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-:-r.,,--~------,~ CMA O'Neal MX Series Round 2: Madera Fairgrounds z gi w a: Q. A Lott of Action By EDDIE GRAVEUNE ---------- MADERA, CA, NOV. 23 Round two of the CMA O'Neal MX Series brought central California racers a new set of challenges. The series got started a week late, due to rain. What was originally intended to be round two became the first. Round three had been scheduled for Madera on November 24, so the CMA decided to make up the missing round on Saturday, November 23. What that meant for the racers was an exceptionally busy weekend. Conventional thinking would suggest that riders who knew how to pace themselves would be better off over the course of the two days. Those who know motocrossers, though, know that it's almost impossible to get them to hold anything back at any time on the track. Exeter, California's Justin Lott held true to that stereotype. In the first mota of the 125cc Novice class, Lott finished third. In front of him, Eric Ralls had run away on his Yamaha and looked like he would be very tough to beat in the second race, while second went to Donald Ertel, who was also Yamaha~mounted. There were enough riders in the class to make it necessary to have two divisions, so the top guys from mota one in Division Two came up to the first division for the final race. Mitch Bragdon had dominated the second division the first time out and also looked like a good bet going into the second mota. When the gate dropped for the final time, Lett got a good start on his KX. Bragdon was a few bikes back, but he moved up quickly. As Lott tried to build a lead. Bragdon moved into second and began to reel him in. The two were very close for a couple of laps until Bragdon went down. At that point, Lott held on. look care of business and won the race. Irs safe to say that he wasn't pacing himself! He got some help when both Ralls and Ertel, who both had better mathematical chances of winning the overall, experienced some bad luck. Lott won the second moto against all of the toughest competitors in the class, and in the end, his 3-1 tally was enough for the victory. Ertel took second with a 2-2 showing, and Bragdon rounded out the top three. Another racer who held nothing back was 50cc rider Landon Sullivan. The Tulare rider made a clean sweep of the 50cc (7-8) and 50cc Open divisions. Brandon Orr was steady in the 50cc (7·8) class, putting in two runnerup rides. "Revvin' Evan" Stafford did the same in the Open division, but Sullivan was in a class of his own. Craig "Rapo" Rannells might have had a busier day than anyone else at the track. As if one nickname wasn't enough, a lot of people are starting to call him "Ironman" because of his tendency to enter three or four classes at every race. Even though he would be running two days in a row, the fitness junkie pulled out all the stops and won the Vet and Old-Timer Intermediate classes. For those unfamiliar with CMA rules, his eligibility for the Old-Timer class means that he's over 40 years old! He wasn't done yet. though. Rapo decided to QualityChecked Certified Pre-owned at I z ::0 w ;( a: co w C o w ~ ~ Madera Fairgrounds: Never giving up worked for Justin Lott (324), who went 3-1 to win the 125cc Novice first division at round two of the CMA O'Neal MX Series in Madera, California. scrap with the youngsters a bit as well and actually managed to hold his own, placing fourth overall in the 250cc Novice class and' fifth in the 19-rider Sportsman X race. Not bad for an old guy. Not bad at all. The rest of the Vet classes featured some good action as well. One that was particularly entertaining was the Vet Pro class, in which John Blair and Frank Damley squared off for an epic duel. Unfortunately, as far as the overall was concerned, it was over early when • 0 Darnley stalled his bike in the first mota and finished third. Knowing that the overall was basically out of reach, he went after Blair, who won the first race, with everything he had. Darnley got the better start, but Blair cut under him in a comer and blocked a little bit to take the lead. In every comer on every lap after that, the two hammered away at each other. It came down to the last corner, though, and Blair did what he needed to keep his competition at bay: He protected his line and got a c YMCA cue I e n B vv S JANUARY 8,2003 51