Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIChevy Trucks 1 25cc National Championship Motocross Series Round 2: Hangtown ClassIC between motos, the sky grew black and rain that wasn't forecast until the next day made an early appearance. Spectators lined up to buy umbrellas, while many headed for their cars, but those who stayed got to see Stewart disprove the theory that he can't ride well in the muddy slop. The Floridian suffered a poor start but marched steadily to the front and pulled away to another moto win, leaving the hardcore fans who stuck it out wondering if there's anything this kid can't do. "Salt Lake was a confidence builder," Stewart said of the penulti- 26 n By DOUG KARCHER PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN RANCHO CORDOVA, MAY 19 A fter a phenomenal debut SX sea- son, followed by a win in his first National at Glen Helen the week before, no one was really surprised to see James Stewart Jr. dominate the first moto at Hangtown. After all, conditions were near-perfect, with temperatures in the low 70s and the track beautifully prepared by the Dirt Diggers North MC. But during the break MAY 29, 2002' c: U c: I III e _ s mate supercross, where conditions were on the soft side. "It wasn't as muddy as today, but it was good practice, and today was even more of a confidence builder." The podium was rounded out by a couple of foreigners, as Australian Chad Reed and South African Grant Langston took second and third, respectively. The two went at it hard in the first moto, with Red Bull KTM's Langston holding off the tenacious attack of a hard-charging Reed for much of the race to take second. Langston had less success in the sec- ond moto, however, finishing sixth, and Mobile/Yamaha/Troy Racing's Reed's steady fourth was enough to give him the runner-up spot. "I had fun today," Reed said. "I wanted to win, but it was one better than last week. I was looking forward to the rain." Reed's success did not come without obstacles; he's still getting used to concrete starts, and he actually lost his brakes in the second moto. Similarly, Langston was coping with the disadvantage of a sore knee; he had gotten it drained on Thursday, and after jamming his foot into the ground when he lost his front end, he was in pain post-race. "My knee's killing me," Langston said. "I was going to go stay with Brock [Sellards in Ohio) this week, but now I'll stay in Califomia and see my doctor. I rode terribly in the second moto. It seemed that every lapped rider would hit a deep puddle and splash me with a huge wave. I was wiping my eyes with my dirty gloves. I'm okay with third, but unfortunately, James pulled some points on us." Although the top-three finishers in the first moto were the top-three overall, the second moto saw some different faces near the front - and both were on Blimpie Suzukis. Looking completely comfortable in the mud, Idaho's Danny Smith led for nearly half the race before eventually being overtaken by Stewart, who hadn't started as well. Smith held on for an impressive second-place finish, though his moto-one seventh limited him to fourth overall. Also creditable was the moto-two ride of Branden Jesseman, who ran second to his teammate until lap seven, when they both got zapped by Stewart. The Pennsylvania rider had finished eighth in the first moto, and he completed the top five overall. Taking sixth was defending champ Mike Brown, who spent the day recovering from poor starts on his Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks Kawasaki. Brown completed each moto's first lap in 15th and 10th, respectively, so he had his work cut out for him. He definitely worked forward through the pack with success, but while he did so, his maIn rivals were running away out front. The best he could salvage on the day was a 4-8 moto tally. Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca had a better showing here than he had at the previous round. The Costa Rican's first moto was particularly

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