Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Western Regional 1 25cc Supercross Series Round 4: Bank One Ballpark happy with them. Since after the first round, I've been getting poor starts and have been coming from behind. If I ever get a start again, I'm going to win one of these things." KTM Red Bull's Brock Sellards finished fifth in the final, even though it took him a while to get there. The Ohio native got stuffed by Stewart in their heat race and had to go to the LCQ, where he won. He then started strong in the final but had a rough first lap and had to work up from 13th. Sellards worked his way forward and ended up fifth, but just has not fulfilled what he wants to do. "That incident with Stewart kind of messed me up tonight, and I had to go to the last chance," Sellards said. "In the final, I got a good start but messed up on the first lap. Later, I got going, but I'm still not there yet. I've had a sore neck and sore arches, but there are still four rounds left, and I would like to win some races and break into the top three in the end." Sixth in the final was Albuquerque's Ivan Tedesco. The Boost MobiletyamahajTroy Racing rider is having quite a year as well, as he has made the podium in three out of the four events. He currently holds second to Stewart in the standings and is happy with his riding. He was the evening's other heat-race winner and is showing the promise that got him signed to the powerful team. Tedesco put in one of the best rides of the night, as he ended the first lap in 17th and passed one to two riders per lap for the next 12 - laps. He later said, "The track was good tonight, and I felt good too. I'd like to keep this up." Team ECC Suzuki's Michael Brandes finished seventh in the fmal with Mach l/Dr. D's/Enzo-supported Craig Decker following across in eighth. Mexico-native and Acerbis/Dragon-backed Erick Vallejo was ninth, and Shark/Plano Honda's Travis Elliott rounded out the top 10. Who was missing from the final at Phoenix? None other than last week's winner David Pingree. The KTM Red Bull rider was involved in a nasty looking crash during the first heat race (see sidebar) and literally destroyed his bike. He was unable to ride the LCQ as a result and had to sit out the final. He is currently fifth in the standings. MAIN TRE's Lytle grabbed another mainevent holeshot aboard his privateer YZ250F, but he dropped back throughout the race and ended up 21st, saying, "I had the flu aU week and just faded. I got those starts down, though!" Stewart quickly grabbed the lead and took off. Preston, Blimpie Suzuki's Shane Bess, Thain and Brandes trailed. Sellards, who was at the front in the beginning, dropped back to 13th on the opening lap. "I came out of the gate good but was stuck on the inside for the next three corners and slipped back to midpack," Sellards explained. (Top) The question wasn't so much whether or not .lames Stewart was going to win, but by how much? Stewart opened up a huge lead In the 125cc feature before sliding out. He still won with room to spare. (Left) After finishing second at Phoenix, RocIrig Thain will have surgery to repair an old shoulder Injury and miss the rest of the SX series. 14 FEBRUARY 6, 2002' cue I • n • _ s At the end of the first lap, Gosselaar was in eighth, Sellards in 13th and Tedesco in 17th. Stewart put on a show out front throughout the next few laps as the other riders were sorting themselves out. He was one of only a few riders to jump the tricky triple-to-quad combo, and he jumped into the whoops farther and faster than anybody, his corner-railing, sideways-jumping style reminiscent of a young Ricky Carmicahel. Coming off a huge 125cc victory at Anaheim one week earlier, David Pingree came out swinging at Phoenix, taking the heat-one lead on the opening lap. Pingree miscalculated a triple on the same lap, however, casing it hard enough to hit his head, though he continued racing and soon re-took the lead on his Red Bull KTM. Several laps later. however, Pingree approached the same triple. and this time disaster struck. The leader jumped short and nosed-dived directly into the face of the third jump. and his bike appeared to break in two near the head tube. Actually, it was the lower triple clamp snapping, a tum of events that proved beneficial since it lessened the jolt to Pin· gree. Rather than slamming into the face, the veteran made it over the jump. though he landed face-first and was pummeled by most of the bike (the front end went off to one side). The crash was quite incredible. eliciting a roar of surprise from the crowd. Several riders narrowly missed the downed rider and bike parts. but medics and track personnel responded quickly. Pingree was put into the medics' cart and whisked off, while part of the bike leaned against a stadium wall. providing an opportunity for photographers to snap shots that will appear in many magazines in the coming months. Such scenarios are not good P.R. for teams or manufacturers, and the post-race mood in the KTM pits was obviously rather somber. When asked what went wrong. team rnanager Ron Heben replied. "Engine failure," then explained to the disbelieving reporter, "We don't know if it was a piston or what, but he had engine failure on the face of the triple or as he was taking off." The impact of the subsequent landing broke the factory magnesium triple clamp, while the frame itself remained in one piece. The bike could have been repaired and re-entered had KTM and Pingree desired. As for Pingree himself, "He is absolutely fine," Heben stated. "He is very lucky, actually. If he slammed into the bike, it could have been much worse. He just went to the hospital for observation for himself to make sure that everything checked out. He will race next week." Dave Deringer

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