Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128142
CMC Golden State Nationals Round 2: Competition Park "It feels like deja uu all ouer again. " - Yogi Berra both the 125cc and Z50CC Pro cl..... a1 the second round of the CMC Colden State NatIonal. at Competition Park In San Jacinto, Callfomla. Billy Payne _ WIth all 32 gate. filled for the .econd 1Z5cc Intermediate moto, the first tum became a war zone, with more than a dozen riders cra.hing In the melee (above). Thl. caused one .pectator to run aero. . the track and tackle one of the riders (below), tossing him oyer a hay bale. Howe (16) avoided all this by getting the holeshot, but Daryl Ecklund (12) took the lead on the last lap for a surprise win and third overall. Chad Gaumer (10) was runner-up with a 3-5 tally. apparently inherited more from his dad than just the "yO at the end of his name. Winning all four motos he entered at round two the series, which is sponsored in part by FMF and slated to end in a two-day showdown at Glen Helen Raceway Park on February 23 and 24, Payne removed all doubts that he had the upper hand against Casillas, winner of the same two classes at the series opener three weeks earlier at Glen Helen. On this day, Casillas placed second in the first 250cc Pro and third in the first 125cc Pro before an injury-causing spill in the second 250cc moto sent him home early. Payne, riding the Plano Honda, easily outpointed Spud Walters (4-2), on the White Brothers Honda, in the 250s and had to fend off strong starts from Mad Dog Racing's Sean Hamblin in both 125cc contests to claim his sweep. The Sportsman classes were dominated - again - by the terrific head-tohead duels between Jarred" Jet" Browne and Justin Keeney in the aocc events. Keeney, on the Team By JOHN BETHEA SAN JACINTO, CA, JAN. 27 here's a new 'slinger in town, and his name is Billy Payne - again! Thirty years after his Pro motocrossracing father was one of the leading riders in Southern California, Billy has finally stepped out of his dad's shadow, and on this day he accomplished something his mentor never did - win two Pro classes at a CMC Golden State National - and in the process, he removed Jesse Casillas from the top of the heap. In 1972, the elder Billy Payne teamed with Tim Hart as a Maico factory racer, and the duo dominated SoCal night tracks. That was the year Hart won 72 times - still a California record - and very often, when Hart finished second, it was Payne who had beat him. He rode as "Billy" to the end of his racing career, just about the time the Golden State Series began. When Junior started appearing in the results, he had 42 FEBRUARY 20, 2002' cue I e n e _ s I ) Green Kawasaki, had to make a verylate-moto pass of Browne in the first aocc Open outing to send a message that he was determined to win three classes overall. He led the second round from the start to record the win. However, Keeney's sweep was denied in the crowd-favorite aocc Supermini clash when Browne got the holeshot each time on his West Coast/Spy Kawasaki. In the first moto, Keeney caught him on lap three and made the pass to go to the second moto as the favored rider. In the second, however, Keeney got off fourth, and the time it took him to move up to second left him out of the hunt, giving Browne the overall. They then split for the agegrouped aGcc event, and each won their first moto - Keeney the aGcc (14-16) class and Browne the aocc (12-13) class - but the second contest was held after sunset, and the race was red-flagged on the second lap when a rider went down in a dangerous location. Unable to restart due to darkness, the first-moto results stood as the overall results. Two other riders claimed overall wins in two classes. Trent Pugmire rode his Team Simi Kawasaki to four moto wins and the overalls in the aGcc (7 -11) and 60cc (9-11) classes, and Mark Moscrop topped both the Vet Pro and Old-Timer Master classes mounted on a TRE Honda. Josh Stice won two hard-fought motos against Donnie Weber to claim the 250cc Intermediate victory on his Trans World Am/Mid Cities Honda