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Western Regional 1 25cc Supercross Series Round 1 : Edison International Field BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN ANAHEIM, CA, JAN. 5 ompared to many of the track layouts on the EA Sports Supercross circuit, the two short, parallel whoop sections on the floor of Edison International Field didn't appear to be all that daunting. Connected by a 180degree left-hand turn, they certainly weren't the longest or deepest versions of the gut-wrenching obstacles ever to be laid out for an Anaheim Supercross. But as the opening round of the AMA 125cc Western Regional Supercross unfolded, it was the whoops that played a major role in the outcome of the 15-lap main event. For the record, Travis Preston made good use of his new Amsoil/Dr. Martens Honda Team presented by Factory Connection ride to score his second career 125cc West victory. Preston rode consistently and stayed out of trouble to claim the win in nearly identical fashion to that of his Houston win of last season, when a late-race melee among the competition there vaulted him to the top of the podium. This time, the fateful clash involved Preston's "LaRocco's Team" teammate Christopher Gosselaar and Yamaha of Troy's Rodrig Thain, who were hell-bent for the win as they powered through the last few sections of the Dirt Wurks-designed course on the final lap. Gosselaar appeared to be poised to take the win when he shot through the tunnel and over the step-up jump to enter the first whoop C section, only to lose momentum and stall out on the extreme right-side line. Thain clawed through the section on the left-side line and barely beat Gosselaar to the left-hand turn before setting up on the extreme left edge of the second whoop section. Gosselaar had planned to use the same line, and he took the corner Wide, getting a banzai drive into the whoops, right behind Thain. The Frenchman then appeared to lose just a bit of momentum, and the steaming Gosselaar plowed straight into the back of Thain's YZ250F, sending both riders over the bars in a tandem faceplant that left the sellout crowd of 45,050 aghast. Preston was simply in the right place at the right time to capitalize on the incident, which left him scratching his head even in the excitement of the win. "I don't even know what place I'm in out there, I just ride as hard as I can," Preston said. "I've been having such good luck lately. I was just out there, riding, and they crashed, and I rode around them. That's it." Pre-race hype had Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's rookie sensation James "Bubba" Stewart running away from the pack en route to the first of what will likely be many career professional victories in the sport, but the 16-year-old Stewart's obvious talent was tempered by bad starts and untimely crashes in both his heat race and in the main event. He was among a group of riders who were slowed by a first-turn jumble when the 22-rider field screamed off the behind Gosselaar, who in turn was reeling off steady laps toward the checkered flag. Pingree then went down just before the finish line jump on lap 11, losing positions to Preston and Stewart, the latter having mounted another impressive charge. Pingree would ultimately finish sixth. Then came the white-flag lap and the collision between Gosselaar and Thain. The crash allowed both Preston and Stewart to skip into the top two spots, with Gosselaar managing to get up and salvage third place, finishing just ahead of Sellards. The fireworks weren't quite over, however, as Thain, who finished fifth, slammed his machine into a stopped Gosselaar after they came off the track. The situation was quickly diffused before it got any more out of hand, but both riders were unhappy with the turn of events. "I'm very upset about the last lap," Thain said. "I rode very smart during the race because the whoops were pretty tough. I was thinking the last six laps to pass him on the last lap, because on part of the whoops, Gosselaar was slow. So I passed him, and I don't know what happened to him, why he came on me and jumped on my back. I finished fifth, which is not so bad, but I am upset because I only had two corners left." As far as the incident after the finish, Thain admitted that it was a bad move on his part. "I'm sorry about this, but it was a race, and it was in the heat of the moment," Thain said. Gosselaar had an opposing view of what had taken place on the track, and he appeared to be less than willing to accept Thain's apology for the aftermath. "He got by me, and then I was going to pass him back in the second set, but he cut over on me and stopped," Gosselaar said. "I had nowhere to go, so I ran into the back of him and we both crashed. I felt good all night otherwise, so I know I gate. Red Bull/KTM Racing Team's David Pingree nabbed the Powerade holeshot money, with Thain, Gosselaar, Red Bull/KTM Racing Team's Brock Sellards and Team ECC's Michael Brandes battling at the head of the pack. An aggressive Sellards stuffed his way past Gosselaar for third place before the end of the first lap. Stewart, meanwhile, recovered from the bottleneck and was mired in 10th place, but he quickly went to work, and was running sixth before lap three. Preston was back in 11 th place. Sellards grabbed second place by getting under Thain in the corner before the finish-line jump just before the start of lap three, putting the factory KTMs one-two on the track. Sellards then took the lead away from Pingree in the left-hander between whoop sections on lap three, and Stewart passed Brandes, closing the gap to latch onto the tail end of the lead trio of Sellards, Pingree and Thain. Sellards lost the lead when he crashed at the end of the first whoop section, handing the front spot back to Pingree. Sellards would rejoin the fray in sixth place. Thain took his first real shot at Pingree in the first whoop section on lap five, but then Gosselaar surprised them both by using a different line and moving into the lead. Clearly the fastest rider on the track, Stewart stepped it up even more and worked past both Thain and Pingree. Stewart was stalking Gosselaar by lap seven, and appeared set to make a pass for the lead in the whoops when disaster struck at the end of the first section. Stewart suddenly got out of shape and performed an ugly-looking dismount over the bars. He would lose five positions before getting underway again. Preston was up to fourth with five laps remaining, and was attempting to chase down Pingree, who had lost touch with Gosselaar and Thain, the Frenchman about two seconds cue' • n e _ S • JANUARY 16. 2002 11