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Thor/Parts Unlimited Northeast Classic Motocross Series
Round 5: Walden Motocross Club
(Left) Damlen Plotts won the 250cc
Open A class, riding to another
perfect 1-1 tally at the final round of
the Thor/Parts Unlimited Northeast
Classic Motocross Series. Plotts has
won every 250cc Open A moto in the
series and took home the overall
series purse for first place in the
250cc Open A class.
(Right) Barry Carsten (66) and Ty
Wallace (83) battle for the lead In the
first 125cc A moto at the Walden
Motocross Club in Wallkill, New York.
Carsten topped the class for the
series and was runner-up overall in
the 250cc A class.
STORV AND PHOTOS
BV JIM P. SANDERSON
WAllKIll., NY, JULY 26
r1'" rossroad Power Sports/RRP's
\::t Damien Plotts did exactly what
he set out to do. His goal was to win
every 250cc Open A mota in the
2002 Thor/Parts Unlimited Northeast
Classic Series, and he (jid it. Plotts
could be considered the "Ricky
Carmichael of the Northeast": Both
are Honda pilots, and both are on
consecutive win streaks. Plotts won
10 out of 10 motos for a perfect score
of 50 points for top honors and the
big bucks, in addition to his mota
winnings, for the series' overall in the
superfast and highly competitive
250cc Open A class.
Second overall in the 250cc Open
A class in the series went to veteran Suzuki pilot Barry Carsten, who
finished 17 points behind Plotts.
Third place went to Ty Wallace,
fourth went to Casey Clark, and fifth
in the series' final points standings
went to Ryan Tuerck.
Bromley Suzuki's Carsten took
home the overall series purse in the
supercompetitive 125cc A class.
Carsten bested Plotts for top honors
by 11 points for a final series tally of
47. Third-place honors went to Wallace, fourth went to Clark, and fifth to
Factory Connection's Ryan Mills.
The Walden Motocross club hosted
the final round of the series. More
than 500 riders came out to battle for
top honors in the series on the fast
and extremely technical racecourse.
Mother Nature "sort of cooperated"
by holding off the rain and thunderstorms, and even though temperatures were in the lower 80s, the humidity made it feel like the lower 90s.
In the final round, Plotts piloted his
Honda thumper to the front of the
pack in both 250cc Open A motos en
route to a perfect 1- 1 score for top
honors. Wallace earned runner-up
honors with his consistent 2-2 rides.
Rounding out the podium was Honda
pilot and District 34 hometown
favorite Carlo Coen.
In the 125cc A class, Carsten rode
to 1-3 scores for the top tier of the
podium, while Clark earned the next
spot on the podium with his 4-1 rides.
Wallace rounded out the podium with
his 3-2 tally.
Plotts managed to get to the front
of the pack once again with his
booming Honda thumper in the first
250cc Open A mota. In tow were
Wallace, Coen, Mike Spear and
Carsten. Right off the gate, Wallace
kept Plotts honest. By the third lap,
Plotts and Wallace were alone out
front, with Coen six seconds off the
leaders' pace, in third. It took Carsten
until lap four to pass Spear to take
fourth. Clark got Spear for fifth just a
short time later, dropping Spear to
sixth. Plotts took the checkered flag
with a three-second advantage. Trailing him were Wallace, Coen, Carsten
and Clark.
Plotts repeated his first-mota start
in the second 250cc Open A mota.
Trailing him were Coen, Wallace,
Mike Veracka and Clark. The top
three remained unchanged at the
start of lap two, while Clark and
Spear moved up to take fourth and
fifth. Plotts had a three-second lead
after 2 1/2 laps. Coen was doing all
he could to hold off Wallace. On the
following lap, Wallace finally made a
pass stick to take second, relegating
Coen to third. The top five were
pretty well spread out by lap five.
Plotts took the checkers for another
win, followed by Wallace, Coen, Clark
and Spear.
Carsten led the start of the first
125cc A mota, with Wallace, Plotts,
Clark and Charlie Ellis trailing.
Carsten quickly pulled out to a small
lead of four seconds by the start of
lap two. Wallace went down and
dropped out of the top five. Plotts
moved up to second, Ellis was third,
with Clark fourth and Veracka fifth.
Wallace was charging after going
down and was already up to sixth and
passed Veracka to take fifth on lap
three. Plotts made a few mistakes on
lap four, allowing Carsten to pull
away. Wallace got around Clark on
lap six to take fourth, dropping Clark
to fifth. Wallace passed Ellis for third
with half a lap to go. Clark then
passed Ellis for fourth, dropping Ellis
to fifth. Carsten got the first-mota
win, with Plotts, Wallace, Clark and
Ellis in tow.
Clark got his YZF thumper to the
front and led the start of the second
125cc A mota. Trailing him were
Wallace, Carsten, Paul Dornellas and
Ellis. By the start of lap two, the top
five were Clark, Wallace, Carsten,
Ellis and Plotts. The top five
remained unchanged until lap four,
when Plotts finally got around Ellis in
the whoop section for fourth. The top
five were pretty well spread out by
lap five and remained unchanged to
the checkered flag. The second mota
finished as Clark, Wallace, Carsten,
Plotts and Ellis.
eN
65 (10-11): 1. Ryan Blizzard (KTM); 2. Michael
Hada (KTM); 3. Jes~ Kuzbyt (KGw); 4. Henry Royes
(Kaw); 5. Marcus Hodge (KTM).
85 (12-13): 1. Michael Picone (Suz): 2. Phillip
Nicoletti (Hon); 3. Robert Marshllll (Suz); 4.
Christopher Pugrob (Kaw); 5. Mllrl< l.Jndsay (Kaw).
85 (14· 15): I. Adorn Blessing (Kaw); 2. Michael
Tippin Jr. (Suz); 3. Brian Mulcahy (Yam); 4. Jason
Fioravanti (Hon); 5. Alex VDsqU~ (Kew).
JR MINI (7-11): 1. Ryan Blizzard (KTM); 2.
Michael Hacill (KTM); 3. Kyle Willis (Kew); 4. Justin
Barcia (KTM); 5. Jesse Kuzbyt (Kaw).
S/MINI: I. Phillip Nicoletti (Hon); 2. Michael
Picone (Suz); 3. Robert Marshall (Sur); 4. Christopher
Pugrab (Kaw); 5. Mark Und~y (Kaw).
125 A: I. Barry Carsten (Sur); 2. Casey Clark
(Yam); 3. Ty Wallace (Yam); 4. Damien Plotts (Hon);
S. Charles Ellis (Suz).
125 B: 1. Jay Weller (Sur); 2. Jacob Morrison
(Kaw); 3. Jason Doyle (Yam); 4. Chad Charbonneau
(Hon); 5. Chris Sherman (Yam).
125 C: 1. Tyler Witner (Suz); 2. Jesse
Festenstine (Kaw); 3. Matthew Worney (Yam); 4.
Shawn Latorre (Yam); 5. Bryan Fleischman (Yaml.
250 A: 1. Demien Plotts (Hon); 2. Ty Walace
(Yam); 3. Carlo Caen (Hon); 4. Casey Clark (Yam);
S. Mike Spear (Vam).
250 B: I. Karl Morin (Hon); 2. Peter KlIotsoules
(Yam); 3. Chad Charbonneau (Hon); 4. Chris
Sherman (Yam); 5. Even Vochis (Yem).
250 C: I. John Palmieri O(aw); 2. Kyle Watts
(Yam); 3. Bryan Fleischman (Yam); 4. Eddie Pickert
(Yam); 5. Terry Coolbeth (Hon).
•
WMN: 1. Kristen Shuart (Yam); 2. Leah
Whritenour (Yam); 3. Katelynn Lampron (Suz); 4.
Melissa Dirkes (Yam); 5. Taylor Sharp (Kaw).
SCHBY: I. Jacob Morrison (Kaw): 2. Michael
Pugrab (Kaw); 3. Phillip Nicoletti (Hon); 4. David
Sterritt (Yam); 5. Evan Vochis (Yam).
CLGBY: 1. Joserh Beatty \HOn); 2. Paul
Domellas (Suz); 3. Pau Lamb (Kaw ; 4. Chris Spear
(Vam); 5. Henry Krit (Hon).
25. A: L Cllrlo Caen (Hon); 2. Damien Plotts
(Hon); 3. Ty Wllilace (Yam); 4. Mike Spear (Yam); 5.
Thomas Hamilton (Hon).
25. B: 1. Dian Primian (Hon); 2. John Palmieri
(Kaw/; 3. Tom Griffin (Yem); 4. Aries Verderosa
(Yam; 5. Anthony Franco Jr. (Hon).
30+ A: 1. Carlo Caen (Hon); 2. Barry Cl:Ifsten
(Sur); 3. Mike Spear (Yam). 4. Dl:Ivid Wolrskill
(Yam); 5. William Grippo (Hon).
30. B: L Tom Griffin (Vern): 2. Jim Manganiello
(Sur): 3. Anthony Frllnco Jr. (Hon): 4. Jeffrey
l