Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Canadial Natieul Series Round Z: Wbispering Pines Raceway Roy King at Kamloops By AWSON KENNEDY KAMLOOPS, BC, CANADA, JUNE 23 Defending 250 champ Jean-Sebastien Roy took his first overall win at round two of the Canadian National Series. While it was a clean first-mota win for Roy, the second moto would not be so clear-cut. Despite a decision by Canadian Motorsport Racing Club officials to penalize Roy for passing Marco Dub.. with the caution flag out, Roy would still garner enough points for the win. The Blackfoot Honda rider was originally docked five positions for the illegal pass, but after race officials reviewed video and photos of the pass, that penalty was reduced to two positions. While Roy crossed the line at the front of the pack in both motos, he finished the day with a 1-3 score. earning valuable points on his way to what he hopes will be another 250cc title. Roy's Blackfoot teammate Blair Morgan clinched second overall on 5-2 motos. Morgan, who reportedly tackled the whoops sec- tion like no one else on the track, looked extremely fast for the second week running. KTM Canada's Lance Smail followed up his strong Nanaimo start with a pair of fourth· place finishes, earning third overall. Diablo Honda's Doug DeHaan found himself on the podium for the first time this season. After finishing third in the first moto, DeHaan rode well in the second moto before stalling the bike and losing positions, fmishing seventh. Machine Racing's Phil Lawrence inherited Roy's first-place position in the second moto, haVing crossed the line second. Lawrence rode a strong second moto, beating Morgan. and showing the Canadian crowd that he has the speed to run out front. Lawrence went 1-13 for fifth overall. Brad Hagseth had another strong weekend, taking his second overall in the 125cc class and landing his second top- 10 250cc finish. Hagseth was seventh overall, going 6-9. Diablo Honda's Dube had to settle for 10th overall after running up front in both motos. In moto one, Dube battled with Roy from start to finish but couldn't make the pass. In moto two, disaster struck. Dube was leading the race when he took a nasty crash in a jump section, damaging his bike badly and forcing him to DNF. Dube finished the weekend with a 2-30 record. Richmond Kawasaki rider and round-one winner Darcy Lange was glaringly absent from the weekend's competition. Lange took a nasty crash on a triple jump during Saturday's practice, injuring a vertebra. It's unclear when he will retum to the series. In 125cc action, defending champ Brad Hagseth continued to build his points lead, taking the overall for the second week in a row. Hagseth went I -2, adding another 47 points to his growing 125cc West lead. In moto one, Tiger Lacey grabbed the holeshot. Unfortunately for Lacey, Hagseth was right behind him, making the pass inside the first lap. Hagseth took the lead while Lacey hung on right behind. Behind the leaders, a battle for the top five spots was raging between Richmond Kawasaki's Rusty Holland, Suzuki's Tucker Hibbert and Riverside Yamaha's Aaron Barr. Holland was holding the third spot when he got lost in the sandy whoop section, taking out Hibbert and Lacey in the process. Barr kept his eyes open and easily passed the pileup to move into second place. Dusty Klatt also capitalized on the chaos, moving into third. It didn't take long for Klatt to get by Barr, and by then Holland had collected his belongings and gotten back on track. Holland made up for lost time, passing Barr and claiming the last podium position. Hibbert took himself out of the race with another crash, while Lacey never recovered from the fIrst takedown. Hagseth stayed out of trouble and took the win easily. Things didn't go so smoothly for Hagseth in the second mote: With the tension between him and Lacey building, the pair left the line side by side and went down together in the first comer. With the two front-runners in the dirt, the rest of the pack passed by and started their own race. Barr found himself out front, with Hibbert, Alaskan rider Jerry Lynnbumer and Todd Minnie in tow. After a disappointing first moto, Hibbert was determined to prove himself. Passing Barr for the lead, he ran out front for the remainder of the mota. But it was Hagseth who showed the crowd why he's championship material. Despite his first-lap fan, he worked his way through the pack and had found the top five by the third lap. He picked off the remaining riders and caught Hibbert. Hagseth had Hibbert in his sights when he slid out in a comer lmd was forced to settle for second place. Whispering Pines Raceway Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada Results: June 23. 2002 (Round 2) 125 PRO WEST: 1. Brad Hagseth (Yam): 2. RUlty Holland (Kaw): 3. Joey Sutherland (Yam); 4. Dusty Klatt (K.aw): 5. Nick Dunn (KTI'I). 2SO PRO: l. Jean·SebasUm Roy (Hon): 2. BIn Morgan (Hon): 3. Lance Smail (KTM.): 4. Doug DeHaan (Hon): 5. Ph" Lawrence (Yom). Western New York Motocross Association Inc. Round 11: Palmyra Racing Association Dieter Does It Again By lARRY WOOSTER PAL'\YRA, NY, JUNE 23 Round 11 of Western New York Motocross Association's 30-race series drew 587 eager riders to Palmyra Racing Association's firstclass facility, all hungry to compete in race two of the Scott USA/Maxima Racing Oilssponsored WNYMA Summer Series. Gary Johnston's RV Sales added to the excitement by supplying some great door prizes, such as gas grills, and also displayed two RVs that are all set up for racers. The "Hogback Hill" staff has been very busy continuing to make alterations to the big track in an effort to improve rider safety and at the same time increase the excitement level for both riders and spectators, including a new chicane located halfway between the starting gate and old tum one. Taking further advantage of the track's natural terrain, the staff has altered the layout to include a long downhill romp through the woods with a tight and fast high-bermed comer at the bottom that 80 JULv31,2oo2' cue. _ rockets the riders back up through the woods. Improvements to the track's soil, adding wood chips in an effort to help the soil hold moisture better. As the weather continues to heat up, the WNYMA is still riding a heat wave of great competition from the Pro-Expert level right over to the 50cc riders. When the gate finally burst open for the first Open Expert moto, 26 certified WNYMA speed addicts held the throttle pinned wide open. Nationally ranked and Palmyra Racing Association-sponsored rider Bruce Stratton led District 3's Geoff Ingersoll into the new chicane, with Myers Campers-sponsored Honda four-stroke rider Aaron Dieter and Jesse Milley close behind, as WNYMA number-one rider Billy Silvarole tried to rail round the outside line. Stratton cleared the chicane with a slim lead over the accelerating Dieter as the pack of riders fought for position. Dieter challenged Stratton early and often through the woods and over the whoops, and he actually had to scrub off some speed while in mid- n __ S Palmyra Racing AssoclaUon: The 125cc Experts prepare to leave the line In Palmyra, New York, site ofthe 11th round ofthe Western New York Motocross Association's 3Q-race series. flight to avoid taking himself and Stratton out of commission charging down Gravity Cavity. Stratton recorded the fastest lap times of the day, at 2:28, while Dieter also recorded some quick 2:31 lap times. Stratton maintained his lead and no one was close to putting any pressure on him or Dieter, who running a rock-solid second. Stratton won moto one by five seconds over Dieter, who seemed to run out of laps waiting for Stratton to miscue. The only question left in this mota was, Who would win the battle for third place? Both Brandon Kuhn and Silvarole recovered well from their midpack starts, passing several riders; however, Don Schmidt was able to mlliintlllin his groove from holeshot to finish line to hold on tight for third place, as Silvarole claimed fourth. With these already explosive riders getting a better feel for the new track layout, moto two was sure to be a classic WNYMA clash. Noticeably missing from the long list of Expert-class suspects at the starting gate were both Silva role and Stratton. (With the 90-degree temperatures and high humidity, Stratton's Yamaha had suffered a mechanical meltdown while leading a moto in a different class.) When the gate dropped, Dieter was on a mission, and he battled bar to bar with Kuhn and Ingersoll into the chicane. Dieter sped through the tight corners like they were a straightaway, with Schmidt, Kuhn and Joe Ellington in hot purSUit. Ellington tried to make an early pass on Kuhn, but he was riding with an injured wrist and couldn't make the pass stick. Dieter maintained his lead over Schmidt and the rest of the Open Expert riders by continually being the only rider left competing who was abie to nail the big uphill triple • with 10 feet to spare, to boot !! The dynamic duo of Dieter and Schmidt stepped out on Kuhn by four seconds for several laps. Then Dieter eventually amassed a "country mile" solo bike lead of more than 16 seconds at the finish line, going 2-1 for first overall. Schmidt maintained his fast pace to take second place in moto two, posting 3-2 mota finishes for second overall. Brian Austin picked up the pace in moto two, charging through the pack for third place and taking third overall by posting 6-3 moto fmishes. The WNYMA series retums to the Hogback Hill motocross track of the Palmyra Racing Association on August fourth. Palmyra Racing Association Palmyra. New York Results: June 23, 2002 (Round 1 U so P/W (4-8): I. COIVlOf Kelly (KTM); 2. J.son ChKho (KTM): 3. Justin /l\ays (Yam): 4. Jakob Sepor (Sur:); 5. Jade Repess (Yam). so (4-6): I. Jason Chacho (KTM): 2.. Cody /l\arriott (Yam); 3. = Nk:ho&as 1Ib\ac:Nno (Yam): 4. Ell Htn (lIT"'): 5. JuPt~)'I (Y8m). (7-a~ 1. Clng 1. Kyle ' - " (KTI'I): 2. ElI>an Rowland (!

• Cover