Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

~1~---:J1 I !J i ! i Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series ~ track - Round S: Watsonville Speedway pointed with second because we're still looking good in the points, and that's what we're here for, to win this championship for Ron Wood." Sanchez, who far outpaced eventual fourth-place finisher Martin, also expressed satisfaction with his performance. "I just have to thank Bob Swanson for all the help that he has given me setting my bike up, and James Banke," said Sanchez, who won the previous round at Perris, California. "We've already won twice and moved from eighth to fourth in the points. We've just got to keep going for it, staying on those podiums, and let the championship come." Although Martin ultimately finished an easy fourth, it was anything but easy to hold that position early on, as Souza, Anderson, Butler, Bricker, Lonnie Pauley and Triumph twinmounted Paul Herman all took their shots at Martin in the early going. It was often difficult to figure out who was actually leading whom as the swarming pack dived high and low, By ucts' Mark Corsetti on his potent SCOTT ROUSSEAU Wood-Rotax. As the front three riders PHOTOS BY KAREN GOULD WATSONVILLE, CA, JULY 6 few years ago, the case might u;jhave been made that Oregon rider Beau Brown was well on his way to becoming one of the top young riders on the national dirt track scene. A multitude of sidelining injuries later, and the jury is still out on that one. But during round six of Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series at Watsonville Speedway, the 21-year-old Brown showed the brilliance that made him a serious contender on the Formula USA National Dirt Track circuit in 2000. Brown flat dominated the Watsonville quarter mile aboard his Circle F Racing Frames/Cecil Brown Automotivebacked Rotax. In Tuff Plates qualifying action, Brown stopped the clocks with a time of 17.943 seconds to take the fast qualifier's plate. He then backed it up with a win in the fastest heat race to sit on the pole for the Open Pro main event. After 15 smooth, fast laps, Brown emerged victorious. "I can't even tell you how good this feels," Brown said. "I've been trying to get a win for so long, and it finally happened." Brown lined up on the outside pole for the main event, opting to start on the groove to get that little extra advantage in the dash to turn one. It was the right move, as he shot into the lead, followed by CCM/Banke Performance's Jesse Sanchez and Ron Wood Racing/RAB Racing Prod- m 58 JULY 24, 2002' eye I e pulled away from a fantastic battle among several others - including Billy Martin, Tony Souza, Ryan Anderson and Grand National number 22 Dan Butler - for the fourth spot, their line selection was testament to just how bedded in the Watsonville clay had IAbove) In the Open Pro main, Brown 1171 jumped in front of Jesse Sanchez 158Z) and Mark Corsetti 111. Corsetti eventually wound up second, with Sanchez third. ILeftl Chris Canepa (1) battles with A.J. Kirkpatrick 1121 and Bradley Spencer 1731 In the Suzuki 250 Novice class. Canepa won the main event. Kirkpatrick finished third. become. Brown preferred to run dead in the middle of the track in both sets of corners, while Sanchez ran high, practically on the upper rim of the banked oval. Corsetti, meanwhile, continued to work the bottom. It eventually got him past Sanchez for the second spot, but Brown continued to pull away, ultimately winning the 15-lap main by several lengths. "That middle groove was definitely the way to go," Brown said. "We tried a few other lines earlier in the night, but I could say that for me it was going to be the best place to run. Everything just went perfect. Of course, getting the start was really n e _ os important. That was half the battle right there." Corsetti eventually went up top in an effort to run down Brown, but there was simply no catching the Oregon rider. Still, a runner-up finish kept the Pittsburg, Californian in good shape for the championship. He trails Rod Spencer, who was 13th tonight, and Kevin Bricker by one point in the series standings. Spencer and Bricker are tied for the lead with 86. Corsetti has 85. "I tried everything I could to catch Beau, but he was just gone," Corsetti said. "My hat's off to him because he rode a great race. I'm not too disap- crisscrossing lines in an attempt to gain an advantage. It ultimately fell to Martin, although both Bricker and Butler put in good rides, Bricker coming from the back row to finish seventh just ahead of Butler, who is still getting back into shape after his disastrous crash at the Springfield Mile last season. For the second weekend in a row, Open Vintage action was all about A&A Racing's Rick Hocking. The former AMA Grand National winner has been the hottest rider going lately, and he capitalized on that in Watsonville. After posting the fastest race time en route to victory in his heat race, Hocking grabbed another of his patented holeshots out of the gate when the 15 -rider Open Vintage field left the line. Current series points leader Fox/Spears Enterprisesbacked Rod Spencer tried everything he could to run down Hocking, but he could not stop his title rival from landing his second win in a row. "I needed to get the start, and I did." Hocking said. "We have finally got this bike figured out, and it works really good for me. But the best part for me is coming out and putting on a

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