Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Suzuki East Coast Amateur Nationals Broome-Tioga Sports Center (Left) Jason Antalek (38) leads the start of the first 250cc Open Amateur moto at the Suzuki East Coast Amateur Nationals, with Justin Jorgensen (237), Chad Charbonneau (263), Jacob Cope (713) and Nick Kruger (739) In tow. (Right) Mike Alessi came all the way from the West Coast to see how he would fare against some of the East Coast's best Mini riders at the Broome-Tioga Sports Center in BInghamton, New York. Alessi won the Mini Combined class with a perfect 1-1 score. STORV AND PHOTOS BV JIM P. SANDERSON BINGHAMTON, NY, AUG. 23-24 he Broome-Tioga Sports Center, commonly referred to as the "Greatest Spectator Course in America," along with Tom Hurd Motor· sports, hosted round II of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship Series on August 25. As is traditional with most tracks on the AMA Pro circuit, two days of Amateur races were held prior to the National. Just over 800 riders signed up to race the 25 classes slated for the two· day program. Seven classes were split into two groups so that all racers would get to ride two full motos rather than run qualifiers to reduce each class to 40 gates, thus leaving some riders only one moto. Tom Hurd Motorsports believes in giving each and every rider as much track time as possible. Mother Nature did not cooperate for this year's Amateur Nationals. Heavy rains came into the Binghamton area on Thursday, which made Friday morning's practice sessions and the first 10 motos a lesson in how to ride mud. Then the rains returned Friday night and stayed into Saturday. making the remainder of the Amateur program a real mudfest. A couple of the fastest Mini riders in the country, Mike and Jeff Alessi, came all the way from California to see how they would fare against the East Coast's best Amateur Mini pilots at the 24th annual Suzuki East Coast Amateur Nationals. Mike topped the Mini Combined podium with a perfect I-I tally. Mike Picone used consistency to take runner-up honors with his 2-2 score. Rounding out the podium was Frank Burns, who also had a consistent day, riding to 3-3 moto finishes. Burns got his KX to the front of the pack off the start in the first Mini Combined moto, with Mike close behind. Mike had the point position after less than half a lap. Rounding out the top five were Burns, Picone, Brett Strong and Kyle Willis. Just after the start of lap two, Picone passed Burns to take second. Mike had an 18-second lead by the time T the checkered flag came out. Trailing him were Picone, Burns, Strong and Willis. Mike got his Honda to the front of the pack and rounded the first turn with the lead in the final Mini Combined moto. Trailing him were Picone, Burns, Pete Devlin and Strong. Mike quickly pulled away and had a 14-second lead by the end of the moto. Rounding out the top five were Picone, Burns, Strong and Devlin. Jason Doyle topped the superfast 250cc Open Amateur podium with a 5-2 score. Rich White took second overall via his 7-1 tally, and Justin Jorgensen rounded out the podium via his 4-5 score. Honda pilot Jason Antalek nailed the holeshot and took the early lead in the first 250cc Open Amateur moto. Trailing him were Jorgensen, Chad Charbonneau, Jacob Cope and Aaron Benjamin. There was a major pile-up in the third turn that put a third of the 40- rider field on the ground. When the leaders came off the front supercross section on lap one, the top five were now Antalek, Jorgensen, Corey Romero, Dave Sterritt and Jason Doyle. The top four were unchanged at the start of lap two. John Giantonio moved up to fifth. After half a lap, Giantonio passed Sterritt to take fourth. Charbonneau was also on the move and passed Jorgensen to take second. Just before the start of lap three, Giantonio passed Jorgensen to take third. Charbonneau then made the pass on Antalek to take the lead. Antalek dropped to second. When the leaders cleared the supercross sec· tion, the top five were Charbonneau, Giantonio, Antalek, Jorgensen and Sterritt. The first moto went in the record books as Charbonneau, Giantonio, Antalek, Jorgensen and Doyle. Heavy rains Friday night made the final 250cc Open Amateur moto a lesson in mud-riding. Out of a gate of 40 riders, only 24 elected to go out in the quagmire for their final moto. Doyle braved the nasty conditions and nailed the holeshot and the early lead. In tow were White, Sterritt, Jorgensen and Chad McCutcheon. On lap three, the top three were unchanged, while McCutcheon moved up to fourth and Jorgensen dropped to fifth. Doyle could certainly ride in the mud and had an 11second advantage by the start of lap three. The top five remained the same until lap four. When the leaders cleared the supercross section, Doyle was still out front, but White was now only a couple of bikelengths behind. Doyle must have made a mistake in the front section of the racecourse. White closed the gap and used lapped traffic to help him get around Doyle for the lead on the last lap. White got the second-moto win. Trailing him were Doyle, McCutcheon, Sterritt and Jorgensen. eN 65 (10-ll): 1. Mo",u. Hodge (KTM): 2. Henry Rojas (Ktlw); 3. Dakota Kessler (Kllw); 4. Justin Meyloth (KTM); 5. Sunny Droke (KTM). 85 (7-11): 1. Kyle Willi. (Kow); 2. Jordon Monn (Suz); 3. Yoshiki Inagaki (Suz); 4. Dakota Kessler (Kow); 5. Andy Corlson (Suz). 85 (12-13): 1. Phillip Nicoletti (Hon); 2. Jeff Alessi (Hon); 3. Mike P'tCone (Suz); 4. Frllnk Bums (Kow); 5. Mer!< Und..y (Kow). 85 (14·15): 1. Mitch Dougherty (Kow); 2. Stephen Carlin (Suz); 3. DeVin Blackburn (Kew): 4. Stevie Cook (KllIw); 5. Tommy lewis (Hon). MINI COMB: 1. Mike Alessi (Hon); 2. Mike Picone (SUl); 3. Frank Bums (Kew); 4. Brett Strong (Vom); 5. Troy Bopp (Kow). S/I'lINI: 1. Mike Ale.si (Hon); 2. Mitch Dougherty (Kaw); 3. Jeff Alessi (Han); 4. Phillip Nicoletti (Han); 5. Charlie Smith (Hon). 125 NOV D·A: J. Joe Merrill (Suz); 2. Alex Gaul (Yem); 3. Bryan Fleischmen (Yam); 4. Kirsten Raemisch (Suz); 5. Bret loomis (Yam). 125 NOV D-B: I. Joson Michoel (Kow); 2. Don Zebrowski (Han); 3. Justin Hicks (Yem); 4. Joey Gaul (Han); 5. M.etthew Gillespie (Yam). 125 AM D-A: 1. Brondon Fulton (KTM); 2. Joy Weller (Suz); 3. Jacob Morrison (Kew); 4. Torn Addy (Hon); 5. Joson Doyle (Vom). 125 AM 0·8: 1. John Giantonio (Kaw); 2. Rich White (Kaw); 3. Chris Remsey (Hus); 4. Devey Sterritt (Yam); 5. Nick Kruger (Yem). 125 EX: I. Gavin Grecyk (Kaw); 2. Mike Leavitt (Kaw): 3. Caleb Miller (Yam); 4. Peul Domellas (Suz); 5. Luc Tremblay (Han). 250 OPEN NOV D·A: I. Johnny Palmieri (Kaw); 2. Daniel Paroby (Yem); 3. Ryan Holley (Hon); 4. Greg Kerr (Kaw): 5. Mike Kennerson (Han). 250 OPEN NOV 0-8: I. Stephen Mootz (Kow); 2. Jaime Rodriguez (Kaw): 3. Josh Tate (Hon); 4. John Schafft (Kaw); 5. Jemie $exe (Kew). 250 OPEN AM: I. Joson Doyle (Vom); 2. Rich White (Kaw); 3. Justin Jorgensen (Yam); 4. Davey Sterritt (Yam): 5. Jason Antelek (Han). 250 OPEN EX: J. Casey Clark (Yam); 2. Gavin Gracyk (Kaw); 3. Mike Leevitt (Kaw): 4. Mike Dougherty (Vom): 5. Joe Beotty (Hon). WI'IN MINI: 1. Abbie Bordo (Suz). WM.L AM: 1. Amber Farley (KlIw); 2. Philo Petricig (Suz); 3. Jessye Devis (Yam); 4. Cheryl McCullough (Kaw); 5. Kimberly Kocher (Kaw). SCHBV: I. Mitch Dougherty (Kow); 2. Tom Addy (Han): 3. Justin Jorgensen (Han); 4. Davey Sterritt (Yam); 5. Jacob Morrison (Kaw). CLGBY D-A: 1. Jack Cerpenter (Vllm): 2. Dave Nyzio (Yam); 3. Mike Corey (Suz); 4. Andre Nagy (Hon); 5. Ryan Golding (Hon). CLGBY 0·8: 1. Mike Leavitt (Kew); 2. Darrell Ruopp (Yam); 3. Paul Domella, (Suz); 4. Dylan Vanorden (Yam); 5. Josh Pike (Yam). 25+ AM O-A: 1. Mike Meleski (Yem): 2. Richard ElillS (Han): 3. Glenn Babinellu (Han); 4. Mike Williams (Yam); 5. TIm Wilson (Hon). 25 ... AM 0·8: I. Jarod Bierly (Suz); 2. Thomas Dill (Yam); 3. Matt Fleischer (Han): 4. Johnny Palmieri (Kaw); 5. Jllmes Webster (Yem). .. 25+ EX: 1. Trllvis Hodges (Yllm); 2. Scottie Rich (Kow); 3. Joe Celso (Hon): 4 Poblo Toribio (Hon): 5. Luc Tremblay (Han). 30. NOV D-A: J. Bob Ponnell (Kow); 2. Mitchell Cooke (Han); 3. Spencer Hess (Han); 4. James Helriegel (Yam); 5. Charlie Bird (Yllm). 30+ NOV 0-8: I. Jaime Rodriguez (Kaw); 2. Con McCormack (Yam); 3. Mike Kennerson (Han); 4. Andrew Warner (KllW); 5. John Schefft (Kaw). 30+ AM O-A: 1. Jerod Bierly (Suz); 2. Thomas Dill (Yam); 3. Jason Lewis (KllW): 4. Gabriel Jimenez (Hon); 5. Glenn Bebineou (Hon). 30+ AM. 0-8: 1. Richard Elias (Han); 2. Mike Meleski (Yllm): 3. Jon Costanzo (Hon); 4. Jeff Christopher (Yllm); 5. Gene Scott (Suz). 30+ EX: I. Travis Hodges (Yam); 2. Robert Hayes (Yam); 3. Luc TremblllY (Han); 4. Darryl Smith (Kaw); 5. TIm Henry (Hon). 40+: J. Mickey Kessler (Han); 2. Bart LUCllS (Yem); 3. Ken MessermellO (Yem); 4. Clllvin Leinbach (Vom); 5. Joseph Fritz (Hon). 4-STRK: 1. Jllck Cllrpenter (Yllm); 2. Wlilly Zebrowski (Yllm); 3. Corey Romero (Han); 4. Brian Hitchcock (Yem); 5. Scott Rockwell (Hon). Braame-Tioga Sports Center Binghamton, New Yo'" Results: August Z3-Z4, ZOOZ P/W: I. Dliiton Worthington (KTM); 2. Rowllmd Popp (KTM); 3. Ricky Benesky (KTM); 4. Orlan Willis (Yllm): 5. Danny Nlenstedt (Yam). 50 (4·6): I. Rowlond Popp (KTM); 2. Ricky Benesky (KTM); 3. Connor Gillespie (KTM.); 4. Ollnny Finney (KTM); 5. Ju.tin U.ton (KTM). 50 (7-8): 1. Kevin Cllrpenter (KTM): 2. Ryon Froncis (KTM); 3. Kyle Jackson (Cob); 4. Scott Carpenter (KTM); 5. Ethan Fick (Cob). 65 (7-9): I. Ju.tin Borcio (KTM); 2. James Doolittle (Suz); 3. ChllZ Light (KTM); 4. Kevin Carpenter (KTM); 5. Jon Daniels (Kaw). _----------------------... .,. Justin Jorgensen (237) and Chad Charbonneau (263) battle for second place In the first 250cc Open Amateur molo, which Charbonneau eventually won. cue I e n e _ S • SEPTEMBER 25. 2002 53

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