Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Fifth overall we nt to yet another \ Sp litFir e /Pro-Circuit Kawasa ki rid er , N athan Ramsey . He put together a 7-6 ta lly on a d a y th a t rem ind ed h im of being back horne on th e sweltering local tracks of middle Tennessee. "Man, it was hot out there, all right," sa id Ramse y . "O n a d ay like thi s you jus t have to rem ember that it's the sa me for everyone else, and if you 've done the work, you' ll be up there." Ramsey certa inly showed that he was doing the w ork, thou gh a couple of better starts wo uld have helped his cau se a lot. Next carne Yama ha of Troy's Ernesto Fonseca , who had a career-bes t outdoor finish of third place in the first mo to bu t the n cras hed ea rly the seco nd time out. FMF/ Honda rider Brock Sellar ds had a disappointing afte rnoon, especially in the firs t mota, w hen he fell twi ce. He still ma naged sev enth overa ll w it h an 11-5. "I got an okay sta rt in the first moto and w as in the mi x, but right when I started picking up the pa ce and catching people, I hit some th ing on one of the straig htaways and the b ike came over and plowed me in my head, " said Sellard s. "I got a bloody nose a nd didn't really kn ow where I was, so I was lucky to ge t 11th that time. " Roundin g out th e top 10 were Primal Impulse /B ill 's pi pes /Suz uki ' r id er David Ping ree (who just returned fro m the shoulder in jury that he suffered in early May), rising sou theastern s tar Matt Walker (who was also th e top privateer with his ninth-ove rall fi nish), a nd an out-of-sync Michael Brand es of the Pr imal Impulse/Bill's Pipes /Suzuki team. Vohland's patien ce and skills continue to ke ep him in the ch a m p ionsh ip chas e. As a result of his consistency; the 26-year-old Vohland si ts jus t 19 points adrift of Carmicha el in th e championship s tand ings w ith half of the series now comp lete. MOTOONE Corning off the m iddle part of th e s ta r ting g a te, three-tim e Ar ena cross Champion Buddy Antunez blasted his yellow Primal Impulse Suz u ki into the le ad with Fon s e ca , Ca r m ich ael, FM F /Hon d a ri der Dann y Sm ith an d Pingree in tow . Vohland w as next and wild-card en try Mik e Brown was right around 10th. Antunez' s lead d id not last long. The Suz uki rider soo n made a mistak e and lost a few spots, wi th Fonseca inheriting the lead . But Fonseca mad e a quick mistake as well and Ca rm ichael took over. "I k in d of messed u p th ere on th e first lap and fell d own in the back," said Fonseca. 'T m not ve ry used to this kind of heat, and maybe I was th inkin g too mu ch abo u t how I w as goi ng to d eal with the weather than jus t riding at that p oint. But o nce I got up a nd se t tle d down , I was riding well." With Carmichael already in the lead, it be came imperat iv e fo r Vohland to catch up quickly - which he did . The two primaries in the cham pio nship battle we re 1-2 a t th e end of the first la p. Fons eca was th ird, followed by Sm ith, Ant un e z , Ping ree, Brown, Br an d e s, Yama ha of Tr oy' s Casey Johnson and Wey. Throughout the first half of the rnoto, Vohland ma tched Carmichael's pace as the two cleared out from the rest of the pack. Brown was also on the move, placing h is bike in to fourt h p lace by th e fourth lap. It was at tha t poin t, however, tha t he carne up on a brick w all , that being Fonseca . "Ernesto was riding real hard and he was ta king some pre tty good li nes," Brown said. "I was doing m y bes t to ride har d, bu t at the same time I did n' t wa nt to go over my head and get hurt or anyth ing ." Whil e Fonseca hu ng tough in thi rd , Carmichael was rid in g flaw lessly out fron t. And whe n Vohland mad e a mistake right a t th e ha lfway mark, "RC" checked out for good . "I was rid in g really good and hung with him for a while, but then ma ybe I got a little anxious a nd mad e a m is tak e," said Vohland. "I tried a new line and the front end slid out. I knew that once he was gone I could not catch him, so I just looked at the track and finished ou t the mot o in second, which is s till pretty good when yo u' re go ing after a cha mpio nship." "I feel grea t," said Carmicha el mat ter -of-factl y of the weat her conditio ns . "I ride in thi s stuff every day d own in Florida, so it's no big deal to me to do a . mot a like thi s. Tallon was riding reall y well at the begi nn in g, but I was go ing only as fast as I needed to. I had a littl e mor e left , just in case, but after he fell off, I didn't need to use it." Brown finally mad e it aro und Fonseca wi th three la p s to go in th e 14-la p ra ce , but it was a t th a t p oin t th at he made a mis ta ke of hi s own , w hich allowed Fonseca back by him, as well as a late-c ha rg ing Casey jo hnson, who too k fourth. Wey was sixt h, followed by his teamma te Ramsey. MOTOTWO Wh en th e ga te d ropped for the second moto, it was Michigan 's own Wey s hooti ng into t h e le ad fr om the far inside, followed by Carmichael, Florid a' s Pa u l Cu rrie, Fonseca an d Bro wn . Vohland was ab ou t eighth, but wi thin a few turns he had blasted right u p int o thi rd . Wey led everyone in to the far side of the track, but as the y carne down off a hill that led in to a very steep off-camber, Wey chose the low line and Carmichael th e hig h line . And , just like tha t, Ca rm ichael was in the lead and on his way to ano ther win. Wey rode as ha rd as he cou ld to keep Ca rmichael h on es t, whic h he did for mor e th an half the moto. As the moto wore on , however, Carm icha el seemed to ge t even stro nge r, pulli ng away from everyone by al most 30 seconds. " It was just a good day for me and Chad (Watts, Carmichael's tu ner)," sai d Car mic hael. "We knew we wanted to come in here and get back ou t fro nt, an d tha t's w ha t we did . We los t a lot of poi nts at Budds Creek and I wa nted to .start maki ng them up right away, an d this was a good place to sta r t." Wey he ld off Vo h la nd fo r second until six laps fro m the end . That' s when Wey fina lly gave in to the Ho nda rid er. "Tallon is stro ng and sma rt, and he se eme d to be go ing fast er as th e mot o we nt on," said Wey. "I'm prett y happy a bo ut ge tt ing th ird in th e m oto a n d third overall, bu t finishing beh ind Ricky wo uld have been eve n better." Vohland sa id, "Ricky is tou gh; yo u just can' t let him ge t away, because once he d oes, he's usually go ne:' "I ca rne in here and d idn't ri d e as well as I th ought I w oul d ," Vo h la n d added, "but we still took awa y a cou ple of second-p lace finis hes and I only lost si x poin ts on th e day . I want to be patient an d sma rt abo ut the points, and it's worked prett y well to this point, but now tha t I have a pretty big lead over third , I am going to have to let it hang out a little mo re to catch up to Ricky." Behind the top three, Brown h el d fourth for 10 minu tes before succumbing to Brandes. Then, after twisting his knee, Brown deci ded to pa rk the Hond a and call it a day. Fonseca and his team mate joh nson a lso ha d so me problems in the ea rly going. In separate incidents, the two riders crashed in the sa me hole. "We were abo ut fifth and sixth, and we came up on this big rut in the back, a n d it thre w Ernes to ri ght over th e bars," sai d jo hnson. "I saw him go ove r, and then I hit the bum p and flew off the other way. They were tot all y se para te cras hes but on the exact same ru t." Johnson d ro p ped ou t shor tly after Brown ha d p u lled 'o ff, wh ile Fonseca soldiered on to 13th. The steady Roncada carne thro ugh at th e end for a solid fou rth in th e mo to, followed by the still-sore Sellards and Kaw asaki-m oun ted Rams ey . Brand es slipped into seven th at the finish . "We just don't hav e tracks like this in California at this tim e of the yea r," said Brandes of the well-satura ted Red Bud course. "We usually have to ride in dust an d silt an d on the total ha rd -pack, so it CN ma kes tracks like this toug h." (Ab ove left) Wey gave the home crowd something to cheer about, landing a spot on the podium with a 6-3 tally . (Ab ove right) Tallon Vohland cont inues to keep Carmic hael honest in the series points race by posting a pair of secondplace finishes. Red Bud Trac k 'N' Trail Buchanan , Mic higan Results: July 4, 1999 (Rou nd 6 of 12) M OTO 1: 1. Rick y Ca rm ic ha e l IKa w ): 2. Tall on Voh la nd (H on) ; .3. Ern csto Fons eca (Ya m) ; 4. C asey Johnson (Ya m ); 5. Mi ke Brown (Hon): 6. N ick We y (Kaw ): 7. Na than Ram sey (Kaw): 8. Stephane Ron cad a (Yam ); 9. Dann y Smith (Hen ): 10. David Pingree (Suz): 11. Brock Sella rd s (Hen): 12. Travis Preston (Suz); 13. Paul C u rr ie (Suz) ; 14. Matt Walker (Yam); 15. Jason McCormick (Hon) : 16. Michael Brandes (Suz ): 17. Barry Ca rsten (Suz): 18. Robbi e Skaggs (Suz); 19. Ryan C11;rk (Ka w ): 20. Mike Craig (Ka w ): 21. James Povolny (Ya m); 22. Kenny Bartram (KTM); 23. Kelly Smith (KTM); 24. Jimmy Wilson (Yam); 25. Michael Kann (Yam); 26. Sam Yannitelli (Yam ); 27. Mark Burkh art (Yam); 28. Aaron Huppert (Yam ); 29. Da vid Oette l (Su z) : 30. Joseph Oehlhof (KTM ); 31. Casey Lytl e (Ya m) ; 32. Robb ie H ort on (Ya m ); 33 . C ha d Sann e r (Ya m ); 34. C h ris Cosselna r (Hen): 35. Ra ndy Valade (Ka w): 36. Budd y An tu nez (Suz) : 37. Kevin Cri ne (5U2); 38. Tom Welch (Suz): 39. Daml en Plotts (Yam); 40. Ryan Du ff (Ya m). MOTO 2: 1. Rick y Ca r mi cha el (Kaw ): 2. Tallon Voh la nd (Hen): 3. Nick We y (Kaw) : 4 . Ste ph an e Ron ca d a (Yam) ; 5. Bruc k Sella rd s (Ho n); 6. Nat ha n Ram se y (Kaw} : 7. Micha el Brand es (S u z) : 8. M a tt Walker (Yam); 9. Bud dy An tunez (Suz); 10. Paul Cu rrie (Suz): 11. David Pingree (Suz); 12. Barry Ca rsten (Suz): 13. Ernes to Fon seca (Yam) ; 14. Mike Craig (Ka w ): 15. Tom Welch (Suz): 16. Jam es Povolny (Ya m); 17. Kevin C ri ne (Suz): 18. [oese ph Oe h lhof (KTM) ; 19. Rand y Valade (Knw): 20. Ryan Clar k (Kaw): 21. Michael Kann (Ya m ); 22. C ha d San ne r (Yam); 23 . Sa m Yann ite ll i (Yam); 24. Daml en Plo tts (Yam); 25. Jaso n McCormick (Hon) ; 26. Da vid Oe tt el (Suz ): 27 . C hris Gosselaa r (Hen) : 28. Aa ro n Hupp er t (Yam) ; 29. Robbie Skaggs (Su z) : 30. Robbie Hor to n (Yam ); 31. Travis Pres ton (Suz): 32. Kelly Smith (KTM); 33. Casey john son (Yam); 34. Mik e Brown (Ho n): 35. Kenn y Bartram (KTM); 36. Jimm y Wilson (Ya m); 37. Ryan Duff (Yam); 38. Dann y Smi th (Hon): 39. Mark Burkha rt (Yam); 40. Casey Lyt le (Yam ). O / A: 1. Ricky Carmichael (Kaw): 2. Tall on Vohla nd IHon): 3. Nick w ey IKaw ): 4. Stepha ne Roncad a (Yam) ; 5. Nathan Ramse y (K.1W);- 6. Ernest o Fonseca (Yam); 7. Brock Sellards (H on): 8. David Pingree (Su z): 9. Ma tt Walker (Yam); 10. Michael Brand es (Suz) : 11. Pau l . Cu r rie (Suz): 12. Casey John son (Ya m ); 13. Michael Brown (Hen ): 14 . Barr y Ca rs te n (Suz) : 15 . Budd y Antun e z (S uz ): l b . Danny S m it h ( Hen) : 17. Tr a vis Preston (Suz ): 18. Michael Craig (Ka w ); 19. Tom Welch (Suz ): 20. Jaso n McCor mick (Han); 21. James Povoln y (Yam); 22. Kevin Crine (Suz); 23. Joseph Oehlhof (KTM); 24. Rya n Cla r k (Kaw): 25. Rob bie Skaggs (Suz): 26. Rand y Valade (Kaw). AMA MAZDA TRUCKS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 125cc MX SERIES POINT STANDINGS (After 6 o f 12 ro un ds ): 1. Rick y Ca rm ich ael (272 /5 wins); 2. Tano n Vohland (253/ 1 w in); 3. Brock Sellards (193); 4. Nick We y (66) ; 5. Mich ael Brand es (165); 6. Casey John son (1 55 ); 7. Na tha n Ram se y (30); 8. Er nes to Fonseca (123); 9. Dann y Smith (118); 10. Buddy Antunez (JO 11. Casey Lytle (99); 12. Tra vis Pres ton (98); 13. e): Sco tt Sheek (75); 14. Ma t t Wa lke r (73); 15. Stepha ne Roncad a (59); 16. Jason McCormick (57); 17. Pau l CUITi ~ (52); 18. Kelly Smith (51); 19. Ba rry Ca rste n (50); 20. David Pingree (34). Upcoming Rounds: Round 7 - New Berlin, New York, July 18 Round 8 - Troy, Ohio, July 25 . en en en ~ 15

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