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Matt Veerkamp had to work a bit harder to
claim the 125cc Intermediate win with a
1-3 tally. After a clean first-moto win,
Veerkamp had to push his Suzuki through a
fairly deep field in the second moto after a bad
start to claim third and take home the overall.
Re!no's Wes Peebles scored second with a
4-1 posting.
This year's event added another chapter to
the memory of Freddy, and it's certain that it
was one Freddy would've enjoyed attending
himself. As stated before, it's interesting to
think what Freddy could've accomplished if
things were different - starting with what
Northrop, Mason and the rest of the Pros
would've had to contend with if the number552 Honda was on the line beside them. I
think I can speak for everyone in saying that
we miss you, Freddy.
Stead Raceway
Stead, Nevada
Results: October 6, 2002 (Round 8)
50 (4-6): 1. Anthony Walsh (KTM): 2. Devin Heord (KTM).
50 (7.): 1. Chue Ekhele (Pol); 2. John Preston Jr.(PoI).
60 (0.9): 1. Weslee Valerio (KTM.): 2. Danny Roblk (Kew): J.
Trevor York (KTM).
60 (10.): 1. Dakota M8y (Kew): 2. Ross Neely (K4w); J. Cam
Shippensburg Speedwar- Chris Klinefelter won both the 250Cc A and Sportsman classes
at the third annual Paul Crumllng Memorial event in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
Bettencourt.
80 BEO: 1. Jeremy Swain (Hon); 2. TylerlhorNu (Yam): J. TIm
C _ l....)·
80 JR: 1. Davkt Kell Jr. (Hon): 2. Chris Leonard (Han): J. Rosa
Neely (Yom).
80 00: 1. TyierYorit (Kaw): 2. Ryan
~
(Suz): J. Ryan Ferril
(Hon).
a.er
M (7.11): 1. AuatJn tmenlllnd (Hen); 2. Evan
(Yam): 3.
Kenneth L.ambetti (Hon): 4. Bm1 Pugh (Hon): 5. MItch Harvill (Yam).
85 (12·15): I. R.J. Hart (Yam); 2. Joey Partu (Kaw); 3. Mike
$tandIfocd (yam).
100 MOD: 1. AuItk'l Greenland (Hon).
125, 1. """'- Young (
); 2. _
""""- (Hao); 3.
Joey
(Hao); 4...... _
( ); 5. RJ. Hort (!an (....); 5. Dovld Smih (Rot).
SP"TSMN: 1. 0u1s Klinefelter (Hon); 2. Raun Wood (Rot); 3. Rick
Winsett (W·R): 4. Shewn Beer (Rot): 5. ~ Ingram (Hon).
PAo'Y "'IAct).
65: 1. Tyler KIdwell (Kaw); 2. Brett Pugh (Kaw): 3. Kyle
Sc:hlImme (Kaw): 4. Derek Hersh (Kaw): 5. Cassidy H~5f!l' (Kaw).
Freddy Wiechers Memorial Race
MXWest Nevada State Championship Series
Round 8: Stead Raceway
Remembering
Freddy, Part Three
put space on the rest of the field by the end of
each moto. Mason scored an honest second
aboard his new RM25O, having just come off a
long stint on Hondas. Randy Norman brought
out his YZ250 to claim third on the day_
The 125cc class went to Mason, but it
wasn't a sure thing. Northrop was making a
charge on Mason in the first moto for the lead
By ROBERT BEAUPRE
STEAD, NY, OCT. 6
With each passing year, the people who knew
Freddy Wiechers wonder a little bit more
about where he would be by now, had his life
not been cut so short three years ago. Freddy
was then still just in his teens, yet he had
already made a reputlJltion for himself as a
young Pro racer to wZltch, as well as one of the
friendliest people one could ever hope to meet
at a racetrack or elsewhere.
It is, of course, impossible to know what
may have been, but it is still very possible to
honor his memory. And that is just what happened at the third annual Freddy Wiechers
Memorial Race in Stead, Nevada_
Coinciding with the eighth round of the
MXWest Nevada State Championship Series,
the race came about through the efforts of
Freddy's friends and family and the people at
Nevada Motocross Development. Not surprisingly, two close friends of Freddy's also tumed
out on top of the Pro racing on the day.
Team Green's Jeff Northrop, who also
showed up to win last yellr's event, and newly
when a miSCUe! in the! 5 turns put him well
back in the field. Mason then went on for the
win, but Northrop did race back to a
respectllble third in the moto.
In the second moto, Northrop got the lead
and never looked back. Mason, aware that a
second, behind Northrop, would give him the
overall, stayed close behind and took a wise
victory on the day. Northrop's 3-1 tally netted
him second. while Tommy Jean brought
home third with a 2-4 score.
After the final moto in the second set, the
yearly FWMR Dash For Cash was held. Essentially, it was a four-lap "Northrop vs. Mason"
affair. Northrop got the early lead and that was
all it took, as Mason stayed close but was
unable to make! a serious attempt at taking
the lead. The purse was undisclosed for the
Dash (it came together throughout the day),
but it can be guessed that it was surely a fair
signed Michael's Reno rider Mike Mason were
the top Pros of the day, with Northrop taking
the 250cc win (with Mason coming in second), and Mason claiming the 125cc contest
(with Northrop coming in second).
The 250cc class was virtually owned by
Northrop throughout the day, as he handily
46
NOVEMBER 6. 2002'
cue
amount for four laps' work.
In the Intermediate classes, two Northern
Califomia racers took the top spots. Matt Barber took his CRF450R to the 250cc Intermediate win through a convincing I-I score, whUe
•
e
n
e
_
s
....
(
StflUm: I. Tyler York (Kaw): 2. Beau Meier (Suz)i J. Ryan Eager
).
12.5 BEQ: 1. Chri.topher Padgett (Yllm): 2. Johnny Valerio
(Kaw); 3. 80 am 1. _ _
(Hon~
2. _ _ (....);
3. Wes Ha:IkeI (Ke_).
250 om, I. Cuey ClnnI (Han); 2. S0 II (Yom); 3.
Ov!s lMoon (Yom).
OPEN, I. Ry... 1'\onho (Yom); 2. Jell KJm (Yom); 3. Lee_
_(Hao).
ADOLT SO: 1. Travs Haim (Hon); 2. [)ekot/llW'ily (Hon): 3. Ry."
F_(Hao).
Flori aTrail Riders Enduro Series
Round 1: Capitol City Enduro
It wasn't the Heat,
It was the Humility!
By VICTOR OSTROWSKI
TALLAHASSEE,FL,OCT.6
More than 300 riders braved the unusual
October heat to ride the 31 st annual Capitol
City Enduro. After 31 enduros, the Tallahassee Trail Riders have their act together. This is
truly a "classic event" in every sense of the
word. Less than 10 miles west of Tallahassee.
the camping/start area is at the Silver Lake
State Park, which boasts a lake, plenty of
shade, public restrooms, paved drives, and
grassy camping areas. With more than 300
RVs, campers and trailers, things got a little
tight, but everybody managed to find room
for parking and pitling_ It's truly a family
recreational event.
The next feature of a classic is that it must
be well-organized. Disorganized events with
incorrect course mileage. late starts, poorly
manned checks and long scoring times do not
make a classic event. The Tallahassee Trail
Riders put on a well-organized, well-run and
safe event. This requires a lot of cooperation
and coordination with the local State Park and
U.S. Forest Service personnel, as well as the
local sheriffs, who were quite visible during the
event, directing traffic and manning road
crossings for safety purposes. A base medical
unit manned by Dr. Tim Walker and health-
event. The key to rjding sand whoops is (like
most things on a motorcycle) to ride them at
speed - up on the pegs, highest gear possible,
and let the bike work under you. This works
fine until the heat gets to you and f!ltigue sets
in; then you can no longer stand, change
gears or even twist the throttle. At this point,
the trail turns your motorcycle into a bucking
bronco set on dislodging its weary rider. This
was evident at most of the checkpoints, as the
heat lmd humidity caught se!veral riders
unprepared. With fatigue and dehydration selting in, many riders packed it in at the three-
quarters mark.
The record-breaking heat took its toll, and
the number of DNFs climbed with the temperature and humidity. Even those who finished
were slowed by the combination of heat and
relentless sand whoops. High scores were the
order of the day.
That is not to say that all riders succumbed
to the heat and the trail. Overall winner Russell Bobbitt, contesting the 250cc A class,
managed a score of only 14 points. Right
behind him was AA rider Ashley Brewer with
15, and then three AA riders - Stephen Reed,
Bradley Hodge and Doug Masencup - each
with 16. Russell Epley, another AA rider, was
the only other rider to break the 20-point barrier, with 17. To put their accomplishments in
care expert Robin Gjbson and other medkal
perspective. the average score of 811 finishers
personnel were on hand. TTR members work
very hard to maintain their relationship with
the USFS and other local authorities to ensure
was 63.9, and the average of all first-place-intheir-class riders was 36. Unofficially, there
were about 130 DNFs - or about olle-third of
the starters.
The run itself was pretty straightforward.
Speed averages of 24 and 30 mph ensured
most would be late dUring any of the sections.
In all, there were 10 checkpoints. There were
the usual checks into the sections, then the
inevitable checks out of the section, and a
reset up the trail. The gas stop was at the end
of a tie-breaker section and a welcome break,
the continuation of this classic event.
Above all, however, a classic must have
character - something that distinguishes it
from all the other races. The Blackwater has
its mud; the Baja has its sand; and the Capitol
City has its sand whoops; from start to finish.
approximately 60 ground miles of sandwhoops single-track and double-track trail,
with only three miles of road for the entire
