Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAlEA Sports Eastern Regional 1 25cc Supercross Series Round 2: Georgia Dome race before passing one more rider Michigan's Nick Wey rounded out the podium aboard his Yamaha of Troy YZ125, climbing up the ladder one step from his fourth-place finish at Indy. Wey gated well and rode in fourth for much of the race, then took advantage of a Mike Brown mistake to take over third for good. "I need to work on my starts a bit because I always have to play catchup," Wey commented. "The bikes are so fast and run awesome. This is my first trophy since the High-Point National last year, and I'm happy about that. I need to keep that momentum going." Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire's Brown was next. "Brownie" has been riding the wheels off of his KXs lately, much to the surprise of just about everybody - not that he lacks talent, but he's been riding GP's overseas for the last two years. Brown finished second to Ramsey in the first heat and was in third for much of the main until a slight error dropped him to fourth. Either way, Brown is a major player this year. Georgia homestate hero Matt Walker finished fifth in what had to be the best race ever in his injury-riddled career. The Planet Honda rider gated sixth and ran there for much of the 12 MARCH 7, 2001 • cue • before the checkers flew. All of this was only after transferring through the Last-Chance Qualifier (in which he took the win). "I got real tight last weekend [Indy] and pumped up too, and this is way e better," said a smiling Walker later in the pits. "-The bike is working good like it should, and the Dunlops hooked up good. I've been riding and training with Ezra Lusk every single day, and it's paying off for both of us. I'd like to keep getting top fives and then work on some podiums." Plano Honda/MSR's Travis Elliott finished sixth. The Texan rode a quiet race after starting eighth, and made two passes before the end. After two respectable rides, Elliott holds seventh in the points. Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire's Tallon Vohland somewhat redeemed his disastrous performance at Indy with a seventh-place finish at Atlanta. The Californian was involved in a big first-turn crash and ended the first lap in 18th! He picked it up, got back on the gas and made a ton of passes on his way back up to the front. Vohland knows where he belongs in the results, and he should be on the podium soon. "I keep crashing on the starts, but I'm riding good," Vohland said. Speaking of crashes, Team Suzuki's Pastrana and Amsoil/Dr. Ma rtens/ J ou rn eys/C ompetition Accessories rider Branden Jesseman were just two of the riders involved in that ugly first-turn pileup. The two connected while going into the comer, and both went down hard. Pastrana got up fairly quickly, but Jesseman lay on the track for some time. Jesseman eventually got to his feet and walked off, while Pastrana was busy trying to make up positions and points. He ended up 14th, while Jesseman was credited with 22nd. "I tried to pick the biggest rut going into that comer, but then 1 ran into Sellards and bounced into Jesseman," Pastrana said. "My footpeg got stuck in Jesseman's front wheel, and he just flew. Then I hit Wey, and 1 launched too, but I landed on a real soft tough-block. I took out a stretcher too, which I thought was kind of weird, so I got up real quick. My bike was tweaked with no clutch and a locked-up front brake, so 1 just tried to ride it out." MAIN Ramsey, KTM Red Bull's Kelly Smith and Sellards all shot out of the gate and into the first turn, with Ramsey getting the credit for the $500 SFX Holeshot Award. "I really got the power to the ground on that one," Ramsey later remarked. Jesseman, Pastrana and Vohland were all scrambled in the first turn after a big pileup. Vohland got up the fastest and got back into the race. Pastrana took a little longer, but once he got going he made several bobbles right away, eliciting concern that he may have hit his head hard again, but it turns out the problem was a dragging front brake. Jesseman laid on the track for several laps, but managed to get to his feet and slowly walk off. "I don't even know what really happened," a shaken Jesseman said after the race in the team hauler. "My head and my thumb really hurt, though." Pastrana said, "I'm sore, but nothing's broken, so that doesn't really count." Ramsey settled into a comfortable lead in the opening laps and set a good pace. Sellards and Brown moved into second and third, with Wey following in fourth. Ramsey began to pull a good lead and was four seconds ahead of Sellards on the fifth lap. Sellards also began to pull away from Brown,

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