Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

t;; course after having run their qualiz ~ fying heats earlier in the day. This a: ~ ~ a: regional series is a six-race opportunity for the Amateurs to see who ::i can finish in the top three in points ~ - which automatically qualifies ~ iii them for the MGM Grand Invita- 5tional Amateur World Arenacross Winter Stunn Series Round 1: Hollister Hills SP Track Andrade On at Hollister :I: .. Championships in Las Vegas. By This. the final race in that series for the Mid-America region. was HOlliSTER. CA, FEB. 3 the riders' last chance to gain unny skies and great weather set the tone for the opening round of Mutant Motorsports' 2002 Winter Storm Series. It was a killer weekend to be on a bike, especially for those who made it out to Hollister to race the track in the reverse direction. Young Zach Andrade had a better weekend than some. winning two classes aboard his KTM. In mota one of the 65cc Open class, KTM rider Jordan Collins led early. with Andrade in the numbertwo spot and Matthew Cochran, on his KX. in third. Collins set a fast pace and led for three laps, but he wasn't able to hold off Andrade, who had his mind set on winning and managed to do so with a pass on the white-flag lap. It appeared the parents were more excited than the riders! Andrade passed the checkers first and recorded another mota win. Collins settled for second. and Cochran remained a solid third. All the Mini warriors had their race faces on while preparing for mota two. This time. it was Andrade with the start. Collins. in second. had his KTM screaming and was keeping right with Andrade. Cochran was running third. hoping to capitalize on a Collins-Andrade tangle. Fortunately for Andrade, this never occurred. With clear track ahead of him. it was Andrade's race to lose. Like a seasoned veteran. Andrade remained cool and took the mota win and secured his overall win as well. Collins crossed the line in second. with Cochran charging hard for third, which is how they finished on the day. Andrade's second class win - in the 60cc Novice division - came a little easier. Andrade put his KTM out front early in each mota and never looked back. He won both motos convincingly. Danny Coffey finished second after getting a bad start in mota two. There was also plenty of action in the other Mini classes. In the 50cc (4-6) class. Cody Washington took the first-mota win, followed by Vincent liar, Max Lofano and Romey Miramontes. In mota two there was a flip-flop of scores; Cobra rider Miramontes took the checkers. Lofano crossed the line in second, liar was third. and Washington placed fourth. The top podium spot went to Miramontes. Lofano was runner-up. third went to liar. and Washington rounded out the top four. that coveted spot on the line. and the competition was hotter than usual. While the Friday and Saturday night Amateur racing does not pay series points. they serve as warm-ups for Sunday's pointspaying races. and it provided Nationwide Arena: Mark Burkhart made up massive amounts of time by hammering through the whoops noticeably faster than his competition all weekend long at the final round of the Mid-America Series in Columbus, Ohio. He finished off of the podium only once in six races. great "half-time shows" for the huge crowd that was on hand in Columbus. Saturday's Pro racing proved as exciting as Friday's, and had an even better crowd turnout. Once again. the cream of the crop proved to be Burkhart, This round of the series attracted a few of the series points leaders, as Jim Chester and Jim Neese both but his two wins were marred by a crash that kept him off the podium made the trek up from North Carolina in to battle with Burkhart. Other notable Pros on hand were Husqvarna hot- Husqvarna/Pro-Action mounted the 250cc main event. Katin and Suzuki of Gastonia's shoe Mike Katin and local Ohio fast Chester managed to keep close tabs guys Chris Whitcraft. Charlie Dunaway and Brad Strunk. Even with on Burkhart for the first two-thirds of such a stacked pack of Pros on the two seconds at all times. Their inten- line, Burkhart's few challenges for the sity paid off when Burkhart made a win usually came as a result of mistakes he made while trying to pull rare error and went down. allowing away from the field. In Friday's 125cc Pro main. series the 15 lap race. staying within one or Katin. Chester and most of the other riders to sneak by him. Katin was very happy to take the win. as was points leader Chester topped the Chester to get the runner-up spot. podium when he managed to stay In the end, Burkhart was a lap within striking distance of Burkhart down, but he latched on to the and capitalize on a mistake the latter Katin/Chester freight train to show he made in the whoops. Neese and Katin filled the third and fourth spots on their Husqvarnas, no doubt happy to pick up the nice chunk of Husky contingency money that this Formula USA series offers. The Dash For Cash and the 250cc Pro main turned out to be nothing more than riding clinics by Burkhart, as he romped to wins in both. Suzuki/Ohio Mota Sportsbacked Charlie Dunaway made his way to the podium after a long hiatus from racing due to injury. and he was happy to come in in the runner-up spot, while Chester showed why he leads the points with a consistent third-place finish. In between the Pro heats and main events, select Amateur classes try their hand at the super-challenging The 50cc (4-6) contest was all Matthew Sanchez. The Hollister speedster went 1- 1 on his Polini for first overall. Second went to Michael Fontana. also aboard a Polini, and third went to Gabriel Adame via 3-3 mota scores to complete a Polini sweep of the top three. Moving up to bigger bikes. Adam Miller dominated both Intermediate classes. going undefeated in both the 125cc and 250cc divisions aboard his YZF. Runner-up in both classes was Campbell's Doug Schmid, aboard a Honda. Kawasaki jockey Jeff Northrop cruised to both Pro-class wins. In the always-exciting 125cc Beginner class. Ryan Darriago took the overall with consistent 2-2 finishes. He might not have won the battles, but he won the war, and he got to take the big trophy home. This week's Dash For Cash was a nail-biter between Intermediate rider Miller and Pro rider Northrop. At the start, Novice riders Travis Wilbur and Jim Copeland led the way around the hills of Hollister. Amazingly. Miller actually cut through the Novices by the second of the four laps. He then wasted no time in building up a small lead. Northrop was dicing through traffic as well. and he was clear of the Novices by the third lap. Northrop pulled up to Miller's rear fender and shadowed him for a few turns. He made a couple of attempts on Miller and they traded some paint. but by the end of lap three Northrop had made the pass. and this time it stuck. Miller remained attached to Northrop's fender all the way across the finish line. Northrop won the race and, along with it. some extra money for the weekend. This week. the Mini riders got a chance to race for some cash in the first-ever Mini Dash For Cash. The event was open to all aocc riders who qualified. After two laps of intense battling. Brian Whitely came across the checkers first to claim the victory. Another rider who walked away with some extra spending money was J.R. Alvernaz. who topped the Jump contest. CN RANDY HElM still had the pace. eN Nationwide Arena Calumbus, Ohio Results: February Z-3, ZOOZ lRound 11 Friday t 25 PRO: 1. Jim Chester (Suz); 2. Mark Burkhart (Yam); 3. Jim Neese (Hus); 4. Mike Katin (Hus); 5. Chris Whitcrall (Suz); 6. Scol1 Metz (Han); 7. David Hill (Suz); B. Brad Strunk (Suz); 9. Charlie Dunaway (Suz); 10. Mike Mercer (Suz). 250 PRO: 1. Mark Burkhart (Yam); 2. Charlie DunllwlIY (Suz); 3. Jim Chester (Suz); 4. Chris Whitcrllft (Suz); 5. Brad Strunk (Suz); 6. Tommy Borren (Suz); 7. Scol1 Met< (Han); B. Gavin Gracyk (Kaw); 9. MIke Katln (Hus); 10. Steve Andrich (Yam). DFC: 1. Mark Burkhart (Yam); 2. Jim Neese (Hus); 3. Mike Katin (Hus); 4. Brad Strunk (5); 5. Chris Whitcraft (Suz). Saturday 125 PRO; 1. Mork Burkhart (Yam); 2. Chris Whitcraft (SUl); 3. Brad Strunk (SUl); 4. Scott Metz (Han); 5. Jim Neese (Hus); 6. David Hill (Suz); 7. Mike Mercer (Suz); B. Charlie Dunaway (Suz); 9. Jim Chester (Suz). 10. So Bouman (Hon) 250 PRO: 1. Mike Katin (Hus); 2. Jim Chester (SUl); 3. Chris Whitcraft (SUl); 4. Scol1 Metz (Han); 5. Charlie Dunaway (Suz); 6. Nathan Tierney (Suz); 7. Jim Neese (Hus); B. Steve Andrich (Yam); 9. Brad Strunk (Suz); 10. D£lVid Hill (Suz). DFC: 1. Mark Burkhart (Yam); 2. Chris Whitcraft. (Suz); 3. Mike Mercer (Suz); 4. Mike Katin (Hus): 5. Jim Chester (Suz). S cue' • Hollister Hills &P Track Hollister, California Results: February 3. ZOOZ IRound 11 50 (4-6): 1. Romey Miramontes; 2. Max Lofano: 3. Vincent liar. 50 (7-8): 1. Matthew Sanchez; 2. Michael Fontana; 3. Gabriel Lopez. 50 OPEN: 1. Gabriel Adame; 2. Michael Fontan; 3. Ahm Serrano. 60 BEG: 1. Jordan Collins; 2. Matthew Sanchez; 3. Nick Whitley. 60 NOV: I. Zach Andrade; 2. Danny Coffey. 65 OPEN: 1. Zach Andrade; 2. Jordan Collins; 3, Matthew Cochran. BO BEG: 1. Greg Karman; 2. Daniel Washington; 3. Michael Coffey. 80 NOV: 1. Brian Whitley; 2. Curtis Roe; 3. Colton Walker. 80 (8-12): 1. Alan Serrano; 2. J.J. Karman. 80 (13-16): 1. Greg Karman; 2. Abel Alonzo. 125 BEG: 1. Ryan Darriago; 2. Gary Whitmore; 3. Dan Melvin. 125 NOV: 1. J.R. Alvernaz: 2. Scott Alvez: 3. Nick Markert. n ...... S MARCH 6, 2002 51

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