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AMAlEA Sports 1 25cc Western Regional Supercross Series Round 4: Bank One Ballpark long, fast start straight, Buckelew once again found himself near the front, but Fonseca had also gotten a good jump - rare for him this year. As the riders funneled into the tight, left-hand first turn, the two teammates made contact, with Buckelew getting the worst of the deal and launching - minus his YZ125 - over the bowl-shaped first turn and into the infield. "I heard [podium announcer] Jamie Lyttle say it looked a bit dirty, but from my angle, it was no one's fault," said Langston. "It was a racing accident. Ernie was in front and he was streaking in. Justin came in pretty hot, and they came together. Justin hit his rear wheel. I didn't think it was anybody's fault. It's just one of those first-turn incidents." Vallejo and Levi Reid had also been collected in the turn-one tussle, and just moments later, defending champion Bentley went down and exited the race prematurely. "He thinks he either clipped somebody or they clipped him, and he just went down," said Pro Circuit team manager Mitch Payton. McCormick took advantage of the mayhem, sending many fans scrambling for their programs in an effort to identify the number-48 Suzuki that was not only leading the way at the front of the pack, but looking as if it was supposed to be there. The Washington State resident, Jason McCormick, completed the first lap with Fonseca on his rear fender, and Langston and Smith behind in a tight battle over third. "I want to do really well, and I'm out to prove a point," said McCormick, whose earlier start had earned him the $500 SFX holeshot award. After another lap, the top four positions remained the same, and on the next go-around, only Langston and Smith had traded places, with McCormick continuing to ride strong in front. To the amazement of many, he was still there a third of the way into the race, but Fonseca and Langston were now knocking on his back door. Finally, Fonseca used a cool move through a rhythm section on lap six to get by, though Langston had nearly zapped both him and McCormick moments earlier. Once passed by Fonseca, McCormick appeared to lose his rhythm, losing several positions soon after and finishing an eventual sixth. "Once I got by what's his name McCormick - 1 just wanted to stay smooth and not make any mistakes," Fonseca said. Fonseca's work wasn't over yet, as Langston began attacking hard with about a third of the race remaining. By most accounts, the factory KtM 125 possesses amazing power, and the South African was having no troubles hanging with Fonseca's 250cc thumper. 12 FEBRAURY 7,2001 • eye "I don't think that bike is an unfair advantage," Langston said. "Maybe in the future, with a little more development, they'll shave some weight off and get that starting problem sorted out. Then maybe it will be an outand-out advantage, but at this stage I think there are some advantages and some disadvantages." Nonetheless, Langston just couldn't seem to find a way around Fonseca, and the two foreigners circulated the track in close formation for the next few laps. Fonseca would pull slightly in the first section of whoops, but Langston would then close back up in the whoops on the follOWing straight. The one area where Fonseca had a clear advantage - and it just may have saved him the race - was the final rhythm section. There, the Costa Rican was able to clear one more jump as he leapt out of the section, and although he nearly went down once on the maneuver, it typically bought him a bit of breathing room for a few turns. "He did the rhythm section a little better than I did," Langston said. "I didn't want to take the risk. I did it a couple of times, but it was a little bit risky, and I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. I think if I had that dialed, I probably could have beaten him. " "The track was fast, and it probably suits his style," Fonseca said. "It was a pretty easy tr,!ck. I wasn't really worried about winning; I just wanted to beat Buckelew. I'm concentrating on winning the championship right now, and that was just my main goal." Langston's only hope was for lappers to delay the leader, and it looked like he might get his wish on the last lap. Fonseca held on, however, and the duo crossed the line far ahead of Smith, who had an off night compared to his recent performances. "My fitness level's awesome, but I just got a little bit of arm pump," said Smith, who fought off sore feet from coming up short on the quad on lap I _ n s two. "I was good and warmed up, and I made sure I put extra clothes on, so that wasn't really the problem. It's just something I've got to sort out a little bit. ..I've just got to step it up to that extra level." Up next were a couple of riders from the Plano Honda/MSR team, which has been pretty impressive this season. "I got my mind straight and pulled off a fourth - my best ride of the year in my first year racing Supercross," said Tedesco. "Hopefully I can pull off a podium." "I've been training really hard the last couple months," said Dostal, who completed the top five. "I've got a trainer and everything, and I expected to be in the top five." McCormick held on for sixth, with Clark, Thain, Pingree and Preston rounding out the top 10. CN Bank One BaIIpar1l Phoenix, Arlzou Reulb: Jallllllry 21, 2081 HEAT) (6 lops, 1·9 transfer): 1. Donny Smith (Suz); 2, Shae Bentley (K~w): 3. Tr~vls Preston (Hus); 4. Jiri Dostai (Hon); 5. Kevin Johnson (Vam); 6. Erick Vallejo (Kaw): 7. Greg Schnell (Vam); 8. Tyler Evans (Hon); 9. Stephan Demanis (Vam); 10. Emesto Fonseca (Yam); 11. Robbie Skaggs (Suz:); 12. Keith Johnson (Vam): 13. MIchael Young (Hon); 14. Michael Sleetel' (Yam); 15. Steven Eugenio (Vam); 16. Rene Tercero Reyes (Vam); 17. Johnny Marley (Hon): 18. Nick Hansen (Vam): 19. Kenny Hee.. (Hon); 20. Kuraudo Toda (Hon). TIme: 5 min., 27.650 sees. HEAT 2 (6 laps, ) -9 transfer); 1. Justin Buckelew (Vam): 2. David Pingree (KTM); 3. Jason McCormick (Suz); 4. ivan Tedesco (Hon): 5. Jeremy Chaussee (Hon): 6. Ryan Clark (Vam); 7. Grant Langston (KTM); 8. Rodrlg Thain (Vam): 9. Levi Reid (Vam); 10. Oio Tedesco (Hon); 11. Bryan MeGavran HUS); ]2. Ronnie Clark (Kaw); 13. Jeremias Israel Hon); 14. Harold Hageman (Suz); IS. Doug Parsons Vam); 16. Oscar Valdez (Hon); 17. Andy Harrington (Vam); 18. Casey Lytle (Kaw); 19. Sean Hamblin (Hon); 20. Brandon Morgan (Vam). Time: 5 min., 17 .550 sees. LCQ: (4 laps, 1-4 transfer): 1. Emeslo Fonseca (Vam); 2. Bryan MeGav,an (Hus); 3. Cosey Lytle (Kaw); 4. Johnny Marley (Hon); 5. Harold Hageman (Suz): 6. Nick Hansen (Vam); 7. Andy Harrington (Yam); 8. Rene Tercero Reyes (Yam); 9. Jeremias Israel (Hon); 10. Sleven Eugenio (Yam); 11. Kenny Heess (Hen); 12. Oio Tedesco (Hon); 13. Brandon Morgan (Yam); 14. Doug Parsons (Yam): 15. Kuraudo Tod8 (Hon): 16. Ronnie Clark (K8W); 17. Robbie Ska9gs (Suz): 18. Keith Johnson (Vam); 19. Michael Sleeter (Vam); 20. Oscar Valdez (Hon): 21. Michael Young (Hon); 22. Sean Hamblin (Hon). l Tune: 3 min., 38.240 sees. JiIAlN (15 laps): 1. Emesto Fonseca (Vam): 2. Orant Lan9ston (KTM); 3. Donny Smith (Suz); 4. Ivan Tedesco (Hon): 5. Jiri Dost81 (Hon); 6. J8son McCormid< (Su,); 7. Ryan Clark (Vam); 8. Rodrig Thain (Su,); 9. David Pingree (KTM); 10. Travis Preston (Hus); 11. Justin Buckelew (Yam); 12. Kevin Johnson (Yam); 13. Bryan McGavran (Hus): 14. Stephan Demartls (Vam); IS. Johnny Marley (Hon): 16. Jeremy Chaussee (Hon); 17. Tyler Evans (Hon); 18. Casey Lytle (Kaw): 19. Levi Reid (Vam); 20. Erick Vallejo (Kaw): 21. Greg Schnell (Vam); 22. Shoe Bentley (Kaw). TIme: 13 min., 12,7800 sees. Winner's Average Lap: 52.852 sees. Margin of VlCtory: 1.50 sees. AMAlEA SPORTS 125cc WESTERN REGIONAL SUPERCROSS SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 4 of 8 round.); 1. Ernesto Fonseca (83/3 wins); 2. Justin Buckelew (77/1 win); 3. Danny Smith (70); 4. Rodrig Thain (63); 5. Jlri Dostal (60); 6. David Pingree (59): 7. (TIE) Ivan Tedesco/Grant Langston (57); 9. Shoe Bentley (46): 10. Tyler Evans (35); 11. Jason McCormick (31); 12. Ryan Clark (30); 13. Casey Lytie (27); 14. Travis Preston (25); 15. Keith Johnson (22); 16. Kevin Johnson (20); 17. Tiger Lacey (18); 18. (TIE) Stephan Demartls/Bryan McGavran (13); 20. Andrew Short (11); 21.(TIE) Oreg Schnell/Andy Harrington (10). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Anaheim, California, February 3 Round 6 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 17