Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

to card solid finishes in the first two rounds, but, according to his father Gerald, "There is something still not right with the knee. Things have been getting worse with fluid constantly being syringed out and Cortisone pain injections to the knee. Grant rested this week and tried to ride [on Friday], but was in too much pain." Langston decided to have another operation on that same day and it is unknown how long he will be out. A series that started out with a dominating Stewart has now been upended, and the outcome is anybody's guess. Fortunately for Reed, he is healthy and in the points lead. And fortunately for Stewart and Brown, they have two weeks to heal before the fourth round of the AMA/Chevy Trucks National Championship Motocross Series at Southwick on June 9. High Poiat Raceway Mount Morris, Pennsylvania Results: May 26, 2002 (Round 3 of 121 13. Schnell; 14, Byme; IS, Buckelew; 16. Short; 17. 125 MOTO 1: I. Chad Reed (Vam); 2, Mike Brown (Kaw); 3. Emesto Fonseca (Hon); 4. Jemes Stewart Jr. (Kl!w): 5. Br8ndon Jesseman (Suz): 6. Eric Sorby (Kaw); 7. Denny Smith (So2); 8, Michael Byrne (Hon); 9. Casey Johnson (Hon): 10. Steve Boniface (KTM); 11. Larry Ward (Vam): 12, Josh Demuth (Vam); 13. Damon Huffman (So2); 14, Greg Schnell (Yern); IS, Bobby Bonds (Kaw); 16. Buddy Antunez (Suz); 17. Andrew Short (Suz); 18. Jeff Gibson (Vam); 19, Johnny Marley (Vam); 20. Michael Br8ndes (Suz); 21. Justin Buckelew (Suz); 22. IVlln Tedesco (Yam); 23. Kelly Smith (Yam); 24, Shane Bess (Suz); 25. Travis Elliott (Hon); 26. Troy BRIEFLY••• Grant Langston was a no-show at High Point. According to Langston's mechanic/uncle. Andrew Langston. the KTM/Red Bull Iider required a second knee surgery after complaining of pain at Hangtown last week. - Grant had his knee drained just after the race and the doctor indicated that there were lillie particles of cartilage present." Langston said. "He thought possibly that Grant hac Iidden too soon and the knee had been re-damaged. The MRI showed thet he needed another surgery and he was operated on again [Fnday. May 24J. It went pretty well. but when they did the operation. they actually discovered more damage. Splinters of the cartHage were breaking away. They had to clean that up. along with the meniscus. They seem to think the recovery will take 4-6 weeks. but he's go,ng to have to take it up with the doctors and see." Adllms (Yam): 27. Randy Vlliade (Suz): 28. Aaron De)' (YlIm); 29. Thomas Kelley (Suz); 30. Tom Welch (Hon): 31. Rodrig Thain (Yam): 32. JOShUll Summey (Yam); 33. Joshua Woods (Suz): 34. DlIvid Ginolfi (Vern): 35. Chris Gosselaar (Hon); 36. Casey C1llrk (Vern); 37. Chris Wheeler (Suz); 38. Tyson Hadsell (Yam): 39. Steve Andrich (Yam); 40. Mett Walker (Kaw). Time of Race: 30:00.050 125 MOTO 2: I. Reed; 2. Jesseman; 3. Sorby; 4. Antunez; 5. Ward; 6. Walker; 7. Demuth; 8. Fonseca: 9. Johnson; 10. Bonds; 11. Huffman; 12. Tedesco: K. Smith; 18. Gosselaar: 19. D. Smith; 20. Gibson; 21. Brandes: 22. Wheeler; 23. Woods; 24. Bess; 25. Dey; 26. Adems; 27. Elliott; 28. Summey; 29. Marley; 30. Welch; 31. Clerk; 32. Velede; 33. Kelley; 34. Ginolfi; 35. Hadsell; 36. Bonifece; 37. Stewert; 38. Andrich; 39. Brown; 40. Thain. TIme of Race: 35:00.282 125 O/A: 1. Reed; 2. Jessemen; 3. Sorby; 4. Fonsece; 5. Werd; 6. Johnson; 7. Antunez; 8. Demuth; 9. Brown; 10. Byrne; 11. Huffmen; 12. Stewert; 13. Bonds; 14. D. Smith; 15. Welker; 16. Schnell; 17. Boniface; 18. Tedesco; 19. Short; 20. Buckelew; 21. K. Smith; 22. Gibson; 23. Gosseleer; 24. Marley; 25. Brandes; 26. Wheeler; 27. Woods; 28. Bess; 29. Dey; 30. Adams; 31. Elliott; 32. Summey: Fast By Ferracci/Husqvarna/DKNY's Steve Lamson was absent at High Point. Lamson was still feeling the effects of the foot he re-injured at Hangtown and decided to sit out the race, As is usually the case at any outdoor Nationai. several handmade banners (below) were displayed at High Point. Of particular interest was a banner which read 'Roncada #21 - Beat R,C. Clean,' obViously in reference to the on-track scuffle that went down between the two Iiders a week earlier at Hangtown. Suzuki's Travis Pastrana suffered a wrist injury in the nrst moto at Hangtown. Pastrana was on-hand at High POint to watch and was willing to prOVide an update on his condition. "It's just a Simple break." Pastrana said. "But it's the naVIcular. so there's not a great blood supply to that area. Hopefully, I'll be back in six weeks or so - I get the cast off in s.x weeks, anyway. My goal IS to be ready for Unadilla. That's SIX weeks, plus two to get back up to speed on the bike. I was just trying to get through those West Coast rounds, but I didn't make it. What can you do?- FollOWing his outstanding 6-9, seventh overall, ride at Hangtown last week, Sean Hamblin showed up at High Point as a fullfledged factory SoBe Suzuki rider, "This has been a lifelong dream of mine and I'm finally living it." Hamblin said, "I just need to keep my head exactly where it's been thiS whole time and keep plugging away, since that's what got me this ride in the first place." Hamblin competed aboard what was baSically an ergonomIcally altered version of Travis Pastrana's race bike with Lee McCollum acting as hiS mechanic. Team Moto-XXXlDGY's Kyle Lewis ran an Inert,ai Suspension Stabilizer (below) on the rear wheel of hiS CR450F at High POint. "BaSically, It slows a lot of the wheel movement." said Lewis. "Inert.al, a company out of Argentina, came to me in December with it. It makes the wheel really stick. I not.ced a b.g difference when I started to use It. I don't think It'S qUite ready for supercross, yet. but outdoors It works really well. It stops a lot of the side-to-slde movement. In testing, we also noticed about a 20percent decrease in shock temperature, " AMA/CHEVV TRaCKS a.s, MX CHAMPIONSHIP t25« POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 12 rounds): 1. Chad Reed (125/1 win); 2. James Stewert (I 15/2 wins); 3. Mike Brown (89); 4. Emesto Fonseca (87): 5. Danny Smith (84): 6. Grent Langston (77); 7. Branden Jesseman (75); 8. Matt Walker (63): 9. Eric Sorby (62); 10. Bobby Bonds (60); II. Damon Huffman (58); 12. Michael Byrne (46): 13, Buddy Antunez (44); 14, Josh Demuth (35); 15. (TIE) lv.n Tedesco/Larry Ward (31): 17. Tr8vis Preston (29); 18. Casey Johnson (24); 19. Kelly Smith (20); 20. Greg Schnell (19); 21. Brock Sellards (18); 22. Chris Gosselaar (17); 23. Steve Boniface (15); 24. David Pingree (14): 25. Scott Sheak (13); 26. Rodri9 Thain (10); 27. (TIE) Andrew Short/Travis Elliott (9): 29. Josh Woods (8): 30. Tyson Hadsell (7); 31. (TIE) Justin Buckelew/Chris Wheeler (6); 33. C.sey Lytle (5): 34, (TIE) Jeff Gibson/Mike Corder (4); 36. (TIE) Johnny Marley/Mich8el Brandes (2). Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Southwick, Massachusetts, June 9 Round 5 - Budds Creek, Maryland, June 16 EVS' .Josh Demuth, who went 12-7, for eighth overall. The topfinishing plivateer in each class receives $1500, while the runnerup receives $750, Sunday morning's qualifiers saw Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Stephane Roncada take the first 250cc qualifier win, which clocked in as the fastest of the day at 8:37.11 minutes, Max Pitts/O'NeaI/ARC-backed Honda Iider Clark Stiles won the second 250cc qualiner and Diablo Honda/Oakley/Perform-X's Doug Dehaan won the 250cc consolation race. Boost MobilelYamahalTroy Racing's Rodlig Thain was the winner of the first 125cc qualifier and Pro Circuit/Chevy Trucks/Kawasaki's Elic Sorlby won the second 125cc qualifier, while 3D Raclng/FMF/Dunlop's Kelly Smith won the 125cc consolation race, Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/Chevy Trucks Iider Eric Sorby was the first 12Scc Iider to jump the uphill triple behind the starting gate during practice on Saturday. Before the day was over, Mike Brown and Jeff Gibson had also accomplished the feat that was first done on a 125 in 1991 by 125cc National WInner Bnan Swink on his Peak/Pro Circuit Honda. No 125cc nders attempted it in this year's main motos. As reported In last week's edition of Cycle News. Team SoBe The High POint National marked the final round of Daryl Hurley's two-race deal to race in America. The Australia Suzukibacked K,w, was very excited about his short stay in the U.S, "The level of racing here IS so high," Hurley said. "I've leamed a lot Just from being here, watching the tops guy practice and, stuff. It's gOing to be good for me to go home now and, hopefully, take back what I've leamed, I'm leading the Supercross Championship in Australia at the moment and we're only halfway through the season, so I've got to go home and prepare for that. This is the last year of my two-year deal With Suzuki of Australia, I've been talking to a few people about a deal for next year [in AustraliaJ. but I'm really interested now in coming over here. After these last two weekends, I don't really want to go home.- 33. Welch; 34. Clark; 35. Valade; 36. Kelley; 37. Ginolfi. Team Shark Plano Honda's Scott Sheak did not ride at High Point due to the recent stling of head injulies he has sustained, However, Sheak was on-hand at the race, acting as team manager for the weekend. "I've always worked with the team and right now, with Kenny [Watson] berng out and not actually having a team manager at the moment. I'm filling in to see how I like it. It's definitely something I'm going to consider for the future. It's always been a big interest of mine. There's not many opportunities out there, as far as managing, but light now, I'm really just getting a feel for it to make sure it's something that I'm going to have an interest in pursuing. R Sheak also reports that the team has struck a deai with former KTM/Red Bull rider David Pingree for the remaining outdoor Nationals. "David was oliginally only interested in doing supercross, but he's become interested in doing the Nationals now," Sheak said. "He rode our bike last week and he loved it. so we worked It out. I've got a lot of confidence in DaVid. I'm 91ad we could be there to give him the support he needs," According to Sheak, Pingree will make his debut with the team at Southwick (June 9) LCR Racrng.com/FLY/Dragon s Ryan Clark hired Racer X illustrated contributor Danny Nappi as his temporary mechanic for High Point. Nappi, known for hiS Side-splitting humor, was extremely excited about the opportunity "I really enjoyed it and leamed a lot." Nappi said. "This IS gOing to make a great story." Team Shark/Plano Honda's Casey .Johnson returned to racing at High Point. Johnson injured hiS knee in the first moto at Glen Helen and was forced to sit out the next round at Hangtown, "I feel okay," Johnson said, "I'm still struggling with my knee injury, When I broke my ankle, I injured the ACL In my light knee, I'm Just trying to strengthen It and get myself back up to speed, If it doesn't get any better by Budds Creek, I'm probably just going to drop out. have the surgery and get ready for next year. Even with the inJUry, I feel like I'm riding well enough to get a top-10 finish, if I can get a good start. That's my goal. U,S, Smokeless Tobacco presented therr Top Privateer Awards at High Point. Planet Honda/Scott/M2R/Reynard Modifications' Robbie Reynard was the top privateer in the 250cc class, finIshing 4-4, for fourth overall, foliowed by Moto XXX/DGY's Kyle Lewis, who went 10-8, for eighth overall. Lewis' Moto XXXlDGY teammate Larry Ward was the top 125cc privateer, finishing 11-5, for f,fth overall, followed by Shogun Motorsports/Thor/ Husqvarna nder Steve Mertens IS still recovenng from a wlist injury, but the Fioridian hopes to be riding again ,n the next week or so. In the meantime, Paul Veracka is contesting the series for Husqvama, though he failed to qualify in the 125cc class at High Point. As reported earlier, Husky's Steve Lamson aiso missed the race due to a foot injury, Contrary to rumors swirling around on Ihe intemet, Blimpie Suzuki's Buddy Antunez has not yet decided to go back to Arenacross this year, "I don't have a confirmation on anything I'm going to do next year," Antunez said. "I haven't formally spoken with Suzuki about next year. Right now, I'm just haVing a good time riding the outdoors, and I'm looking to do some top-fives hopefully some top-threes - and we'll see what happens. But I'm not opposed 10 going back to Arenacross if everything works out." High Point was the nrst track on the outdoor CirCUit so far this year to employ a dirt starting pad. the others uSing concrete. Some of the 12 tracks on the AMAlChevy Trucks US. National schedule stili use dirt, Including Red Bud, Steel City and Spring Creek in Millvilie, Minnesota. Kevin Johnson, number 757 with Team LCR RaCing, IS still out w,th mononucleosis. He 's hoping to come back at Southwick. Six-time AMA National Champion Broc Glover was on-hand at the SoBe High Point Nationals with Dunlop Tires, When asked about the track conditions, he saId, "I think they did a really good job with the soil, and obviously the rain on Fnday helped out a lot. In practice, I thought it was epic conditions. The soil was perfect. It was graded - it wasn't graded too deep - but It was nice and loamy everywhere. It was fast. but it was in great shape." Australian Chad Reed was the second international rider in High POint's 26-year history on the AMA National schedule to win in his first visit to the Racer Productions-organized event. Back in 1990, Frenchman Jean-Michel Bayle dominated the 125cc class on a factory Honda CR 125 in his first visit to the facility, which is iocated on the Holbert family farm, Reed's win was only the second-ever by a four-stroke in AMA 125cc National Motocross competition. Last year, Moto XXXlDGY privateer Larry Ward won the Red Bud 125cc National in Michigan aboard a Yamaha YZ250F, the same model Reed used to record his first National win on Sunday. cue •• n e vv s .JUNE 5, 2002 25

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