Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

CMA Extreme MX Fresno County Fairgrounds Moto Inferno ~ l.l;...W..ll.o'-l-.I..I...~1o,,;.J Sunday, September 1 1 PM By EDDIE GRAVEllNE FRESNO, CA, JULY 6 When the California Motorcycle Association announced that they would be having a day race on Saturday, July 6, some thought they were crazy. The temperatures are over 100 degrees in Fresno in July, and some didn't think that anyone would be coming out to race. They couldn't have been more wrong. The race was held at the Fresno FaIrgrounds and was preceded by a lot of radio and television advertising. This was more than a normal local race. The Amateur program during the day and the Bounty Hunter event held later that evening were intended to draw a lot of fans off the street. Knowing that something out of the ordinary was taking place, the hard-core raceTS of central California came out in droves and battled intense conditions all day long. Thank God Casey Hinson's mom was out there selling ice-cold neckwraps to everyone! A great Mini turnout was a harbinger of a great day of racing. When the aocc Intermediates pulled up to the starting gate, everyone came from the pits to watch. Jeff Alessi was there on his CR, as well as local boys Nicolas Baker, Dustin Pipes and Les Soito. Though a few years younger than the Alessi boys, Nick Baker has been on a tear in the central California area. Pipes was one of the best 60cc riders in the state until he broke his leg (twice). He's been back for a couple of months now, though, and is getting back up to speed. Soito just moved up from the Novice class, but he has already shown that the promotion was justified. When they took off, Alessi had the edge going into the first tum. He broke away from the pack, but the younger guys put on a great race. Baker holds a slight speed advantage over the recovering Pipes right now, but they seem to race closer every week. Still, Baker was able to go 2·2 for second overall. Soito never fell too far behind, either, going 4-4 In the class. As he improves, this class will be even more fun to watch. The 125cc Beginner class was large enough that they had to split it into two gates. The first one provided some evenly matched racing. Joel Roberts, Greg Kudlac and Bryan Ash were all in the running. After getting fourth in the first moto, Roberts could have given up any hope of taking the win, but he came back strong and edged Kudlac for the second-race victory. Kudlac's 3·2 tallies were equal to Roberts' 4-1, but a moto victory is the tie breaker and the nod went to the Kawasaki-mounted Roberts. Ash was consis- ~DUNLD.P 7RADIAl ROVER .=l.. ...H ' .. rl.6S IG. ... "ii'R:UCK _ FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 Amateur Sign-up: 8am Race Format: One long moto Rider Fee: $25 ALL CLASSES Adm. $50 (FriISaI/Sun. TIcket; No Refund) Camping: $30 per vehicle SATURDAY, AUGUST 31 Amateur Sign-up: 7am Race Format: One long mota Rider Fee: $25 ALL CLASSES Pro Practice: 3:30pm Adm. $40 (Sal/Sun. TIcket; No Refund) Camping: $30 per vehicle sbs --- ~tA€1FJ .-~-...;...-----+-----SUNDAY., SEPTEMBER 1 Restrictions: No pets No open alcohol containors Adm. $25 r---:-----,-----------,Io z < r£~'!i!> ~ ,@ IiOiI "-",,,m;;... _ '<81 V ~ Directions 12 miles East of PA Turnpike off Rt 22 near Delmont Rt 66 North 3 miles, Right on Slickville Rd_ ------. Information: (304) 284-0084 www.steelcitymx.com Starting Thursday at 6pm weekend camping available for AMA members and families ·1 z ::; w ~ 'w " is o w ~ ~ 'CYCLE NEWS NEVER COVERS THE RACES IN MY AREA•.• J J10N~r JUST WHINE ABOUT IT••• WRITE ABOUT 'T! "- Fresno County Fairgrounds: Mike Alessi (800) and Daniel Sani (168) engaged in a spectacular duel during the Sportsman X race at the CMA Extreme MX event In Fresno, Callfornla_ If you don't see local coverage in Cycle News of events in your area, you can help by becoming a Cycle News contributor. You write the story (and shoot photos) at your local club and track events, and submit the story to us for publication. We'll even pay you for what we print. All you have to do is call the Cycle News headquarters at 714·751·7433 (weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. p.s. T.; Tuesday thru Friday) and ask for a "contributor kit". We'll send you all the details about how to write local stories for Cycle News. REMEMBER... We can't run it if we don't get it! eye I e n e _ S • AUGUST 7, 2002 63

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