Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAlEA Sports Supercross Series Round 4: Bank One Ballparl:i' ca. McGrath had his one spot where and Ernie kind of bumped a little bit," he would cut underneath and pass Ramsey said. "I thought, 'ah this is it, Fonseca lap after lap, only to have here's my chance,' I just gased it by Fonseca get better drives from the [them]. Once I got by, it was smooth outside to pass him back down a flat sailing from then on. Once you get straight. McGrath eventually got him out of that whole freight-train mental- for good, taking sixth. ity and you can see the whole track, I mean it's a different race; it makes it "I don't think I passed someone a lot easier. back and forth as many times as me "The way the track was set up, and Ernie did, after the finish line," you could hop through the whoops, McGrath said. "Jeez, man every lap, and if you did everything right, it was back and forth, back and forth." hard to catch up to someone." "We had a little battle going there," eN Bank One Ballpark Phoenix, Arizona Results: January 26, 2002 (Round 4 of 161 Fonseca said. "We're both racing for the best place out there; I'm not going to move out of the way, and I'm sure he doesn't want to move out 250 HEAT 1 (8 laps, 1-4 transfer): 1. Ricky Carmichael (Hon); 2. Kevin Windham (Suz); 3. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 4. Mike LaRocco (Hon); 5. Michael of the way either." Byme (Hon); 6. Jean-Sebastien Roy (Hon); 7. Kyle Lewis (Hen); 8. Damon Huffman (Suz); 9. Heath Voss (Hon); 10. Zeb Armstrong (Yam); 11. Anthony Amllradio (Yam); 12. Erik Anderson (Hon); 13. Ryan Dudek (KTM); 14. Trevis Smith (Hen); 15. Joshua Luckily for Ramsey, he managed to avoid all of that after getting Cavanaugh (Vam); 16. Jason Wood (Hon); 17. Cory around both riders. Young (Yam); 18. Jamey Grosser (Hon); 19. Michael Stevenson (Yam); 20. Chad Sanner (Suz). Time of Race: 7:04.510 250 HEAT 2 (8 laps. 1-4 transfer): 1. Trevis "Me and Jeremy were kind of catching up together, and then him Team Yamaha's Tim Ferry had his night cut short when he crashed in a semi. Ferry went down hard and complained of chest pains and was spitting up blood. "He might've cut his mouth," but we're not sure, - said Yamaha's team manager Keith McCarty. Moments later, after getting off the phone with the hospital. McCarty said of Ferry's condition: "There's nothing wrong, but he's going to have a CAT scan just to be sure. They are going to keep him overnight for observations, but it looks as though he is going to be okay. He took a hit to the chest area. " n • Jeremias Isrllel (Hon); 14. Kris Papworth (Kaw); 15. Michllel Kenn (VlIm); 16. Brian Mason (Kaw); 17. Joel Nelson (Vom); 18. Shown Wynne (Hon); 19. Justin Pries (Kaw); 20. Chris Barrett (Yam). TIme of Race: 7:03.160 250 SEMI 1 (6 laps, 1-5 transfer): 1. Micheel Byrne (Hon); 2. Jean·Sebastien Roy (Hon); 3. Damon Huffman (Suz): 4. Kyle Lewis (Hon): 5. Heath Voss (Hon); 6. Zeb Armstrong (Yam); 7. Anthony Amaradio (Yam): 8. Joshua Cavanaugh (Yam); 9. Erik Anderson (Hon); 10. Ryan Dudek (KTM); 11. Cory Young (Yam); 12. Jason Wood (Hon); 13. Jamey Grosser (Hon); 14. Travis Smith (Hon); 15. Chad Sanner (Suz); 16. Michael Stevenson (Yam). Time of Race: 5:22.470 250 SEMI 2 (6 lops, 1·5 transfer): 1. David Vui1lemin (Yam); 2. Jeremy McGrath (Yam); 3. Ryan Clark (Yam); 4. James Povolny Jr. (Han); 5. Nicholas Wey (Yam); 6. Brian Mason (Kaw); 7. Ted Campbell (Suz); 8. Kris Papworth (Kaw); 9. Jeremias Israel (Hon); 10. Michael Kann (Yam); 11. Ryan Terlecki (Suz): 12. Shawn Wynne (Hon); 13. Joel Nelson (Yam); 14. Justin Pries (Kaw); 15. Timmy Ferry (Vam); 16. Chris Barrett (Vam). Time of Race: 5:16.640 250 LCQ (6 lops, 1-2 transfer); 1. Ryan Terlecki (Suz); 2. Ted Campbell (Suz); 3. Zeb Armstrong (Yam); 4. Anthony Amaradio (Yam); 5. Erik Anderson (Han); 6. Kris Papworth (Kaw); 7. Jeremias Israel (Hon); 8. Michael Kann (Yam); 9. Brian Mason (Kaw); 10. Joshua Cavanaugh (Yam); 11. Michael Stevenson (Yam); 12. Ryan Dudek (KTM); 13. Travis Smith (Hon); 14. Cory Young (Yam); 15. Shawn Wynne (Hon); 16. Justin Pries (Kaw); 17. Jamey Thursday's press day at Phoenix was going smoothly until a couple 01 inmates at a nearby prison escaped. "Just as we were getting ready to do photos, the cameramen left to cover the jailbreak, - said Yamaha's press man Terry Beal. Boost Mobile/Troy Racing's Rodrig Thain will sit out the rest 01 the Supercross Series after Phoenix. Thain has been having problems with his shoulder that he injured last year, so he decid· ed to have surgery this Tuesday to repair it, He hopes to be healed and ready to go lor the start of the outdoor Nationai, which gets undelWay in May. The Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki team took another heavy hit with the loss of another rider during the week. As you might recall, team rider Bobby Bonds was seriously injured last week at Anaheim II, and now East Coast rider Shae Bentley is out for an undetermined amount of time. Bentley was practicing during the week when he broke his leg in what was called a "slow" crash. He reportedly suffered a compound fracture of the lower leg. As of now, team owner Mitch Payton has no plans to replace either Bonds or Bentley. At Phoenix, Matt Walker was Pro Circuit's sole representative, but he failed to qualify for the main event. Another rider who was injured during practice was Shark Piano Honda's Casey Johnson. During the second practice session Saturday afternoon, Johnson lost control of his bike over a rhythm section and was thrown off the bike and into the air. When he came down, he landed feet first, breaking the tibia and fibula bones in his leg. e II. Ted Campbell (Suz); 12. Ryan Terlecki (Suz); 13. Justin Buckelew, of the Motoworldracing.com/Suzuki team, had a scary looking crash while leading one of Saturday afternoon's preliminary heats. Buckelew came up a little short over a quad jump. and came off the bike, which flew into the grandstand area. Luckily. no one was injured, but Buckelew's bike was dlnged up. His mechanics replaced a radiator and other bent parts, and then he went out and qualified for the evening's program via the last chance qualilier. Fast by Ferracci/Husqvarna's newest member Tyler Evans was carted off the track after crashing in a whoop section during Saturday afternoon's practice. Initial reports have it that Evans broke his collarbone in the fall and will be out of action indefiniteiy. _ s Wood (Hon); 20. Chod Sanner (Su,); 21. Timmy Feny (Vam); 22. Chris Barrett (Vam). 250 MAIN EVENT (20 lops): 1. Ricky Nicholas Wey (Yam); 10. James Povolny Jr. (Hon); Aussie Chad Reed was a no-show at Phoenix. The Boost Mobile/Troy Racing team rider was practicing during the week when he crashed and was" pile driven" by his bike, according to a Yamaha spokesman. it was first thought that Reed had broken his collarbone in the crash, but it turned out that he bruised his sternum area. Reed is working with trainer Jeff Spencer to get ready for the start 01 the 125cc East Coast Series. Team Escondido Cycle Center's Mike Craig ran into problems early at Phoenix, or should we say that problems ran into him? During Friday's practice, Craig got a little out 01 shape and stuck out his leg. which then got ran into by another rider. The impact left Craig with a couple of broken bones in his foot and, as a result, he was forced to sit out the rest of the weekend. Craig was able to walk around the Phoenix pits, but the loot hurt him too much on the bike, Craig's status is week to week. I lime of Race: 5:38.720 Team Motoworldracing,com/Suzuki's Andrew Short should return to action next week at Anaheim III. Short injured his knee while practicing during the week prior to Anaheim II. "He thought about riding tonight. but thought not to push it," said team manager Paul Undsey, Travis Pastrana spent much 01 Saturday afternoon with an icepack on his knee after having It pop out on him during practice. After finishing second in the main event, Pastrana said the knee was okay but didn't want to say too much about the injury, other than he plans on riding next week at Anaheim. "I dislocated my knee in practice," Pastrana said. "But, you know, Carmichael's riding with a broken hand and just got off a concussion, Vuillemin went to have surgery last week, everyone has to ride through something. So, little bit of pain, but I'll be back for next week." eye Timmy Ferry (Vom): 8. Ryon Clork (Vom); 9. Opting not to ride at Phoenix was Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Mike Brown. Brown says that he's been struggling a bit on the 250 and decided to park the 250 and start preparing for the opening round of the Eastern Regional 125cc Supercross Series in two weeks. Brown has been planning to race the East Coast Series all along. "I thought I'd start getting ready for the 125s: Brown said. "I've been riding the 125 this week. so I won't be riding the 250 next week at Anaheim, either.Brown did say than he plans on riding the 125 during Anaheim's press day on Thursday. Jeremy McGrath was quite happy to get through the Phoenix Supercross without experiencing arm pump, which he further elaborated on after the race. "I didn't ride this week at all," McGrath said, "My chiropractor Dr. Toy is a genius. I mean, I've been dealing with this for a while now, a month before the season. I thought I'd just ride it out. but It wouldn't get better, wouldn't get better. One, three days of treatment. and now I can ride the bike. We found that my back, in between my shoulders, was kind of C shaped, so it was pinching everything on my right side, so I was getting arm pump on my left side, because I was holding on so tight with my right side. So. it's not an arm·pump problem, now that I've figured it out. it's my spine that has been way out of whack. Now that I remember, right after the U.S. Open, I took a big header at the Yamaha track. I really just kind of rested; I didn't get mysell back in line. So I think it escalated from there. I've been banging my head trying to figure it out, but this week was a hell of a lot better. " FEBRUARY 6,2002' Grosser (Hon); 18. Joel Nelson (Yam); 19. Jason Boost Moblle/Troy Racing's Ivan Tedesco had a close call duro ing Friday's practice. The Yamaha YZ125 rider landed well short over a tough triple jump, casing the third mound and hitting his chin on the handlebars. Tedesco had the chin stitched up later that afternoon and returned on Saturday like nothing had happened, clearing the triples with plenty of room to spare, BRIEFLY••• 12 Pastrana (5uz); 2. Stephane Roncadll (KlIw); 3. Emesto Fonseca (Hon); 4. Nathan Ramsey (Hon); 5. Jeremy McGrath (Yam); 6. David Vuillemin (Yam); 7. Carmichael (Hon); 2. Travis PastramI (Suz); 3. David Vuillemin (Yam); 4. Mike laRocco (Hon); S. Nathan Ramsey (Han); 6. Jeremy McGrath (Yam); 7. Emeston Fonseca (Hon); 8. Michael Byrne (Hon); 9. Ezra Lusk (Kaw); 10. Stephane Roncada (Kaw); 1l. Nicholas Wey (Yam); 12. HeDth Voss (Hon); 13. Damon Huffman (Suz); 14. Kevin Windham (Suz); 15. Kyle Lewis (Han); 16. Jean·Sebastien Roy (Hon); 17. James Povolny Jr. (Hon); 18. Ryan Clark (Yam); 19. Ted Campbell (Su,); 20. Ryan Terlecki (Su,). Time of Race: 17:36.010 Winner's Average Lap Time: 0:52.800 M.argin of Victory: 0:02.660 Second Place Average Lap Time: 0:52.933 AMA/EA SPORTS S(JPERCROSS SERIES 250cc CHAMPIONSHIPS POINTS STANDINGS (After 4 of 16 rounds): 1. David Vuitlemin (92/2 wins); 2. Mike LaRocco (8St! win); 3. Travis Pastrana (66); 4. Ricky Cannichoel (62/1 win); 5. Ezra Lusk (57); 6. Nothan Ramsey (49); 7. (TIE) Kevin Windham/Jeremy McGroth (46); 9, Chad Reed (44); 10. Michael Byme (43); 11. Stephane Roncada (41); 12. Damon Huffman (39); 13. Nick Wey (38); 14. (TIE) Heath Voss/Emesto Fonseca (34); 16. Jelln- Sebastien Roy (26); 17. Kyle Lewis (20); 18. TImmy Ferry (17); 19. Michael Brown (12); 20. Michael Craig (9); 21. Tyler Evans (8); 22. Steve Lamson (6); 23. James Povolny (4); 24. Ryon Clark (3); 25, Ted Campbell (2); 26. Ryan Terlecki (1). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - February 2, Anaheim, California Round 6 - February 9, Indianapolis, Indiana James Stewart was very fast at Phoenix. and his lap times proved it. His best lap time en route to his heat-race win was 53.749 seconds. In comparison, Travis Pastrana's heat-race winnin9 best-lap time was 51.597, while Ricky Carmichael's was 52.318. When David Vuillemin (right) was introduced to the Phoenix crowd during opening cere· monies. the Team Yamaha rider came out wearing a Phoenix Suns basketball jersey. Speak· ing of intres, when Kevin Windham was introduced, he executed a very impressive. feet-ove r- th e· ba rs "stoppie. " One of Motoworldracing.com/Suzuki's East Coast riders, Ben Riddle, will miss the first few rounds. Riddle will have surgery to remove a plate in his arm from an earlier injury. Apparently, the bone is growing and has produced stress fractures around the screws, forcing the surgery. Riddle is hoping to retum to action at the Daytona Supercross. After haVing a promising ride the previous week at Anaheim II. Team SoBe Suzuki's Kevin Windham was considerably upset with his 14th-place finish at Phoenix. "The whole night has been horrible, this sucks so bad," he said. "The bike's there, everything's there -I'm not: I just don't know what to say." Former Supercross Champion-turned road racer Jean-Michel Bayle came to Phoenix to watch the happenings, and he swung by the Suzuki pits to give words of encouragement to Kevin Windham after the race. Bayle says he plans to attend Anaheim III. as well. Also seen hanging out in the Suzuki pits was Bayle's former road race team manager Kenny Roberts. According to Team Nielsen EnterpriseslWSA Snocross team manager Jamey Grosser, team rider Robbie Horton had a bad experience at the airport, preventing him from attending the Phoenix Supercross. Horton was caught with a handgun in his luggage that he said he lorgot was in there and was subsequently arrested. Horton has since been released and is expected to ride the opening round 01 the 125cc East Series in Indiana later this month. KTM Junior Challenge Results: 1. Jordan Hunter: 2. Austin Welis; 3. Cody Stewart; 4. Tyler Hammon; 5. Brandon Coble; 6. Dean Smith Jr.; 7. Blaze Raible; 8. Steven Briggs III; 9. Cole Bar· ber: 10. Vincent Taylor: 11. Tanner Mennenga: 12. Trenton White; 13. Tyler Block; 14. Thomas Lay; 15. Mandi Draper.

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