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white-flag lap; he hooked up and got airborne, and that was aII Larsen needed to drive under him and take the lead. Faria went right with him, and Hicks went from first to third in a heartbeat. Larsen was in complete control, and the Fair Derby championship was his. Faria was second, with Schwartz third. Hicks and Manchester rounded out the field. The Handicap main had Mark Adams and Kit Nay on the 20yard line. Castro had the 30 all to himself. The 40 was a bit more crowded with Randy "The Rocket" DiFrancesco, Ermolenko and Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell. Schwartz and Hicks shared the 50. Nay got the jump on Adams and took the lead and hoped he Costa Mesa Speedway: Josh Larsen won the had put enough daylight between bronzed cowboy hat that is the perpetual trophy for him and the guys bearing down winning the Fair Derby in Costa Mesa, California. on him. DiFrancesco got there first, but Nay held his own and DiFrancesco just couldn't move follow him to the main. Dukie him off his line. McConnell and Hicks Ermolenko and "Fast" Ed Castro were running three and four and using moved to the LCQ. every line they could find, but the race Faria drew the pole for the LCQ, belonged to Nay; it was a great win for with Estes in two and Ermolenko and the young man who makes the trip Castro in three and four. Only one down from Paso Robles every Saturday would move to the Fair Derby main. night. DiFrancesco was second, folOn the first try, Estes got into the lowed by McConnell, Hicks, Schwartz, tapes and was sent to the 20-yard line. Ermolenko, Castro and Adams. They lined up again. Faria outgat· The Denim Doctor Challenge fea· ed the field and was gone. He has tured Hicks, Larsen, McConnell, won the Fair Derby more than once, Ermolenko and Manchester. It came and he wanted it back. Nobody even down to Larsen and Hicks, with the got close, and the final rider in the nod going to Larsen. Fair Derby would be Faria. They walked the bikes to the line David Lynch gave a very good and drew for position in the main. account of himself as he led the SupHicks drew the pole, with Faria right port main from start to finish. Sean next to him . Larsen was in three McDougal and Gerry Duttwieler were considered by many to be the worst second and third. CN gate. Schwartz was in four and ManCasta Me.. Speedway chester was in five. Casta Me.., California The gate came up, and Hicks got Results: July 14, ZOOI out first, with Larsen right behind SCR MAIN: 1. Josh Larsen (Jaw); 2. Mike Faria (Jaw); 3. Bobby Schwartz (Jaw); 4. Gary Hicks him. Hicks was running hard and (Jaw); 5. Chris Manchester (Jaw). HDCP: 1. Kit NlIY (Jaw): 2. Randy DiFrancesco seemed to have things welJ in hand, (Jaw); 3. Shllwn McConnell (GM): 4. Gary Hicks but the fickle finger of Fate that has (Jaw); 5. Bobby Schwartz (Jaw). SUP: 1. David Lynch (Jaw): 2. Sean McDougal plagued Hicks all season reared its (Jaw); 3. Gerry Duttwieler (Jaw); 4. Bently Berrett ugly head as he hit turn four on the (Jaw); 5. Bobby Krips (Jaw). three racers quickly pulled away from the 30·rider pack. Kawasaki rider Sean Kilkenny moved into fourth, and Kawasaki jockey Chris Carr worked his way forward from 10th off the start. The young racers gave it 100 percent. At the finish, it was Hunt, followed by Gallo, Sanderson, Kilkenny and Carr. In moto two, the roles were reversed. Gallo sprang from the line first to take the advantage, with Hunt in tow. Sanderson was again in third. KTM rider Jeff Farris and Kawasakimounted Robbie Risdon· both of whom placed outside the top lOin moto one· parlayed good starts into good finishes: fourth and fifth, respectively. Hunt pressed the leader but Gallo held on for the win and the overall. The 60cc championship was his. In the first Junior Mini race, Hunt and Gallo were again out front, side by side as they swept through the first turn. Hunt, on a Kawasaki, took the lead, with Suzuki-mounted Gallo applying pressure in every turn. Yamaha rider Dustin Woolf ran third, followed by Sanderson. Yamaha pilot Hunter Shryock was fifth. Woolf took a tumble over the bars at halfway, effectively ending his day. Then Gallo went down in the back section. Sanderson was now in second and pushing hard to catch the leader, but Hunt took the checkers by a few bike lengths over Sanderson. Gallo was third, followed by Shryock and Ryan Boyer. Shryock couldn't have timed the gate any better in moto two. He was a full 10 bike lengths ahead as the pack rounded the first turn. As a huge battle raged behind him, Shryock sur· prised everyone by checking out. In his wake were Hunt and Gallo, again going toe to toe. On the second lap, Gallo crashed his way back to sixth but got up, tossed away his goggles and charged his way back to a determined Sanderson, in third. Shryock took the win, followed by Hunt. The fight for third came down to the wire, with Sanderson and Gallo nearly side by side as they rounded the final corner. Neither let off the throttle. Sanderson swept out a little too wide and collided with a course marker an upright tire near the finish-line flagger - and Sanderson, his KTM, and the tire crashed over the finish line. He was unhurt and credited with third, while Gallo took fourth and Boyer got fifth. Hunt won the Junior Mini Class championship. In Senior Minibike action, Warren Laney III easily won both motos on his Yamaha. Joe Rice, on a Honda, got the holeshot in both motos and eventually finished 2-2. Yamaha rider Sam Isabel (3-3) placed third overall. Laney also won both Supermini motos. There was a lot of talent on the line in the Heavyweight Pro class. Mickey Marshall, a 16-year-old local hero, was a surprise last-minute entry. He borrowed a YZ426F and, with no practice on the track or the bike, arrived at the starting line just before the gate dropped. Honda rider Chris Miller nailed the start but was soon passed by KTM 250 rider Vince Karnow. GNCC rider Jimmy Jarrett, coming off an injury, fought with Bo Bowman over third. Marshall had a bad start and was working his way up OIIio State Minibike Championship OIIio International Raceway Hunt, Gallo Bottle Up State Titles first 60cc moto. The Kawasaki rider hit the gas and didn't look back. It's a good thing too, because KTM rider Tony Gallo was his shadow. The two stayed very close; GalJo wasn't letting up at all. BY ROB PETRAS RAVENNA, OH, JULY B hio International Raceway hosted the Ohio State Mini Bike Championship, and, despite rain the night before, a perfect track awaited the 348 riders in attendance. Ronnie Hunt Jr. jumped out to the lead after the gate dropped for the O 50 AUGUST 15, 2001 • 0: U 0: • Just behind the battling duo was Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania's Tyler Sanderson, riding a KTM. The top n __ • _ Ohio International RIIc:ewIIy: At the start of the second 60cc mota, Tony Gallo (20) grabs the holeshot ahead of Ronnie Hunt Jr. (90), Tyler Sanderson (55), Chris Carr (38), Sean Kilkenny (592) and the rest of the pack at the Ohio State Minibike Championship in Ravenna.