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CMC Northwest Winter Arenacross Series Round 1: Forster Livestock Pavilion SaDoaD TRI E (Left) Pete Sannan made his Intennedlate-elass debut at Forster Uvestock Pavilion, posting the 125cc Intennedlate-class wins at the opening round of the CMC Northwest Winter Arenacross Series. ~~~I STORY AND PHOTOS BY CLAY LIGHT SALEM, OR, NOV. 2-3 n what was 14-year-old Pete Sannan's first ride as an Intermediatelevel rider, the KTM pilot from Albany, Oregon, put on an amazing display of speed. Sannan held off many seasoned Professional riders in the combined 125cc Pro/Intermediate contest at round one of the CMC Northwest Winter Arenacross Series, held at the Forster Livestock Pavilion. The only riders all evening to lead Sannan were Pros Tony Graves and Keith Kadell. Sannan, aboard the Sinisalo/Gran Prix Cycles/Spy-supported KTM, went two for two in the two consecutive nights of racing at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, posting overall wins in the 125cc Intermediate class. Sannan's first 125cc moto of the weekend was in Friday's 125cc Pro/Intermediate contest. Sannan darted out front at the unleashing and remained there for most of the moto, despite pressure from former National number holder Graves and Kadell. Graves, riding the Herb's Cycletown/LRD-backed Suzuki, got around Sannan on the final lap to score a win in the Pro portion. Sannan fended off Pro Kadell to nab the Intermediateclass victory, while Josh Hill, Justin Jensen and Pro rider Eric Roth, who was among the front-runners for much of the moto, trailed at moto's end. Kadell got the jump in moto two and held the point position from start to finish to grab the overall Pro-class win after narrowly beating Graves to the finish. Trailing the Pro duo was Sannan, who was again right in the thick of things, and he won the Intermediate portion ahead of Roth, the third-placed Pro rider, and Jensen, the second-placed Intermediate. Sannan also faced tough competition in the Before The Hill Intermediate class, as Pro rider J .R. Vielle was in the lineup. Vielle went on to beat Sannan and Honda-mounted Jon Kauffman in moto one, then came back to trounce the competition in the second moto, which finalized an overall win for the Washingtonian. Sannan trailed Vielle to net second overall, followed by Cory Johnson, Jensen, and the top-placing Junior rider, Ryan Brubeck. Diminutive KTM riders Gared Steinke and Landon Currier spent I 24 DECEMBER 5. 2001 • cue much of four 60cc motos on Friday battling for the lead. Currier beat Steinke to the finish in both 60cc Open motos, but Steinke held the lead late in the moto until the two tangled and Currier won. The story was much the same in the 60cc (9-11) Senior class. Currier commanded moto one, but Steinke sneaked a wheel under the highly heralded Washingtonian; the two again tangled and, although Steinke got rolling again before Currier, Jared Wood took the checkered flag first. The overall went Wood's way via 3-1 placings to lead Tyler McClinton (4-2), Steinke (2-4), Travis McClinton (5-3) and Currier, whose 1-7 performances earned him fifth overall. On Saturday, it was Steinke's tum to shine, without challenges from fellow 60cc speedster Currier, who was not on hand. Steinke tallied a 1-1 sweep of the 60cc Senior class, trailed by Wood (3-2) and the McClinton twins, Tyler (2-3) and Travis (4-4). Steinke used an identical score to post an overall win in the 60cc Open class against nearly the same players: Tyler McClinton garnered second overall ahead of his brother Travis, Dakota Smith and Julian Doane. (BeIowI Landon Currier (36) and Garee! Steinke (726) battled throughout the 60cc SenIor (9-11) and 60cc Open c:Iasses at the first of two consecutive nights of racing at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. Currier was Friday's top perfonnet, Steinke dominated on Saturday. lRightj Washington's Josh Hill swept the 80cc (12-13) and Supennini classes in Salem, Oregon, taking the overall wins on Friday and Saturday. Washington's Josh Hill was most likely the weekend's top performer. Hill, aboard his newly acquired 2002 Yamaha, demolished the competition in the 80cc and Supermini classes on both nights. Fellow YZ pilot Travis McMackin was Hill's closest competition on Friday and trailed Hill in both classes. On Saturday, Hill's competition came from Oregon's Shawn Haberlock, who finished the night with a pair of runner-up performances to Hill in the two classes. Fast-starting Roth put his Yamaha out front of the combined 125cc Pro/Intermediate contest on Saturday night and posted his weekend-best showing in a wire-to-wire win in moto one. Fellow Pro Matt Williams finished second, ahead of Sannan, the top-placing Intermediate rider. While Roth ruled the start of moto two, it was Williams who won the battle, as well as the overall Pro-class win. Sannan again trailed the Pros and won overall in the Intermediate portion, ahead of Jensen and Huege. Vielle again garnered an overall win in the Before The Hill Intermediate class on Saturday, but his chances of an overall win in the 250cc Pro class were thwarted by Yamaha rider Ryan Leach, who also won the previous evening. For the second night in a row, Vielle placed second to the rider from Albany, Oregon. In the annual Husky Boy Challenge race, sponsored by local Husqvarna dealer Bill's Motorcycles, Andy DiBrino demolished the competition to lead Blake McMackin, Brandon Barber, R.J. Leach and Garrett Christofferson. 1:11