... Earlier in the day. Kevin Windham won his qualifier. The Team Honda rider had to race Sunday morning due to his poor results last week at Glen Helen. In the same race, Suzuki's Larry Ward finished second. In his qua'fier..Windham pulled out the fastest lap time of the weekend with a time of 1:49:09. Primal Impulse/Suzuki/Bill's Pipes' David Pingree and FMF/Honda's Danny Smith were also just a couple of other fast guys that had to qualify for the main race. Team Green Kawasaki Off·Road·s Destry Abbott tried to make the show at Hangtown for the second time since 1997. During the Saturday qualifier he was in the fop 10 in the first tum. but a pile· up just after the start took Abbott out of the running. Later in the day, Abbott was given another chance and he did not disappoint.. He gated fifth and. by the end of the second lap. was third. As the race went on. the ISDE Trophy Team member ran down second place and finished a close second. "I've never been more nervous in my entire life." said Abbott just before the start of his first quali· fier 00 Saturday. Instead of his usual KX250 set up for off-road racing, Abbott raced Nathan Ramsey's SplitFire/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki KX250. Abbott qualified for the Sunday program in '97 aboard a Vosburg Racing KTM. Destry Abbott was just one of many 1998 ISDE team members present at Hangtown. Team Suzuki Offroad's Rodney Smith was at the FMF semi. next to his 'GNCC championship-winning RM250. signing autographs. KTM Sportmotorcycle's other fast brothers, Pat and Brian Garrahan. were seen walking arou.nd the pits as well. Yamah.a-mounted Erik Koehler and KTMmounted Er.ic Cleveland. also' of 1998 Six Days fame. took pail in the weekend's festivities. racing on Saturday. Yamaha of. Troy's ~tephane Roncada was absent from Hangtown due to' a na!lging wrist injury that hampered Roncada's per· formance at Glen Helen.a week earlier... Roncada will be back as sqon as his wrist gets better." team manager Erik Kehoe said. "It's going to be day by

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