Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Chevy Trucks 125cc U.S. Motocross Championship Series Round 9: Washougal M)R Flark BRIEFLY••• After getting through Saturday's practice session unscathed, Team Suzuki's Travis Pastrana hit the dirt in Sunday morning's second 125cc practice session. Luckily, Pastrana, who is still recovering from his third concussion of the year (suffered two weeks ago at Unadilla), did not bang his head in that fall. He did, however, land on his shoulder, leaving the defending champ in a lot of pain, According to Suzuki's team manager Roger DeCoster, Pastrana fell going into the whoop section and hurt the shoulder. "It's not broken, but he is feeling it." DeCoster said before the 125cc first mota. "We're going to give it a try." The injury pre· vented Pastrana from participating in the pre~race autograph ses- sion. Pastrana's problems didn't end there, either. The defending 125cc champ went down in the second tum of the first mota but was not injured in the fall, and he caught back up to finish eighth. In the second mota, Pastrana suffered another big crash while running near the front (below). He was slow to get to his feet and eventually got back on his bent motorcycle, but was unable to finish out the mota, Afterward, DeCoster said, "He was a little bit shaken from the crash. It was a really hard crash, but I don't think there was anything in particular that he really [hurtl. He did not dislocate his shoulder or hit his head really hard or anything like that. I think overall. it was just a big, big crash. Luckily, we have some time to recoup now. There's two weekends off, and I hope Travis will use it to be able to recuperate. Hopefully we still have a chance to catch back up. " was okay a couple of laps in the first mota today, but the pain was too strong and I had to slow down." Tortell; chose not to ride the second mota. "The only thing to do was stop and watch the race, take the three weeks off and come back strong." As far as his concussion, Tortelli felt that he was okay to race. "My head was fine, but I was not very aggressive out there, because of the crash last week. I was not in good shape. I did not knock myself out again, and that's a good thing," Speaking of the crash last week, Tortelli showed off the helmet he was wearing at Troy, Obviously, Tortelli crashed face-first, as the face-piece of his helmet was cracked on both sides, and the front portion of the helmet's inner foam was dented. No wonder Tortelli Ryan Hughes' CRF450R Honda was at Washougal but Hughes was not. Hughes joined the concussion club when he crashed very hard while practicing at Glen Helen Raceway in California on Thursday. According to his mechanic, Ron Wood, Hughes was lucky to walk away from the crash. "Over a long table· top, the back end kicked up and went over," Woods said. "It was bad." Hughes also suffered shoulder and leg injuries, as well as a number of cuts, scrapes and bruises. "He really doesn't remember what happened, By the time I got to him, he was just coming to. We thought it would be best to skip this race and take it easy. Plus, we have two weeks off after this, so he'll have three weeks to rest. " Japan was well represented at Washougal. At least eight .Japanese riders traveled to Washington to compete at Washougal. The AII·Japan National MX Series is currently taking a month-long break in its season, now that it's mon· soon season in the Far East. visor. Speaking of Ricky Carmichael, his mystery stomach ailment appeared to be a better at Washougal. "It's feeling good," Carmichael said after Sunday's practice. ''I'm taking some new medicine, and we'll see how it goes. I took it for the first time this week, just to make sure it was going to be okay." Carmichael says that the stomach problem is related to a virus. After going 22 in the matos, Carmichael said, "One thing that I am happy about, is that I didn't get any stomach cramps today, so we've gotten it taken care of. " Team Suzuki's Danny Smith will sit out the remainder of the year. The 125cc rider has been bothered by a broken wrist (navicular) for much of the year, and when he landed hard off a jump at Unadilla two weeks ago and re·injured it. Smith decided to call it a season, According to Suzuki's Roger DeCoster, Smith will return to Team Suzuki for the 2002 season. Kyle Lewis was another rider who got nicked up in practice. The Mota XXX/DGY/ Atomic 22 team rider was rounding a turn when he caught a tire corner marker with his "pinky" finger on his right hand. "It was a knobby tire, and it peeled my finger back," Lewis said. "it hurts really bad. I don't think it's broken, but I know I damaged a ligament. We'll see how it goes today. The worst part is just getting my glove on." Lewis ended up riding well at Washougal. He broke the top-10 overall in the 250cc class, going 11-11 for 10th overall. Team Honda's Sebastien T ortelli was still feeling the affects of a concussion he suffered the week before at Troy, Ohio. Tortelli, who was sporting a black eye and a bruise on his fore· head, felt good enough to race, but a small get-off in Saturday's practice didn't help the former World champ any. According to his tuner Shane Drew, "He slid out and hurt his shoulder a little bit. It mainly hurts him in the whoops." On Sunday, Tortelli said, "I think coming here was good, [butl I crashed on the first lap of practice yesterday on an off·camber. My chest protector pinched my shoulder on the back, kind of dug into my muscle a little deep. I 30 AUGUST 8.2001 • cue I e n e _ Many long-time Washougal attendees said that this year's crowd was the biggest ever, Depending on who you talked to, crowd attendance was guessed to be between 21,000 and 25,000. The latter number seemed to be about right. doesn't remember the crash. Larry Ward said that he's pretty much all healed from his get-off at Unadilla. Ward banged up his arm and elbow when he tangled with another rider at Unadilla. Speaking of Ward, he recently earned his private pilot's license and will be flying up the Canadian coast when the series takes a two-week break after Washougal. Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Ricky Carmichael also took a nasty header in the second 250cc practice session. "I was going into the bowl turn at the top of the hill and hit some braking bumps," a slightly shaken Carmichael said, "The back end kicked up and went over. It was pretty good. I cut my lip and broke my [helmetJ Hometown hero .Jason McCormick was back in action at Washougal after missing most of the series with an injury. McCormick, who lives just minutes from the track and won a 125cc mota there in 1999, won his morning qualifier, but had a harder time in the motos. The Pro Caliber/Pro Grip·sponsored rider went 25-16 for 19th overall. but was a crowd favorite all day. AMA National Hare and Hound Champion Destry Abbott came to Washougal and was once again hoping to qualify for his first AMA National. Unfortunately, the off-road racer, who won a World Off·Road Championship Series (WORCS) round here a month ago, failed to make Sunday's cut. Former National Motocross and Supercross Champion .Jeff Emig raced at Washougal· no, not the National, but during Friday's Amateur program. Emig competed in the 25+ AlB, 30+ A and 250cc A classes, and he won them all, of course. It was his first race since September 29, 1999. "It was fun to be on the track again," Emig said while being interviewed by announcer Erv Braun durin9 Sunday's Nationals. "There were a lot of emotions for me. I felt like I was leading one of these Pro motos. But I know I couldn't run with these guys, no way," Emi9 says that he's "per· manently" retired and won't try to keep his National-number three. "I can still wear the number three anytime anyway." In his prime, Emig won the Washougal National four times. Branden .Jesseman appears to be the hot rider in demand right now. Word in the Washougal pits is that the current Amsoil/Dr. Martens/Journeys/Competition Accessories team rider is entertaining offers from his current team. as well as an offer from the MotoworidRacing.com team, which will be using Suzuki motorcycles next year. Silverton, Oregon's Ryan Terlecki rode a Factory·backed Husaberg 550 at Washougal. With the help and guidance of team manager Chuck Sun, Terlecki rode to 18·18 mota finishes for 18th overall. He has been riding the four-stroke Nationals for most of the summer, and Washougal was the only National event that he will compete in for the year. Once again, The U.S. Tobacco Company awarded the top privateers their awards at Washougal. Mota XXX's Larry Ward and White Brothers Yamaha-supported Doug Dubach were the top privateers in the 125cc class, as Ward finished 12·2 for fifth over· all and $1000. Dubach made his annual ride at Washougal worthwhile, as he went 7·12 for 10th overall and $500. In the 250cc class, it was Thousand Oaks/Pete's RV-backed Robbie Reynard and Cernics,com/PCWoridwidde,com KTM's John Dowd who earned top privateer honors. Reynard went 8-8 for eighth overall and $1000, while Dowd rode to a 9-9, ninth·overall score and $500. s Injuries have been taking a toll on many riders this year besides just Travis Pastrana. Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/SplitFire's Bobby Bonds was a no·show at Washougal after he injured his elbow at Troy a week earlier. Team Suzuki had a particularly rough outing at Washougal. as riders Pastrana, Akira Narita and Ben Riddle were all injured throughout the day. Pastrana was diagnosed with an injured lower leg, Narita broke a collarbone, and Riddle possi· bly broke an ankle. Danny Smith was already out with a navicular injury, and the team's pit area may be quite sparse at Millville in three weeks. . Sunday morning qualifiers saw Team Suzuki's Rodrig Thain and Mota XXX's Michael Brandes each take heat race wins in the 125cc class, while Team Honda's Ezra Lusk and Pro Caliber's Jason McCormick did so in the 250cc class. MotoworidRacing.com's Greg Schnell and Yamaha privateer Tim Beatty won the 125 and 250cc consolation races, respectively. Tim Ferry (below) put his big Yamaha VZ426F to good use at the hilly Washougal track. In both 250cc practice sessions Sunday morning, Ferry clicked off the quickest lap times. In the first session, Ferry's best time was 2:35.516, followed by Kevin Windham at 2:36.466, and Ricky Carmichael at 2:37,596. In the second practice session, Ferry stopped the clock at 2:33.061. fol· lowed by Carmichael at 2:35.350 and Windham, at 2:35.746.

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