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up from mediocre starts. Near the halfway point, Bowen made his way into the lead, with Carsten and his screaming RM 125 tucking in behind the former Yamaha factory rider. As the laps ticked down, the two seasoned pros battled it out. With a lap to go, Bowen slowed significantly and gave the lead to Carsten, who gladly took the winner's purse home to Massachusetts. Had it not been for a late-race mechanical problem, Suzuki support speedster Dominic Izzi would have crossed the line well out of sight of his nearest competitor in the 80cc (711) class. Izzi's mechanical handed the win to superfast Floridian Cole Seeley. The dust was starting to get thick by the last couple of motos, but the old moto-warriors in the Over 40 Senior race didn't seem to mind at all. Jerry Sales Jr. made the short trip from Kent, Ohio, and made short work of the class. The final moto of the day, the 250cc Experts, stormed through the first turn and down the following straight with Laughridge in the lead, followed closely by Tommy Harrison, Brian Gray, Johnson, Hepler and Willoh. Woods got a mediocre start and immediately started working his way up. Gray got past Harrison early on and set off after Laughridge, while Hepler fought with Johnson to get inside the lead group. By the midway point, Woods had found the top three and forced his way past the hardcharging Gray for second. Meanwhile, Laughridge enjoyed a few seconds' worth of a lead and kept the pace just high enough to cross the line first, with Woods second and Hepler making an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to try to get around Brian Gray for third. With the largest rider turnout in RM Cup history, and one of the hottest (Left) In the highly anticipated 125cc B showdown between Kyle Partridge (45) and Dm Millsaps, Millsaps walked away wtth the win after a great race-long battle. (Above) California's Michael laPaglia made the trip home wtth the aGcc (12-13) title, but not without some post- and mldrace contrvversy, (Below) Trevor Monks went uncontested for the aGcc (14-15) class win. (Left) Colten Maynard's fast, steady pace paid off in the hotly contested 80cc (711) class after race leader Dominic Izzi suffered a mechanic al failure. Ohio summer days on record, it's no small feat that the racing went off as well as it did. Sure. there were a few controversies and hitches, but with 3. Chad Wages; 4. Tony Kutzl~r: 5. Kyle Meeks. 125 C: 1. Austin Albers: 2. Adam Metzler: 3. Kevin Ott; 4. Brian Brockman; 5. Austin Prescott. 125 B: I. Davl Millsaps; 2. Kyle Partridge; 3. Josh Uchtle; 4. Scott Simon; 5. Kyle Preston. 125 EX: I. Josh Woods: 2. EV8n Laughridge; 3. Broc Hepler; 4. Derek Costella; 5. Randy Valede. 250 C: 1. Adam Metzler; 2. Chip Weatherup; 3. Torre Streithfau: 4. Kyle Levalley: 5. Tyler Johnson. 250 B: 1. Nathan Skaggs: 2. Josh lIchtle: 3. Kyle Preston; 4. Branden Milstead; 5. Juan Rodriguez. 250 EX: 1. Evan Leughridge; 2. Josh Woods: 3. Brian Gray: 4. Sroc Hepler: 5. ISlliah Johnson. VET 30. B: 1. Juan Rodriguez: 2. Kevin CozlIdd: 3. Steve Dumond: 4. David Mack; 5. MlIrk Kiser. VET 30+ EX: 1. 8lIrry Carsten: 2. Keith Bowen: 3. Jim Chester; 4. Chuck Reed; 5. Mike Bl8ir. SR 40+: I. Jerry S8les. Jr 2. David M8Ck; 3. Dave Bowman; 4. Nicky Baker' 5. Jim Kinsley. the competition as fierce as it is in Amateur motocross these days, that was to be expected. Next year's event in Washougal, Washington, promises to be just as intense - although hopefully not nearly as hot. eN Kenwortby's Motacross Park Troy, Ohio Results: September 7-8, 2DD3 80 (1-11): 1. Collen Maynard; 2. Cole Seeley: 3. Ben Lemay: 4. Bubba Crosby: 5. DonnIe Kearney. 80 (t 2-13): I. Michael LaPoglla: 2. Zoch Ames: 3. Corey Slavik; 4. Zachary Osborne: 5. Kyle Tobin. 80 (14- 15): 1. Trevor Monks; 2. Ryan Grantom; BRIEFLY••• (Left) A sea of yellow RM 125s smoke off the concrete pad at Kenworthy's on a hot day of racing. This year's RM Cup attracted riders from all comers of the nation. Ben Lamay came all the way from Anchorage. Alaska. and accomplished a third-place finish in the 8Ccc (12-13) class. With the addillon of a slew of hotshoes from California, Flonda and seemingly everywhere in between. the entry lists were truly Impressive In a geographic sense. With Suzuki paYing contingencies all the way back to 20th place. and the promoter supplying plaques or cups to the top 10. racing was understandably quite heated at times The Pro section of the course (which is not normally made available to amateur racers) made a rare appearance for this weekend. pushing lap times up into the 2: 15·2:45 range for the racers on the jump-strewn course. Race officials decided against allowing C-class racers to jump the infamous Widowmaker gap, while several 80cc (7-11) riders went ~head and launched it. Although the skill level of a top 80cc rider is generally much higher than a midpack C rider. there was nevertheless some tension regarding this decision. The big-race feel was enhanced by the announcing of AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Nationals announcer Erv Braun. That - along with Suzuki Sport MX Support box vans on hand to assist riders in need. two days of catered barbecue chicken. and the SoBe bus passing out drinks· left the racers knowing they were truly a part of something big. cue I e n e vv s SEPTEMBER 25, 2002 39