Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Cycle News 2002 06 19

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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Parts Unlimited World Off-Road Championship Series Round 4: Washougal MX Park By WASHOUGAL, WA, JUNE 9 y Davis was all smiles before the start of the race. You see, there was this hill - a slippery, rocky and just plain nasty ascent - that everyone in the Pro division was worried about - everyone, that is, except Davis. There were a few obvious lines up this hill to choose from, but when Davis, who had walked the track earlier in the day, was asked before the race which line he would take, his reply was "none of them. I'm going through the bushes, right up the middle. No one knows it's there." Whether or not he actually ended up using his secret (and perfectly legal, mind you) line didn't really matter, but what did matter was that the Montclair Yamaha rider had plenty of confidence when the 80 riders lined up for the start of the Pro race for round four of the World Off- Road Championship Series at Washougal MX Park in Washington. And all of this confidence showed, as Davis blasted off the line and shot into the early lead at the start of the two-hour race and, more importantly, maintained that lead up the rocky climb that came into play early in the race. He led Yoshimura Suzuki's Mike Kiedrowski and Rodney Smith and KTM's Brian Garrahan and Kurt Caselli up and over the hill on the first lap and went on to score his third consecutive win of the series. But Davis' win didn't come easily, for that same hill that he had conquered seemingly effortlessly on the first lap bit him on the second lap, when he suddenly found an overabundance of traction on a rock and looped out his Yamaha YZ250. As he turned around for a second shot up the hill, Kiedrowski held the throttle wide opened and bounced and lurched his Yoshimura DR-Z450 Suzuki up the climb and into the lead. Davis backtracked a ways before making it up the hill, and then set off after his rival around the tight, wooded and technical five-mile course, which also incorporated the famed 28 me. On the next lap, we came to the hill, and Mike was having problems and I got by him." From there, Davis opened up about a 30-second lead over Kied-rowski that he maintained for most of the race, much like he did at the last WORCS race in Utah. It wasn't until the last couple of laps that Davis stretched out his lead to just over one minute. "I was happy to see the last lap," Davis said. "Mike was fast out there, and I couldn't let up." Kiedrowski, who ended up second (for the third WORCS race in a row), had a few more altercations with "The Hill." KIT PALMER AND CHRIS JONNUM PHOTOS BY TYLER MADDOX AND PALMER JUNE 19, 2002' cue I e (Top) The Pro race utilized the Washougal MX track's start gate to accommodate the 80-rider field. (Left) Ty Davis made one mistake, and it was here, when he looped his Yamaha on a rocky climb. He rebounded to take his third WORCS race win in a row. (Below) Mike Kiedrowski had his share of problems but still landed second overall. Washougal MX track. But just as the hill had bitten Davis on the second lap, it also took its toll on Kiedrowski on the third lap, when the defending WORCS champ got his bike stuck halfway up the rock climb. He tried to wiggle his big thumper free of the slippery rocks, allowing Davis to shoot up the hill and back into the lead - in the exact same spot where he lost it the lap before. Kiedrowski eventually muscled his way to the top and resumed his race, but now some 10 seconds behind Davis, who made up for his mistake on the second lap and rode flawlessly for the duration of the race. "I did a full-on beginner move," Davis said of his loop-out. "I did a 180 and had to ride my bike down the hill, and Mike [Kiedrowski] passed n e _ 51;

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