Watts bega n his Sa turday w innin g
strea k in the morning after the unscored
Uncl assifi ed event . In the 125cc race,
matched up agai nst 1998 125cc National
H are a n d H ound cha m pio n Sh ane
Esp ostito and Destry Abbott, Watts battled back and forth for th e lead durin g
the 45-minute race.
"I had a good race with Esp osito,"
said Watts. "He was a bit loose and he
was over-sh ooting comers. I just waited
for him to scre w up big time, a nd he
finall y did. We we re pretty much the
same speed, and it was jus t a matter of
who was go ing to screw up and who
was going to get the break ."
(Above) Scot Harden
conti nued hi s
stranglehold on t he
Legends race and
also fi nished eighth
in the Hamel.
(Right) Mike Baker
does not race too
often anymore, but
he makes it a po int to
race Elsinore. Baker
wheelled to the Fourstroke and Over 35
overalls, and finished
fifth in the 125cc
race .
T he bre ak a n d th e wi n went to
Watts, and it happened p retty much the
way the young Aussie ha d planned it,
leaving Esposito to finis h second .
"When we got into lappers I got back
by him," said KXl25-mounted Esposito
abou t his race with Watts. "Then I slid
into some barri ers and he we nt by and
pulled away."
Team Green 's Abbott wa s in the mix
early on but eventuall y fell ou t of th e
race fo r th e lead . H e fini s h ed th ir d
ahead of Gary Trachy and Mike Baker,
two other Elsino re Grand Prix regul ars.
Three races later Watts was back on
th e p a ved s ta rti n g line for the 250cc
race, bu t this time he had eve n more to
pro ve - alth ough man y spectators were
n o t a w a re o f th e fac t. Worldw id e
rumors have said that Watts is not capable of racin g a 250cc mach ine successfully, and th at th a t is th e rea son h e
sticks to a 125 even th ou gh he is at a
horsepower di sadvantage at the series
that the Au stralian competes in. However, his deci sive win in the 250cc race
was th e win heard across the off-road
world.
"I sta rted in the second ro w," sai d
Watts about his rid e on a 250 SX. "I was
in the lea~ halfway through the first lap
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