Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128111
La Playa Beach Race Series Round 1: Cantamar Sand Dunes ,) (Left! Bob Arens "surfs" through a right-hander en route to the FourStroke Open Pro win at round one of the La Playa Beach Race Series. to Antillion. The first to fall victim to the deep second-moto whoops was Casas, while Truchinski avoided him to move into fifth. Then Goettling fell in a right-hander. The running order at the completion of lap one was Gross, Antillion, Beerweiler, Truchinski and Goettling. Beerweiler then moved around Gross for the lead, with Antillion, Truchinski and Casas in tow. In the back, Casas and Gilliam were rapidly moving through the pack. Antillion went down and handed the 125cc- By RICH TRUCHINSKI PHOTOS BY SHAUN ROBLEE AND RICH TRUCHINSKI ROSARITO BEACH, BC, MEXICO, MAY 20 ound one of the Too Much Fun Promotions La Playa Beach Race Series at the Cantamar Sand Dunes proved to be as exciting as ever, with Ex/Pro class wins going to Brent Gilliam in the 125cc class and Sven Beerweiler in the 250cc class. In the first combined-class moto, 250cc rider Pasha Afshar grabbed the holeshot, only to be passed in the next straight by longtime 250cc favorite Billy McClintock. Eric Casas, riding in the 125cc class, was blinded by Nshar's roost and fell, taking Don Goettling and a pack of others with him. As the rest of the pack made their way around the fallen riders, Goettling, Casas and the others got up and away pretty quickly, followed by Rich Truchinski in dead last. Meanwhile, up front, there was a race going on for the overall moto win between McClintock and Gilliam. After getting accustomed to the hand-on-helmet start method, German-born Beerweiler had gone around the mayhem in the first corner and came out in fifth place. He steadily worked his way up to the front-runners, McClintock and Gilliam. McClintock was feeling the pressure, and on the third lap he bobbled and went down in the tight lower section. Gilliam assumed the lead, with Beerweiler, who had previously moved to third, now following in second. Beerweiler was up to speed by this time, and he made short work of 125cc pilot Gilliam. R (Above) Brent Gilliam went 1-1 for the 125cc Expert/Pro overall at the CantamBr Sand Dunes In Rosarito Beach, Baja Callfomla, Mexico. (Right) Rich Truchlnskl finished second In the 250cc ExpertlPro clan. By this time, Casas had worked his way through the pack to secure third place in the 125s, behind first-time Cantamar rider David Antillion, who had taken a couple of brief sand naps. Truchinski had worked his way up to third 250cc, behind McClintock, for a photo finish, followed by Goettling and Gross a few seconds back. The first moto's overall finishing order was Beerweiler, Gilliam and McClintock. The second moto proved to be a test of survival. Antillion was out front, but he was soon passed by Goettling, Beerweiler and Gross. Gilliam went down in the first turn after almost getting the holeshot, next class lead to Casas. Up front, Beerweiler had made a pass for the lead on 250cc rider Gross. Truchinski also moved past Gross after consuming a large portion of sand from Gross' rear tire. Then, on the second-to-Iast lap, Truchinski caught Beerweiler and put a move on him with the help of a lapped rider. On the final lap, Beerweiler pulled out all the stops, using some of his Glamis experience to smoke by Truchinski on a choppy downhill section, and he never looked back as he took the checkered flag. McClintock had gone down early in the moto, helping Goettling move into third. The final 250cc finishing order was Beerweiler, Truchinski and Goettling, who had also passed Gross. Beerweiler was asked if he would be back. "It was fun, the weather is beautiful, everybody had fun, it was safe," he replied. "Yeah, I want to come back here, I love itl" The last lap was a killer for Antillion in the 125cc class. Casas had gone down, handing the lead back to Antillion. Casas and Gilliam were now in a heated battle for the second spot. Casas followed Antillion into the last corner, but then disaster struck for Antillion and he went down. Casas slowed to avoid the fallen Antillion, and Gilliam swooped around both of them on the outside. With the checkered flag in sight Gilliam, soared over the finish-line jump to take the win, with Casas a close second. Antillion finally managed to dislodge his foot from the rear paddle tire of his bike and he crossed the finish line as the third 125cc rider. "I'd like to thank all of my sponsors - Pasha Afshar, Answer, Factory Effects and Tru Tec," Gilliam said after the race. "It was a great ride." In the Four-Stroke class, Matt Healey stayed out of trouble and came away with an easy victory over Bob Arens in both motos. CN CutaJur SalIId IIanes IlouritD 1IeacII. "I- Califsl'llia, Muice Results: May za, Zaal IR....d 11 125 NOV: 1. Jose Navar (Suz). 125 EX/PRO: I. Brent Gilliam (Yam); 2. Eric Ca.a. (Hon); 3. David Antillion (Yam). 250 NOV: 1. Carlo. Rio. (Kaw): 2. Carlos Casas (Kaw); 3. Abel Roses (Vern): 4. Craig Atchison (Hon). 250 EX/PRO: 1. Sven Beerweiler (Yam): 2. Rich Truchinski (Suz); 3. Don Goettling (Suz): 4. Billy McClintock (Hon): 5. Larry Gros. (Yam). 4-STRK OPEN EX: 1. Matt Healey (Yam). 4·STRK OPEN PRO: I. Bob Arens (Yam). cycle n ... _ S • JULv4,2oo1 47