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1 Bth Annual White Brothers Four-Stroke World Championships STORY AND PHOTOS BY STEVE ing good for him. "I bogged it a little bit off the cement, and then I got pinched," Dubach said, "so, from that point on, I was kind of struggling. Then I came together with someone in the back and went off the track on that same first lap, so it wasn't good." Walters was haVing his way at the front, pulling away slightly from Sellards, only to have the KTM rider reel him back in before the halfway point. But the man on the move was 19year-old Hamblin, who began pressuring a goggleless Carpenter by the third lap and appeared to be among the fastest on the track. Carpenter's vision only got worse throughout the moto. "Something happens and the strap falls off," Carpenter said, "and then J've got no goggles. And the first lap, when you're riding behind a 426, or a 450, or a 520, you can't see anything." Former 500cc World Champion Shayne King was haVing bike problems and was way down on power, having equipped his CRF450R with jetting from his native New Zealand. It wasn't a fit for the California weather, and he was having a rough time of it back in the pack - but he was making up time. By the halfway point, Walters led by a small amount over Sellards, and Hamblin was gaining on both of them, haVing dispatched Carpenter and Amaradio, and those two then had their hands full with Dubach, who was struggling with a broken finger. Dubach eventually found his way around the Honda duo, but he would have to settle for fourth. Walters crossed the line with a few seconds to spare over Sellards (who was ill and figured he'd save his energy for moto two) and Hamblin (who was gaining on the KTM factory superstar when the checkered flew). Carpenter got the better of Amaradio for fifth, while Lance Smail landed seventh, over a struggling King. Cox SAN BERNARDINO, CA, APR. )3-14 JAl fter a day of racing affected by lSrJ old injuries, new injuries, crashes, mechanical hiccups, brain farts, and just plain dumb luck at the 18th annuaJ White Brothers Four-Stroke World Championships, perhaps the now four-time Four-Stroke World Champion, 39-year-old Doug Dubach, put it best when he said, "I'd rather be lucky than good any day." Although nobody is accusing Dubach of being anything other than good, he was, in fact, quite lucky to come away with the overall after tallying 4-1 moto scores. MOTO 1 As the field funneled into the first turn, it was White Brothers Honda's MOT02 (Above) Spud Walters led from start to finish In the first moto, but an I~ured ankle and a fall held him to sixth in moto two, and third overall. Sean Hamblin was extremely Impressive. He came from behind In both motos and ended up with 3-5 moto scores. He was, hands down, the fastest rider on the track much of the day. 38 MAY 1. 2002' c u e I • n • _ • Spud Walters with the holeshot, but the defending Western Four-Stroke National Champion was followed closely by one of the many who were new to the four-stroke wars, KTM Red Bull's Brock Sellards (who had first ridden the 520 SX on an MX track the day prior). Close behind them was CRF450R-mounted Tony Amaradio, Walters' teammate Paul Carpenter, and Power Pros-backed Sean Hamblin, fresh off a win at the most recent Western Four-Stroke National. Dubach was stuck back in ninth after the first lap, and things weren't look- Amaradio swapped sideways into the first corner, but he held the lead as the pack rounded turn one, with Sellards, Walters and Dubach all in hot pursuit. Hamblin, meanwhile, apparently felt strong enough to give the others a head start. "We'll just say we had a 'mechanical failure' on the start," laughed Hamblin before admitting that his petcock had been turned off. Hamblin immediately headed off after the field, but he gave them what would be too big of an advantage if he hoped to win the overall. Amaradio immediately started putting time on everyone, looking like a different rider altogether from moto one, and Walters was chasing valiantly with an injured ankle he twisted in the first