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Parts Unlimited Off-Road Championship Series Round 3: Moonshine 100 ta STORV AND PHOTOS BY STEVE BERKNER KAHOKA, MO, JULY 8 fter finishing third and second overall during the first two rounds of the Parts Unlimited Off-Road Championship Series this year, Gas Gas pilot Joey Ambrosini made the third time a charm by winning the DP Brakes Moonshine 100. Ambrosini finished the five-lap event with a time of two hours, 15 minutes and 42 seconds, 89 seconds ahead of Gas Gas rider Matt Stavish. Hard-charging Kawasaki jockey Jeff Fredette finished just seven seconds behind Stavish for third overall. Rounding out the top five were Yamaha-mounted Lonnie Ross and KTM rider Ryan Moss, who finished with times of two hours and 21 minutes and two hours and 22 minutes, respectively. Ambrosini now leads the series by nine points over Fredette. After the first two rounds, the two Illinois riders were tied for the series points lead with 36 apiece. "It really feels good to finally put it all together for this win," Ambrosini said. "We struggled a little bit with suspension settings again, but we fmally got it right. It's a great thrill to win today!" Fredette, Ambrosini and Stavish got off to a midpack start. Fredette entered the first woods section in third, with Ambrosini and Stavish in tow. The threesome freight-trained a few seconds behind leaders Jack Lane and Moss over the next two miles of the 10-mile course before Lane and Moss missed a corner, letting Fredette, Ambrosini and Stavish take the lead. "Jack and I just overshot the corner," Moss said. "[Fredette, Ambrosini and Stavish] saw us stop and turn around, and they just went by." A Ambrosini and Stavish both overtook Fredette before entering the motocross section of the Midwest Moto Sports MX track, which hosted the event. Ambrosini and Stavish blazed ahead, running wheel to wheel for the rest of the first lap, while Fredette trailed nearly 20 seconds back as they came through the barrels for the first time. Officially, Ambrosini netted a 28-minute lap, with Stavish following four seconds behind. Le~s than one minute separated the next seven riders, who all completed the first lap in just under 30 minutes. "I had the lead for a while, but [Stavish] got by," Ambrosini said. "We've been trying some new [suspension) valving and haven't quite gotten it right. I hung with him for the next lap but then stopped [at the end of the second lap] to make some clicker adjustments. By then, Matt was gone. I couldn't even see his dust." At that point, Stavish had built up a 40-second lead over Ambrosini and a one-minute lead over Fredette. "[Just after the start of the second lap] there was no sign of Joey [Ambrosini] anywhere," Stavish said. "I looked back a couple of times and he was nowhere to be seen." Stavish held on to first place, finishing the second lap with a 25-second lead over Ambrosini. "All of a sudden, my brakes started to fade and then Joey was on my tail," Stavish said. Stavish continued to deal with brake problems for another lap, while Ambrosini got by. "Once Joey got by me, he just started to pull away from me," said Stavish, who is the Midwest dealer representative for Gas Gas North America. "Eventually my brakes came back, but by then he was nowhere in sight. I'm a little bummed about finishing second, especially after taking the lead - but I'm also glad Joey won on a Gas Gas." "I underpaced myself a little," Fredette said. "I lost track of what lap we were on and didn't start my charge until the last lap. The heat definitely was a factor, but there were plenty of open areas to cruise and cool down." Extremely dusty and hard-packed trails made for tricky riding conditions, with caution being the rule rather than the exception. "I knew we were in trouble right from the start as I passed more than my share of riders who had gone down in the first few corners," Fredette said. "I just eased her down a bit and took my time." "I had my share of problems today," Lonnie Ross said. "I borrowed a bike and had to put up with a bad tire. I crashed right away when the front [tire] wouldn't hook up in the corners. It didn't get any better from there. It seemed like I was picking myself up all day." "The heat and dust were a big factor for me," Moss said. "I haven't been riding much, and I could definitely tell it. It also didn't help when I lost the cap off my camelback and .went without water for the last two laps. With the dust, that just made for a long day." CN Stavish also commented on the Missouri heat - temperatures soared well into the 90s even before the scheduled start of the five-lap race at 10 o'clock. "It was real easy to get dehydrated here," he said. "I probably rode a little too conservative, but it was a fun course. They did a real good job with the course layout here." Midwest MatII Sports MX Kahaka, Miuouri llaults: July 8, 2001 [Round 3 of 6J 01 A: 1. Joey Ambrosini (G·O); 2. Matt Stavish (G·G); 3. Jeff Fredetle (Kaw); 4. Lonnie Ross (Vam); 5. Ryan Moss (KTM); 6. David Stickel (KTM); 7. Quentin Blomberg (Hon); 6. Jack Lone (Suz); 9. Barry Suzlberger (Vam); 10. Chllrlie Deutcher (Hus). (Right) Another Gas Gas pilot, Matt Stavlsh, was the runner-up at the Midwest Moto Sports MX track, site of the event. (Below) Kawasaki jockey Jeff Fredette rode steady and placed third In Kahoka, Mlssourl CUD I _ n _ _ S • SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 55