Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

'1 ~ ~ SAN DIEGO, CA,JAN.13 Western Regional 1 25cc Supel"'Cross Series Round 2: Qualcomm Stadium BRIEFLY••• Mazda Yamaha truck dnver Brian Barnhart, also known as -Big B M , celebrated his birthday after San Diego's Thursday press conference. Barnhart refused to elaborate as to the big number. Sf)( was calling its San Diego start straight the longest in Supercross history, and we believe it. The 3DO-foot straight dominated the entire middle third of the stadium floor. After rain inundated the Southern California area in the week leading up to the event. the decision was made to cancel Friday's practice session, and track builder Dirt Wurx covered all of the major obstacles with plastic. Saturday dawned sunny and clear, and Dirt Wurx whipped the course into shape in no time flat. In fact. the plastic had done such a good job of keeping the moisture out that there were traces of dust during Saturday's first practice session. "The track builders did a great job." Jeremy McGrath said. "The amount of rain we had this week, it could have been disastrous for us... Speaking of Dirt Wurx, the builder had prepared a huge quad jump for the competitors, many of whom weren't too excited by the surprise. None of the 125cc-class racers went for the quad in tile first practice session, and the 250cc riders were having troubles with it as well. Even Jeremy McGrath cased the landing, though he made sure to clear it comfortably before the session ended. Only Tim Ferry, riding the factory Yamaha VZ426F, was clearing the quad with ease. Before the second session, the decision was made to combine the second and third humps, converting the quad into a triple. Craig Decker, who recently signed on as a test rider for Chevy Trucks Kawasaki. came up short while tripling the quad in practice and broke both of his wrists on the landing. The oft-injured Decker was planning to contest the first five rounds of the series before racing the Canadian National Motocross Series (he should still be able to do the latter). Another nder to fall victim to the quad was Fast by Ferracci Husqvarna's Steve Lamson, who slammed his hand Into his lever when he came up short in practice. Lamson's knuckle was sore enough that he opted to sit out the night's racing, though he hopes to contest Anaheim II if hiS hand is up to it. The finish-line double was also especially challenging at San Diego. After practice, Dirt Wurx cut down a Jump on the straight before the finish line, making the Jump easier by giving nders a bit more drive. Amsoil/Dr. Martens/Journeys/Competition Accessones rider Steve Boniface was a no-show at San Diego. Boniface crashed in his 125cc heat race at Anaheim the week before, breaking his navicular. Boniface flew back home to France on Tuesday after the race to have a screw put in the wnst on Thursday, and was planning to return to the States on the Wednesday after San Diego. This was expected to be a learning year in Supercross for the young Frenchman, and his team will probably have him campaign the 125cc Eastern Regional Series for no points when he recovers. "We're currently accepting resumes for western nders,' joked Honda motorsports manager Chuck Miller, who did say that the factory is working more closely with teams like Plano Honcla/MSR and Planet Honda as a result of the situation. Speaking of AmsoillDr. Martens/Joumeyo/C"""'Peti. tion AcceSSOries, team manager Rick Zielfelder Invites fans at all remainmg Supercross rounds to check out the Journeys hospitality booth In the PitS, nght next to his team's semi. The entertainment area has proven qUite popular among fans at the first two rounds. with EA Sports games set up, RCA music and videos, a Mike laRocco bike, an Internet kiosk and a Dr. Martens display. laRocco also signs autographs in the booth, and the team has regular giveaways there. In addition. Journeys stores gave out 22,000 pit passes in malls prior to the first round. Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire rider Mike Brown was on hand at San Diego, riding the 250cc class (Brown will ride the 125cc Eastem Regional Series), The former GP rider pulled two holeshots in qualifying and finished 14th in the main event. We've seen stickers on skid plates and even on the undersides of fenders. but until this year, we had never seen a logo on the radiator louvers. That's where Chevy Trucks Kawasaki riders Ricky Carmichael and Stephane Roncada have been running Chevy stickers. "We noticed that this area can been seen quite well in photos,' said team manager Bruce Stjernstrom. "It actually took a lot effort to get it to work and look right. " San Diego is where Jimmy Button crashed last year and injured his spine, and the lanky rider was on hand this year in his new capacity as a rider support technician for Bell helmets. When asked in the pits to descnbe his job. Button nodded to the Mazda Yamaha and Yamaha of Troy pits, Joking. "I make sure that guy's [McGrath's] helmet is clean. and then I make sure those £Yamaha of Troy] guys' helmets are c1ean.San Diego wasn't a sellout as was round one in Anaheim. but its larger seating capacity meant that more fans witnessed round two. Sf)( put attendance at 61 ,368. Mike LaRocco had the NASCAR quote of the evening: "Well, I tell you what. my Dr. Martens/AmsoiI/Journeys/Competition Accessories Honda works awesome out there. I'm just sIlting on top of the thing, and it goes around the track reat good. lowe a lot of it to Honda. Factory Connection and all the team for getting my bike working good. " Chevy Trucks Kawasaki rider Stephane Roncada rode well at San Diego, but was thwarted by bad luck. Following a poor start in the main, he was working his way up when he had to make a mid-air body adjustment to avoid hitting Yamaha of Troy's Nathan Ramsey. Roncada got out of shape upon landing, and ended up crashing, with his bike going onto another portion of the track. "' was in the lead for a while. ' joked the Frenchman. who then had to deal with muddy grips. Team Yamaha's Timmy Ferry was manhandling the big VZ426F around the track quite adeptly, despite the fact that he spent most of the week before race day in bed with the flu. "Today was the first day I even rode." Ferry said. Four-time World Motocross Champion Heikki Mikkola ('76 250, '74 '77·78 50Q) was spotted in the press box at Qualcomm Stadium. "The Flying Rnn" had come over to catch some races and visit his good friend and former rival Roger DeCoster. Mikkola, who actually raced three Supercross events during his career, was awed by the pageantry of the modern version of the sport. "I am very surprised at how popular this is," Mikkola said. "Twenty years. I never see a Supercross, and now it is so big.• tition wishing they hadn't asked - got a bad start when the gate dropped for the 22-rider, 15·lap 125cc main event. Quite the contrary, he was right on Buckelew's tail, the two teammates riding off into the cool San Diego night and presumably setting up a bambumer of a race for the win and bragging rights back at the team transporter. But then it happened, on lap two, Just as Fonseca appeared to be setting Buckelew up for a pass, his thumper lost the proverbial fire in the hole, and Fonseca was left stranded as he attempted to kick the cranky machine back to life. Seconds seemed like minutes until Fonseca was finally mobile again, hacking and slashing his way through the pack, only to later tangle with Team Red Bull KTM's Grant Langston, a collision that saw both By SCOTT ROUSSEAU PHOTOS By STEVE BRUHN n Supercross, just as in many other forms of racing, a lot of emphasis is placed on the start. For Ernesto ' Fonseca, that axiom took on a whole new meaning at Qualcomm Stadium during round two of the Speed Stickpresented AMAlEA Sports 125cc Western Regional Supercross Series. Fortunately for the Yamaha of Troy team, Justin Buckelew was able to make like Mighty Mouse and save the day, Two rounds, two wins for the boys in blue. It wasn't that Fonseca - who at the series opener in Anaheim answered any questions about the competitive" ness of his Yamaha YZ250F in a manner that probably left the compeDUD' • n e _ S • JANUARY 24,2001 9

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