Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

I was on the podiu m al mos t every race. " " O n d a y s like today , you really r ealize how im p o rt a n t it is to be con sistent: Windham said , " O f c o urse I didn 't do as well a s I wanted to do. I r e a lly thought I had the overall , there. I want to st art gett i n g s ome moto For the third week in a row, B R I EF L Y••• Believe it or not , High Point was the fi rst non"C a l if o r n ia lo ss all year for Ricky Carmichael. The other ones came at the first and second Anaheim Supercrosses. and at the Glen Helen (San Bernardino) and Hangtown (Sacrament o) Nationa ls. After failing to win the first two Nationals of the year , Carmichael showe d up at Mt. Morris in the orange Fox apparel that he used for most of his 2000 M X and 2001 SX win streaks . The good-luck color didn't work out for him here, so we' ll see what he wears in two week s at Southwick. W hile each of the 125cc winners so far this year has been easy to det ermine (thanks to 1-1 mota finishes), the 250cc class has had announcers. team managers and journalists practicing their mid·race math . Tim Ferry's G len Helen win came via a 2-2 tally , Sebastien Tortelli we nt 3·1 to win Hangt own and David Vuillemin eamed the High Point victory with a '·4 score . As yo u may have noticed, there have also been three different winners thus far, a facl that has resulted in the top four riders in the points standings being within 12 points of each othe r. The A BC crew was on hand at High Point coveri ng the race for broadcast on Ju ne 3 , and the cable camera alone is good enough reason to tune in. The remote -control -operated camera traveled back and forth across the entire tr ack on a high·tension cable, resulting in some truly Incredible overhead angles . Perhaps the most impressive shot was when the camera followed riders as they popped into and out of view through the spectato r-lined top rhythm section. w ins . I' ve g o t a li t tl e b it of imp rove - Ricky Cannichael crashed in the fi rst moto and won the second moto. He's now fourth in points, bu t on ly 18 po ints be hind t he le a de r Tortelli . ment [to d o], but I'm rig ht whe re I n eed to b e . W it h t he leve l o f c o m p et i t i o n tha t's o ut t h e re , you can 't afford eN to be getting fi ft hs ." 10 . Robbie Reynard (Vam) ; 11. .Jeen-Sebastlen Roy (Hon); 12, John Dowd (KTM); 13, Kyle Lewis (Yam); 14 . Da mten Plotts (Hus}; 15 . Trav is Preston (Hus); 16 . Robbie Skaggs (Suz); 17 . Jason Thomas (Hus); 18. Jeffrey Saker (Yam ); 19. Brian Stone (Kaw); 20 . James Pcvcl ny (Hon) ; 2 1. Ty Walla ce (Yam) ; 22. Steve Andrich (Hon); 2 3 . Aaron Dieter (Yam ); 24 . Ryan Clar k (Yam ) ; 25 . Jeremiah Israel (Hon): 26 . Zeb Ann strong (Yam); 27 . Bruce Stratton ( Suz); 28 . Scott Car ter (Suz ) ; 29 . Donald Sa ker ( Hon); 30 . Dustin Nelson (Yam) : 31. Vincent Kamow (KTM) ; 32 . Dennis Stap leton (Hon) ; 33 . Michael Kenn (Yam ): 34 . Clint Johnson (Yam ); 35. Joshua Sterritt (Yam) ; 36 . Jason McDonald (Suz); 37. Kevin Crine (Hon); 38 . Jimmy Wilson (Yam); 39 . Paul Carpenter (KTM); 40. Clark Stiies (KTM). Time : 35 rnin .. 8.000 sees. 250 O /A : t . David Vuillemin (Yam) ; 2. Kevin Windham (Suz): 3 . Sebastien Tortelll (Han); 4 . Tim Ferry (Yam ); 5. Ricky Carmichael (Kaw) ; 6 . Ryan Hughes (Han); 7. Mike laRocco (Han); 8. Step hene Roncada (Kaw); 9. Robbie Reynard (Yam); to. John Dowd (KTM); 11. Ezra Lusk {Hen}: 12. Kyle Lewis HighPointRaceway Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania Results: May 27. 2001 ( Yam ); 13. Jean-Sebastien Roy (Hon); 14. Tr avis Preston (Hus); 15 . Dami en Plotts (Hus); 16. Paul Carpenter ( KTM); 17. Ja son Th om as ( Hus) ; t 8 . Rob Skaggs (SU 19, Jellrey Baker (Yam); 20. bie l); 25 0 MOTO 1 ( 16 lap s) : 1. Dav id Vuillemin (Yam ); 2. Tim Ferry ( Yam ): 3. Kevin Windham (Suz) ; 4 . Sebastien Tortelli (Han): 5. Mike laRocco (Han) : 6. Ryan Hughes (Han): 7. Stephane Roncada (Kew): 8, John Dowd (KTM); 9. Robbie Reynard (Yam): 10, Paul Carpenter (KTM ); 11. Kyle Lewis (Yam) : 12. Travis Preston (Hus); 13. Ricky Carmichael (K ew) : 14. Ezra Lusk (Hon); 15. Damien Plotts (Hus); t 6 . .Jeen-Se bast len Roy (Han); 17. Jason Thomas (Hus); 18. Kevin Cnne (Han) ; 19 . Robbie Skaggs (Suz); 20 . Aaron Diete r (Yam) : 21 . Clark Stile s (KTM ); 22 . Dustin Nelson (Yam) : 23 . Zeb Armstrong (Yam) ; 24. Jeffrey Baker (Yam) : 25. Brian Stone (Kaw); 26 . Ty Walla ce ( Yam ); 27 . Jam es Povolny ( Hon); 28 . Jimmy Wilson (Yam); 29 . Steve Andrich (Han); 30. Ryan Clark ( Yam) ; 31. Jerem ias Israel (Han) ; 32 . Scott Carter (Suz); 33 . Donald Baker (Hon) ; 3 4 . Dennis Stapleton (Han); 35 . Jason McDonald (Suz); 36. Joshua Sterritt (Yam) ; 37. Clint Johnson (Yam) ; 38 . Michael Kann (Yam): 39 . Vincent Kamow (KTM); 40 . Bruce Stratton (Suz), TIme: 36 min., 12.930 sees. 250 MOTO 2 (1 6 laps ) : 1. Ricky Ca rmichael (Kaw); 2. Kevin Windham (Suz); 3. Sebastien Tortelli ( Hon); 4 . Da vid Vuill emi n ( Yam ) ; 5 . Ti m F err y ( Yam) ; 6. Ryan Hughes (Hon): 7. Ezra Lusk (Han): 8 . Stephane Roncade (Kaw); 9 . Mike LaRocco (Hon) ; St ephane Roncada is finding life in the 250cc class much different than the 125cc ranks, which he and Travis Pastrana dorninated last year, Though he' s pleased with his riding , he's getting impatienl waiting for top-five results. " I'm kind of bummed," he said. " I mean, I had a great race - I charged the whole race , and I felt great . I wasn't too much off the pace , but then I come in and· eighth place! I was like, 'Damn!' In the 125s, 10 try that hard, I'd have at least a 3D-second lead. Here , I'm stuck In eighth place. You need the experience of the 250 , but I'm getting better on the bike , and I didn't come clos e to getting tired . It' s coming, but I get a good start , I ride my butt off - and eighth place !" Ry an Hu ghes is also adj usti ng, t ho ugh hi s learn ing c urve revolves around Honda' s big CRF4 50R four-stroke . "To me. the bad thing is, every time I come to a new condition. it's new, so I'm trying to learn how to ride it," Hughes said afte r mo ta one , " Instead of it being a two -stro ke . which I already know ." Sti ll. Hughes does feel that he's making progress. and his comments were much more positive after moto two. John Dowd was riding with a new teammate on his PC World w id e.com /Cernic s.com KTM squad . Itha ca, New York's Paul Carpe nter was domq battle on a big 520 SX thumper , and he turned in a strong 10th-place finish in mota one. just two spots behind veteran Dowd. Unfortunately, Carpente r threw a chain in the seco nd outing, while Dowd finished 12th . PC Worldwide is a computer upgrading company. Team Honda's Ezra Lusk took off the week betwee n Hangtown and High Point to recover from a sickness that he initially thought may have been mono , and he turned In a crash -induced , l l thplace first mota (he bounced back with a seventh in mota two) . Lusk has also been suffering from sore ribs. though he says they now only hurt when he sneezes. Davey Co ombs always wear s a lot of hats. but he was even busier than normal at High Point. No l only was he wo rking as the edit or In chief for Rac e r X Illustrated and a commentato r, but his family runs the prornot ing Ra cer Productions. To make matt er s wor se , Coom bs thre w o ut his hi p kickstarting his bike during Sat urday's amateur racing (in which he also cornpetedl). so he had to perform his myriad Sunday duties in pain. G NCC c ha mp Sh an e W atts showe d up at High Point and once again qualified for the main 125cc program after leading much of his quali fie r in th e mu d . In the first moto, W atts even ran for a while in Ihe top 10 before taking 15th, good Kevin Crine (Han); 2 1. Brian Stone (Kaw); 22. James Povolny (Hon); 23 . Aaron Dieter (Yam ). AMA CHEVY TRUCKS 250« NATIONAL C'SHIP MOT OCROSS SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 12 rounds): L Sebastien Tortelli ( 124/1 win); 2. Kevin Windham ( 118 ); 3. Tim Ferry ( 116/1 win); -L Ricky Carmichael ( 112); 5. Mike laRocco (102 ): 6. David Vuillemin (93/1 win); 7. Ryan Hughes (77 ); 8 Stephane Roneada (5B); 9. John Dowd (55); 10. Ezra Lusk (5 8 ) ; 11. Kyle Lewis (56) ; 12. Robbie Reynard (53 ) ; 13. T ravis Preston (43 ); 14. Ja son Thomas (39); 15. Anthony Amaradlo (24); 15, (TIE) Damien Plotts /Spud Walters ( 19 ); 18. Ted Campbell ( 17): 19. (TIE) .Jean -Sebes tle n Roy/ Dustin Nelson (15); 21. Paul Carpenter (11); 22. Ryan Clark (10); 23. Robbie Skaggs (9): 24. Scott Carter (8); 25, (TIE) Marco Dube/Tommy Hofmeister (4); 27. (TIE) Kev in Cri ne / A aron D ieter/Jeff rey Bak e r/ Zeb A rms trong / Bruce St ratt on ( 3) : 33 . (TI E) Brian Stone/J eremiah Israel/Chris Sprenkel (2); 36 . (TIE ) James Povoln y/Ty Kady (I). Upco ming Round s: Round 4 - Southwick, Massachusetts, June 10 Round 5 - Budd s Creek . Maryland. Jun e 17 enough to eam him six precious National points. Not bad for an off-rea der! By the way , Watts ' girlfriend Mandy Creek mur also proved quite versatile at M t. M orris. serving as an impromptu trophy girl durinq the podium presentation. Team Fast by Ferracci/ Husqvarna was somewhat depleted at Ml. M orris, as S te ve La m son sat out the race nursing a broken rib he incurred in a pi le -up at Hang town , and Bryan M cGa vran missed the race with an injured wrist ligament. also incurred at Hangtown. Both riders are scheduled to relu rn at Southwick. Just in case you don't think the riders, mechanics and other personnel who follow the N ational M X circuit are earning their money. consider the fact that the one-weeke nd break between M t. M orris and the next round at Southwick represents just the second weekend off since the season started in Anaheim in early January. The schedule has been unusually cruel lately, with races on Mot her' s Day (Glen Helen) and Memorial Day Weekend (High Point). Blackfoot Honda rider Jean·Sebastian Roy showed up at M t. Morris on Saturday in a Toyota pickup truck. Roy will be riding the Canadian Nat ionals for the Canadian Honda team, but they have one more week before that se ries starts and the team did not bring the semi to High Point. Roy went 16·1 1 for 13th overall in the 250cc class. Because of the muddy conditions on Sunday morning, a number of b igge r nam e ri de rs fai l e d to quali f y Mot oworidRacing.com' s Keit h Johnson and Greg Schnell, F&S Su zuki' s Danny Carl son and Charlie Du naway, and Su zuki 's C hase Reed were just some of the 125cc rider s that failed to make the cut. Speaking of qu a lifiers , Mota XXX's Michael Brandes and Yamaha of Troy' s Justin Buckelew wer e the winners of the 12 5cc.: heats . while Honda' s Ezra Lusk and Husqvama' s Damien PI O ll ~ were the winner s of the 250c c heats . KTM 's David Pingree and Nich ol son Yama ha' s Jim my Wil son were t he w inners of the 125cc and 250 cc consolation races. respectively. Fast by Ferracci/ HusqvarnalTroy Lee/DKN Y's Steve La ms on was missing at High Point after breaking a rib in his lower back last week at Hangtow n in the nasty second-turn crash . Team ow ner/ manager Eraldo Ferracci said that Lamson should be back for So uthwick. Smith Sport Opt ics rider representative Dale Spa ngle r atten d ed his last race as the rep for Smith goggles and glasses. Ve ry we ll-known in the industry , Spangler says Ihat he Is tired of all the traveling and leaves Smith on very good terms. He also says that he may just do nothing for a while and go riding himself. " It' s time for me to enjoy it ," Spangler said, "I've been traveling for racing and fo r Smith for the last 15 years and I just need to back off .Brian Berry will take over Spanglers ' position at Smith as their new rider rep at Southwick. cue I e n e vv s JUNE 6 . 2001 11

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