Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Chevy T r u c k s 2 50c c National Championship Motocross Series Round 1 : Glen Helen Raceway (Left) Se ba stien To rtelli celebrates upon w inning t he first mota. Crashe s held h im to fifth In mota two, but he still e am ed second overall. (Right) Kevin Windham had a great day at Glen Helen, finish ing third i n both motos and taking third overall. landed and the bike went s ideways. I knew something was wrong ." "It [the wheel change] went pretty s m o o t h , " said Craig Monty , Vuillemin 's mechanic. "I got a lot of help from the other mechanics . The only thing that took long was [Vuillem in ] getting through the traffic to get to the stand." Vuillemin's misfortune resulted in another Frenchman at the front, as Tortelli took over and fought off an The much-anticipated racing retums of yesteryear heroes J ean-Michel Bayle and Damon Bradshaw did not mate rialize at Glen Helen. and most likely will not do so ever (Bayle injured his ACL in a practice crash. and Bradshaw reportedly lost enthusiasm). However, the Glen Helen National did mark the returns to action of several other notable racers. After a couple of seaso ns on the GP circuit, Ryan Hughes made his return to American National racing, contesting Honda's hot new CRF450R at Glen Helen. He was joined on Team Honda by extreme athlete Shaun Palmer, who in addition to being an elite-level snowboard and mountain bike competitor, once qualified for a 125cc Supercross main. Palmer joined the team in a special promotional deal that put him aboard a full-factory CR250 race bike, and he rode strong in his qualifier, running as high as third before finishing fourth. Unfortunately, a pile-up in the opening moments of moto one left Palmer with a missing fingernail and a bleeding wound, effectively ruining his day. Palmer is expected to race next week at Hangtown. Also contesting the 250cc class was 35·year .old John Dowd, who was aboard a bigbore KTM four-stroke after being dropped last year by Chevy Trucks Kawasaki and spending the Supercross season rehabilitating from knee surgery. "I was a little scared to stick my leg out sometimes: said the Moose·backed Dowd, whose effort was put together by AI Cordner. the same man behind Bradshaw's earlier Manchester Honda comeback. "I started riding about a month ago. This team is kind of nice, because we're out here pretty much on our own. I like it that way. It's real low-key, and there's a relaxed atmos phere. We're all here because we want to be. The time off this year kind of rejuvenated me. I love riding motorcycles, and I'm not ready to retire." . Dowd's Kawasaki teammate last year was Larry Ward. who also sat out the Supercross Series without a ride. Ward was back in action at Glen Helen on a MotoXXX/DGY/Atomic 22-backed YZ250F. and he put in an impressive fourth-place ride in moto one, only to crash in moto two and finish 30th for II th overall. "They just called me two weeks ago and asked if I'd be interested, and I said 'sure." Ward said after the event. "I was going to do the series on a Honda, and I've been racing some locals wanting to do well when I got here." Like Hughes, Scott Sheak spent last year racing in Europe, and he started off 200 1 doing just that on Honda's factory team . Unhappy with the disorganization of that squad , Sheak quit after a couple of GPs, and with assistance from the Racer X editors, lined up a National ride with Plano Honda. Sheak went 14-17 for 17th overall. "It feels really. really good to be back in the States," Sheak said. Two-time National Cham pion Steve Lamson rode about half of the 200 I Supercross Series on a 250cc Fast by Ferracci Husqvarna, but Glen Helen marked his 125cc debut for the season . Lamson went 29-10 for 16th overall. Also rnekinq returns at Glen Helen were Pro Circuit's Casey Lytle, Amsoil's Branden Jesseman, Suzuki's Danny Smith and Moto XXX's Michael Brandes. 10 MAV23,2001 • cue ' e n e 'IV S attack by Ryan Hughes , who was the rider with the responsibility of piloting Honda 's new CRF . Hughes was passed on lap five by the strong-riding pa ir of Ferry and Windham , and he came under the pressure of Mike LaRocco a couple of laps later . LaRocco got by on t h e ninth go around , but was faced with -e consid erable gap up to Windham . "I got a little pumped up in the middle," Hughes said. "Then I started de -pumping towards the end , but I was al ready kind of settled into a pace, so it was hard to charge. Nex t moto, I should be strong ." The fastest rid er on the tra c k was Carmichael, who was slicing through the pack with abandon and pass ing up to 13 riders a lap and posting lap t imes that were some times two-seconds faster than those of the leader, in an effort to rectify his early mistake. By lap seven , the new Supe rcross champ was up to e ighth place , where his progress slowed somewhat. Carmichael even tuall y caught h is Chevy Trucks Kawasak i teammate Stephane Ron cada in seventh, but just as he was preparing to make his pass on lap 10 , he went down aga in in the same spot as his lap-one error. He was up befor e be ing overtaken , but this effective ly ended his charge for the moto. "I lost my front end ," Carm ichael sa id . "It was still a little wet where they watered it." About this time , Ferry was putting in a late attack on Tortelli , and he forced his big Yamaha by early on the 11 th lap . He held off the Frenchman until just after taking the two-lap board at the end of that circuit, when he got out of shape and stalled in a comer - though he got back underway before Windham could take advantage. "My arms were really tight, and I didn't have the clutch in far enough ," Ferry said . "I hit a couple of kicker bumps , and it just stalled me. I got it going on the second or third kick. I was really nervous . I new Windham had been riding really good. " That made the top five at the white flag Tortelli , Ferry , Windham, La Roc co and Hughes , which is the way it stayed to the finis h. " I was ki n d o f t ight , " a d m it te d m oto-w inn er To rte lli. "It ' s th e fir s t ou td oor ra ce , but he was c om plete ly loos e. He was riding gr e at, a nd raci ng good lines. Actua lly I me sse d up with th e t wo - la p s ign. When I sa w the board , I tho ug ht it was the la st la p, and I kin d of s lowe d d own. I c am e back , and there was the wh ite flag. I wa s like , 'O h, one more lap!'" "I was trying not to get m y hopes up," Fe rry sa id . "I kind of tho ug ht that's whe re I should be at, but I want ed to stay level-headed a bout it. But once I got up there, some of those guys weren 't going as fast as me and Tortelli. That was fine with mel " MOToe It was Hughes taking the holes hot on h is strong-starting CR F450R t o begin the second race , with Carmichae l hard on his heels a nd extre me ly eager to get around. It appeared that he m ig ht be 100 eager, as he got his Kawasaki completely sideways la u n c h ing down t o werin g Mt. S t. Helen 's , bu t he saved it and still managed to put a pass on Hugh es. T he Ho nda rider imme dia te ly retal ia ted, forcing his way b a c k in front, p ro m pting .yet another sca rylooki ng downhill swap fro m Carmichael as he launched off Yamaha Mountain . He recovered once again , however, and was in front as the pack powered out of Bud's Creek toward the grandstand area . "I was try ing to get by Ryno," Carmichael sa id . "W ith that fourstroke , the guy was out-powering us . That 's why I wanted to get around him before we got to the tight stuff, so I could pull away . I had it under control for the most part. They watered it, so it was a little bit s lippery. That's why I got sideways." Having started fourth , Ferry was quick ly up to th ird , and he overtook Hughes for second going up Mt. St. Hele n's on lap two. Hughes briefly pulled over into th e mechanic area shortly thereafter. "I we nt to pull a tear-off on the first lap, and my goggles fe ll off," Hugh es said. "The gogg le strap fell out of m y goggles, and my goggles fe ll off m y face . I'm all , 'Wha t in the world?' I tried to go one lap after t hat, but I was getting roosted by my front tire ,

• Cover