Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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(Left) Ty Davis rode a VZ250 !two-stroke) to a third-place finish. (Below) Russell Pearson, here leading Steve Hatch, was running up front before suffering mechanical problems. said. "It seemed like everyone was kind of riding up and down, they would go fast for a few laps then slow down, I just tried to ride smooth and consistent. " Checking in behind Kiedrowski was Team Green's Abbott. The desert champ followed Kiedrowski and together moved to the front. "I got in behind Kiedrowski and we started to ride at a good pace," Abbott said. "One by one, we picked off the guys up front." Up front, Davis began having problems with his bike, which turned out to be a clogged carburetor. As a result, Davis dropped back, as Smith took over the lead, ahead of Naughton. Davis, however, managed to get things sorted out and continued to run up front with the leaders. After Davis dropped back, Smith and Naughton broke away from the rest of the pack, as they battled for the lead. About the 30 minutes into the two-hour race, Naughton made a bid for the lead and got Smith over a drop-off jump. But Smith came right back, and the two then proceeded to swap positions many times until Smith began experiencing transmission problems, which would ultimately force him out of the race. Naughton soon had sole control of the race, but coming up through the pack was Kiedrowski, who soon had a grip on second place and was looking for first. Davis, meanwhile, was still holding on to third, followed by Abbott, and Russ and Nick Pearson. Pretty soon, Kiedrowski was riding Naughton's rear fender and eventually passed him for the lead. From there, Kiedrowski started pulling ,away from Naughton, who then had Abbott breathing down his neck. Abbott eventually got around Naughton for second and then made a late-race push to get Kiedrowski, (Above) Kurt Caselli won two races during Saturday's Amateur program, then finished sixth in Sunday's Pro race. (Below) Kelly Yancey also competed in two classes on Saturday (Winning one of them) and the Pro class on Sunday. but to no avail - though he did get fairly close. Kiedrowski went on to take the win, approximately 25 seconds ahead of Abbott. "After I pitted, I put in a couple of good laps and was able to catch and get by Naughton," Kiedrowski said of his race. "I then kind of checked out and rode my own race for the rest of the day. Abbott started to charge at the end, so I had to pick it up again, but beside that everything went real smooth." Abbott crossed the finish line in second. "Naughton was flying today," Abbott said. "He put in a great ride. I had some trouble getting around him and M.K. [Mike Kiedrowski] put some time on me. 1 tried to charge at the end and got close, just not close enough. "I'm really happy with the way I rode today," Abbott added. "Second place, with this caliber of racers, is awesome. I can't wait until round two [Lake Havasu, Arizona]. Hopefully, I can put my FMF/Race Tech KX250 back on the podium." races on Saturday and the Pro race on Sunday. Her best finish was her first race on Saturday, where she topped all of the Novice/Senior/ Women's-c1ass riders. eN Following Abbott across the finish line, 11 seconds back, was Davis, who managed to work through his carburetion problems and get back around Naughton for third. Naughton, in fourth, was the top privateer finisher. Rounding out the top five was Nick Pearson. Nick's brother, Russ, had a strong ride going until mechanical problems sidelined him. Rounding out the top 10 were KTM's Kurt Caselli, Team Green's David Pearson, KTM's Brian Garrahan, KTM rider Dave Neumeister, and Patrick Garrahan, on a KTM 400 fourstroke. There was plenty of racing action for Saturday's amateur program, as well. Caselli started the weekend off with a win in the Unclassified race, finishing ahead of Paul Krause and Larry Roeseler. And he didn't stop there, either. Caselli also went on to win the AA/Expert/Amateur 125cc and FourStroke event, overalling the race on a KTM 125. Montclair Yamaha's Nick Pearson finished second overall, taking the AA Four-Stroke-c1ass win. Team KTM's Kelley Yancey had a busy weekend, competing in two eye I e Speedworld MX Phoenix, Arizone Resulls: February 17. 2002 [Round 1 of &1 PRO O/A: 1. Mike Kiedrowski (Suz); 2. DesUy Abbott (K.l!lw); 3. Ty Davis (Yam); 4. Robert Naughton (Suz); 5. Nick Pearson (Yam); 6. Kurt C.l!lselli (KTM); 7. Devid Peerson (K8W); 8. Brian Gllrrahen (KTM); 9. Dave Neumeister (KTM); 10. Patrick Garrahan (KTM); 11. Steve Hatch (Suz): 12. Brian Brown (KlIw); 13. Mike Roth (Hon); 14. Morgan Crawford; 15. Paul Krause (KTM); 16. Crtlig Wesner (Kaw); 17. Wade Phillips (Hbg); 18. Taber Murphy (Han); 19. Brendllin Lutes (Han). aNCLSFO O/A: 1. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 2. Paul Krause (KTM); 3. llJrry Roeseler (Kaw); 4. Babby Steffan (KTM); 5. Kevin Hllirshman (KTM). NOV/SR/WMN O/A: 1. Kelly Yan<:ey (KTM); 2. Mllirk Odenwald (Han); 3. Mztrk Johnson (Yem); 4. Jim Conner (Yam); 5. John Kovalcik (Yam). AA/f.X/AM VET 30/MSTR 40 0/A: 1. Robert Naughton (Suz); 2. Paul Krause (KTM); 3. Larry Roeseler (Kaw); 4. Don Turk (Yam); 5. Rick Daniel (KTM). AA/f.X/AM 125/4·STRK O/A: 1. Kurt Caselli (KTM); 2. Nick Pearson (YlIm); 3. Wade Phillips (Hbg); 4. Taber Murphy (Hon); 5. Cliff Jennings (Yam). AA/f.X/AM 250/0PEN O/A: 1. Russell Pearson (Yam); 2. Craig Wesner (Kaw); 3. Brendan Lutes (Hon); 4. Brian Brown (Kaw); 5. Ned Lowerre (Suz). TEAM: 1. Jacob/Wade Phillips (Hbg); 2. Brian/Patrick Garrahan (KTM); 3. Don Turk/Dave Newmeister (KTM); 4. Dayton Raper/David Gronlund (Yam); 5. Todd Miller/Jesse Barstow (Hon). 60/80 O/A: 1. Chris Johnson (Kaw); 2. Justin Soule (Kaw); 3. Curtis Smith (Yam); 4. Corey Coyne (Yam); 5. Jamie Lanza (Hon). 60 NOV/PEE WEE O/A: 1. Nicholas Garvin (KlIw): 2. Cody Jones (KTM); 3. Mlison Morliles (KlIw); 4. Parker Krause (KTM); 5. Clay Gishey (KTM). n e _ S • FEBRUARY 27,2002 19