Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Castrol Challenge Arenacross Forster Livestock Pavilion tained to the finish. Vielle also dropped Rogers back another position and trailed Leach at the finish. Roth placed fourth, which was good for the third-place Pro laurels, fol· lowed by Brockway and Meadows. Leach also topped moto two, despite (Above! Ryan Leach topped the twoday Castrol Challenge Arenacross, also winning the 250cc Pro class on both nights. (Right! Ryan Huege (31! was a fourclass winner in Salem, Oregon, picking up the 125cc and Before The Hili intermediate-class wins on both evenings. Huege also finished second overall behind Leach in the two-day Castrol Challenge. (Below! Steele Angle-Davidson was among the weekend's top performers at the Forster Livestock PavIlion, topping the 50cc (7-8! and 50cc Open classes on Friday. He repealed on Saturday and also won the 50cc Husky Challenge race. STORY AND PHOTOS BY CLAY LIGHT SAlEM, OR, DEC. 28-29 amaha-mounted Ryan Leach closed out 2001 the way he started it - by dominating, with impressive performances at the third annual Cas· trol Challenge Arenacross at the Forster Livestock Pavilion. Leach topped both 20-minute motos on the two consecutive nights of racing to pocket more than $750 for his efforts, followed by a pair of up-and-coming Intermediate riders, Ryan Huege and Pete Sannan, the second- and thirdplace finishers overall at the Chal· lenge. Leach's winning ways didn't end there, as the rider from Albany, Oregon, also scored convincing wins in the 250cc Pro classes on both nights, topping Suzuki-mounted Washingtonian J.R. Vielle and local Kawasaki rider Eric Roth. Huege was also impressive on the weekend, handily posting four overall wins in the 125cc and Before The Hill Intermediate classes both evenings. Qualifying for the Castrol Challeoge kicked off Friday evening's pro· gram. Two qualifiers took the top eight from each to the 16-rider final. The field would then compete in two 20-minute motos on the two nights to decide an overall winner. Leach jumped to the head of the field at the unleashing, followed by Huege, Intermediate Eric Rogers, Nick Nowak and Pros Roth and Vielle. Leach put huge ground on the field by the third lap; his closest competition was Huege, the 15-year-old Honda rider from Yamhill, Oregon. Huege kept Leach in his sights throughout the 32-lap race, with Vielle moving into third in the early stages. Vielle narrowed the gap on Huege, but a fall on the sixth lap left him outside of the top six. KTMmounted Sannan, a 14-year-old who just moved up to the Intermediate ranks, moved into the position vacated by Vielle and remained there to the finish, some 10 seconds behind the close Leach/Huege finish. Vielle's late-race antics moved him up to fourth, finishing ahead of Rogers, Mitchell Robbins (the top-placing Y 32 JANUARY 23. 2002' cue Junior-class rider), Jack Meadows, Nowak, Joe Brockway and Roth, the 10th-place finisher. On Saturday, Leach again headed the field at the unleashing (to also add a $100 holeshot bonus to his winnings), followed by Vielle, Huege, Rogers, Robbins and Sannan. Vielle's stranglehold on the second-place position, though, came and went quickly, as Huege overtook the sea· soned Pro rider and settled into sec· ond, where he would again finish, behind the dominant Leach. Overall, Leach used a 1- 1 tally to take home the top payoff, trailed by the consistent Huege (2-2). Sannan netted third (3-3), followed by Vielle (4-4), Rogers (5-5), Meadows (7-6), Robbins (6-7), Brockway (9-8), Roth (10-11) and Yamaha YZ426F pilot Jeremy Mickelson, whose 13-10 finishes netted the teenager 10th overall. In Friday's 250cc Pro/Intermediate class, Rogers put his Yamaha out front at the drop of the gate in moto one, but two turns later Leach snatched the lead, which he mainI • n e _ s Vielle doing all he could to put an end to Leach's lengthy win streak. Leach won overall to further pad his wallet. Steele Angle-Davidson and Gared Steinke were double-class winners in small-wheel action on Saturday night. Angie-Davidson scored victories in the Pee Wee (7-8) and 50cc Open classes aboard a Cobra, while Steinke stomped the competition in the 60cc Senior (9-11) and 60cc Open divisions. Angle· Davidson had done likewise on Friday night in the two classes, but on Saturday he went a bit further, absconding with a win in the Husky 50cc Challenge race, in which he beat series nemesis Brandon Barber to net his third overall win of the evening. Tristan Versteeg finished third to Angle-Davidson and Barber, but ahead of Travis Ralph and R.J. Leach. Honda-mounted Robbins saw his reign in the 250cc Junior class come to an end after losing out to KTM rider Justin Kivett in the second moto on Saturday. This reversed the order of finish from Friday night, after Kivett put in his finest performance of the season. Robbins (1-2) finished second overall, followed by fourstroke pilots Mickelson (3-3), Jeremy Warnicke (5-4) and Jeremy McLain (4-5). eN Forster Uvestock Pavilion SlIlem, Oregon Results: December 28-29, 2001 Friday P/W (4-6): 1. Nol.n Beyer (KTM): 2. Brandon Barber (KTM): 3. Blake McM.ckln (KTM). P/W (7-8): I. Steele Angle·D.vidson (Cob): 2. Cody Held (Y.m). 50 OPEN: 1. Steele Angle-Devidson (Cob); 2. N.sh BI.ylock (Hus): 3. Nolan Beyer (KTM). 60 BEG: 1. Keith Birdsong (KTM). 60 JR: I. Dakota Smith (KTM): 2. Steele AngleDavidson (K8W); 3. lack Amelung (Kaw). 60 SR: 1. Gored Steinke (KTM): 2. J.red Wood (KTM): 3. D.nny Gubser (Kaw). 60 OPEN: 1. Danny Gubser (Kew); 2. Tyler McClinton (KTM); 3. Travis McClinton (KTM). 80 BEG: I. Ry.n Mcumghlln (Y.m): 2. D.kota Smith (KTM): 3. Joshu. Scon (Y.m). 80 (9-11): 1. J.red Wood (Y.m): 2. Jeremi.h Sparks (Hon). 80 (12-13): 1. Jesse Wuori (Hon): 2. Allro" McClinton (Yam); 3. Travis McMeekin (Yam). S/MINI: 1. Travis McMeckin (Vam); 2. Matt Wilson (Yam); 3. Jesse Wuori (Han). ] 25 BEG: 1. Justin Rice (Han): 2. Jeremy Brubeck (Hon); 3. Sean Cameron (Han). 125 JR: 1. Jiml BI.ckweli (Hon): 2. J.son Lytle (Hon): 3. Nick Now.k (Y.m). ]25 INT: 1. Ryen Huege (Han); 2. Pete Sannan (KTM); 3. Justin Jensen (Han). 250 BEG: 1. Matt Sandy (Hon): 2. Doug Dumdei (Suz), 3. Br.d Batchelor (Y.m). 250 JR: 1. Mitchell Robbins (Han); 2. Justin Kiven (KTM); 3. Ry.n Brubeck (Hon). 250 INT: I. Eric Roge.. (Y.m): 2. Joe Brockw.y (Y.m): 3. Jack Me.dows (Yam). 250 PRO: 1. Ry.n Le.ch (Yam): 2. J.R. Viene (Suz): 3. Eric Roth (K.w). OPEN AM; 1. Cliff Underwood (Y.m). WMN: 1. Jeanne Ven Buskirk (Kew). 8TH JR: 1. Jeremy Brubeck (Hon); 2. Tyler Shepard (Hon). 8TH lNT: I. Ryen Huege (Hon); 2. Pete Sennan (KTM): 3. JusZln Jensen (Hon). OTH BEG: I. Mike Kivett (KTM): 2. Clirr Underwood (Yam); 3. Kevin Birdsong (Yam). OTH JR: 1. Mike S.ther (Hon): 2. G.ry Sather (Hon): 3. G"'ll G.tes (Hon). OTH INT: 1. Corey Pace (Hon). OTH PRO: 1. G.ry Beyer (KTM): 2. D.ve Fox (Hus). orr AM: I. Grant Brown (Yem); 2. Bill Farrell (Hus); 3. Jack Batchelor (Y.m). orr I'INY: 1. J.R. Meusling (Hon). 50.: 1. J.R. Meusling (Han); 2. Randy Layne (Y.m). 4-STRK: 1. Justin Kivett (KTM); 2. Jeremy Mickelson (Y.m): 3. G.ry Sather (Hon). Satur

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