Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Motocross • • Inl5, 32nd annual Mammoth Mountain Motocross ae a • mal By Ton y Alessi MAMMOTH LAKES, CA,JUNE 25-27 ike a swarm of killer bees, minicyc1 es invad ed th e in famous Mammoth Mou ntain Motocross for the 32nd annual runnin g of th e tim e-honored epic motocr oss event. This vea r marked th e first tim e in the even t' s -h is to ry that m inicycle en tries to p p ed th e 200 m ark, fe a tu ri ng ne w classes. Expert, In termediat e and Novice classes, as well as new 'age-grou p di visio ns, were im plemented into the mini cycle program in 1999. "T h is yea r we helped red esig n the m in i p ro g ram," sa id Kawasaki Tea m G reen ra ce su p erviso r Crai g Ma rti n . "With the influx of minicycle racer s, it wa s tim e to red esign the program. Ne xt ·year the re could be classes for 60cc and 50cc bikes, too, and they may be g iven thei r own sepa rate day of com petition." James Stewart from Winter Haven, Florida, wa s the top mini pil ot, wi th tw o sepa ra te class wins, to p ping all m ot os en tered in both th e 80cc 02-13) and Superm ini di visions. Kawasaki Tea m Green's Mike Alessi a nd hi s Ea st Coas t co u n te r pa rt, Davi Mill saps, put on an excellent show all wee k in th e 80cc (9- 11) cla s s , w h ile Te am Yam ah a ' s Jo sh H ans en was untou chable in th e 80cc 0 4-16) clas s. L (Above) Matt Goer ke (43j and the rest of the aocc (12-13) class jump out of the Mammot h Mountain start ing gate. Team Green 's J ames Stewart (hidden) won the race , which was the largest aOee class of the event (Left) Lance Small has spent the last few mont hs mend ing from an injury, but that did not stop him from winning the 125cc and Open Pro races aboard his factory-backed KTMs. 0> ~ :;. - -3 -, 32 "We helped a lot of minicycle racers th is wee k w it h bike setu p," said Team Gr een manager Ron Heben. "Wit h eleva tion at 8000 feet, we had to figure out jettin g, gearing and other items to help tune these small motors." Stewart wa s almost invincible in bo th the 80cc 0 2- 13) and Supermini di visio ns, sweeping all four motos in each class. Stewart raced with Florida's Bryan Joh nson d uring Friday's first 80cc 0213) even t, bu t Johnson got a hold of so me bad gas and ultima tely settled for third overall. A su r p rise second went to Te xan Jonathan Kerr, who had difficulty in his heat races and had to go through the last-chance qualifier to make the cut for the final. "I got a flat tire in the heat race and I had to go to the last-cha nce," sai d Kerr, whose lu ck took a turn for the bett er during th e 80cc 02-13) main event. After he ga ted we ll, Kerr let it han g ou t ea rly in the race and found himself in the lead by the end of the firs t lap. " I think D ary l Eckl u n d g o t th e holesh ot, but I pa ssed him on the first lap," Kerr said. " I tried to ge t away fast, because I kn ew Stewart was comi ng ." Kerr was righ t about th e fa ct that Stewart wa s coming; in fact, he looked like a rolling locomotive as he cha rg ed pa st riders, passin g three rid ers per lap. Stewart caug ht Kerr and made a quick, decis ive pass for the lead. "I made a small mis take and Stewart passed me." Kerr held his g ro und for th e next two laps and kept Stewart in sight. "Stewart just d oesn' t make mist akes and he's su pe rfas t," Kerr sa id . "I am jus t happy that I kept pace wi th him for a w hi le. Tha t's go in g to give me lot s of confi dence." In the end, Stewart w as the qu ickest , with a solid first -place fin ish, w hile Kerr, Johnson, Ecklund and Sean Collier rounded ou t the top five. Stewart returned on Supermini Saturday and po sted ano ther awe-inspiring victory ove r Costa Rican hots hoe Edgardo Rojas and Jesse Casillas . Stewart was protested after this p articular race by ano the r competitor but wa s found to be legal. "Riders who try to win from the pits are part of a d yi ng breed of co m peti tors," sa id Mammoth tech d irect or Rau l Suncap. "Racing and wi nning sho u ld be d one on th e race cou rse, not from the pits." Ker r put in an ot her g rea t rid e for ' a strong fift h- place show ing , be hind the factory-backed Suzuki of Kyle Partridge. "I lea rned a lot this week," Kerr sai d. "Thi s is go ing to help me for the nationals back east. Now I am really look ing forward to go ing back there th is year." In the yo unger a ge d ivis io n, Mike Alessi and his East Coast nem es is, Davi Mill saps , o nce aga in pu t o n a great show in the 80cc (9-11) class. Alessi took ad va n tage of a great s ta rt in the fir s t m o ta and hid from the fie ld . Millsaps s tarte d ab out sixth and spen t m ost of the rac e trying to pass rid ers. " T he re w !"s to o ma n y s q u ids o u t th er e and I lost too m uc h time ge tti ng by," said Milisa ps. Jake Weimer d ro ve 11 hou rs fro m Id a ho a n d record ed th ird in fro n t of . Da nie l Sani and his ultra fast Honda. The second m ota saw A le s si a n d Mills aps ge t off to a o ne- two s ta r t, which set the stage for an exci ting show d own. Millsa ps made th e firs t move and passed Al essi up th e infa mous Mamm oth Mountain uphill, but Alessi stru ck ba ck in the sw itchbacks and reclaimed the lead . Mill saps kept the pressure on but slowed his pace lat e in the race. "My bike los t power," Millsaps said. Mill saps backed it off to s ave the machine while Al essi went on for th e mota and overall win. ' "We think we lost a main seal," sa id Dave Millsaps Sr. 'This sh ouldn't hav e happened since thi s was a stocke r that's practically new." W eim er was a ga in consi stent for

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