Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128196
Clawson Motorsports/CMA Grizzlies Supercross Grizzlies Stadium (Left) Rusty Holland (5), Jeremy Chaussee (441) and friends chase Turbo Reif (3) as he jumps out to an early lead in a qualifier at the inaugural Grizzlies Supercross. STORY AND PHOTOS BY EDDIE GRAVELINE/WWW.MOTOPRESS.NET FRESNO, CA, DEC. 7-8 (;J entral California motocross fans ~ were treated to an event like nothing ever seen in the region. The brainchild of the Fresno Grizzlies baseball team, the California Motorcycle Association and Clawson Motorsports, the Grizzlies Supercross set a new standard for events in the moto-crazed San Joaquin Valley. The action took place in the brand-new Grizzlies Stadium, located right in the heart of downtown Fresno. The stadium, which opened last May, is home to the San Francisco Giants' AAA affiliate, the Grizzlies, and is widely regarded as one of the nicest minor-league facilities in the country. In December, it became one of the nicest race facilities in the country. The race became an event because of some expert planning and promotion. Local media was into it, and the promoters put together a program that would keep people on the edges of their seats all weekend. They had snowcross riders jumping the finish-line triple on snowmobiles, an adult footrace around the track, as well as other activities, but the bot· tom line for the two-day event was the racing, and that was pretty darn good in itself. When Pro-class action got under way on Saturday afternoon, a few riders set themselves apart from the pack - especially Jeremy Chaussee, a privateer from Palmdale, California. He won the opening 125cc qualifier, ahead of Turbo Reif and Gerrit Ordelman. Reif, back on Hondas and looking comfortable again, was just getting warmed up, though. After that first race, he went on a tear that would last all weekend long. He won the second 125cc race and both 250cc qualifiers. Chaussee stayed (Below) Nor-Cal journeyman Jeff Pestana finished the weekend strong with a runner-up finish in Sunday's main event. close in the 125cc class, while Scott Davis and Jeff Pestana, two Northern California journeymen, applied pressure on the big bikes. Reif's reward for dominating the qualifying was the very back position on the single-file start for the main event. He hj'ld 11 riders between .himself and daylight, and 20 laps to get there. Michael Fargher had the front position when the green flag waved and thus started in the lead, but halfway through the first lap he was passed by local amateur star Daniel Sani. The 15-year-old Honda rider built a lead, while the riders behind him struggled to sort themselves out. Reif went to work quickly and positioned himself midpack within the first couple of laps. A few more laps and he was third. Then he was past Davis and inching his way toward Sani. He caught and passed the youngster with a few laps remaining. He opened up a small lead en route to the win, but Sani and Davis held tight in second and third. Reif's dominance and Sani's competitiveness were the stories of the day. The second and final day of competition brought Reif a new challenge in the form of Rusty Holland. A native of Fresno, Holland was the obvious (Left) Daniel Sani had a storybook weekend that included lots of media coverage, several laps in the lead and a secondplace finish in Saturday's main fan favorite, but he had some challenges of his own. Having taken a red-eye flight home Saturday night after two nights of arena cross racing in Illinois, he was tired and also nursing an injured hand, but he didn't want to disappoint the crowd. He came out Sunday and won his 250cc seeding race. Fatigue would be a factor, though, and his results suffered for the remainder of the day. Reif was upset in 125cc qualifying by Steve Mertens, formerly of the DKNY Husqvarna squad, but he swept the 250cc heats and was still the favorite going into the main. Of course, that meant another lastplace start. Kenny Heess took the early lead. Four laps into the race, Sani made a pass for the lead and brought the crowd to its feet one more time. He led for several laps but started to get pressure from Pestana and Mertens near the halfway point. A small cornering mistake put Sani on the ground and Pestana in the lead. Mertens was right behind him in sec· ond, but they had Reif to worry about as well. He had already moved all the way up to third and was riding like a man possessed. After several laps of bar-to-bar action and position changes among the lead trio, Reif made a final move into the lead. He gained a few bikelengths on the other two, and that was all she wrote. Pestana held second, with Mertens right behind him in third. After the inaugural run, Reif was the undisputed king of Grizzlies Stadium, but it was the Fresno fans who really came out ahead. The promoters put on an innovative, fan-friendly event that could only be seen as a great first effort. After the event, all of the involved parties expressed satisfaction with what had been achieved as well as a commitment to making the 2003 Grizzlies Supercross even better. eN &rizzlies StlIdium FI1lSlIO, California Results: December 7-8, ZDDZ Saturday 125: I. Turbo Reif (Hon); 2. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam); 3. Gerrit Ordelman (Yam): 4. Vincent Blair (Yam); 5. Daniel ~ni (Hon). 250: I. Turbo Reif (Hon); 2. Scott Davis (Yam); 3. Jeff Pestana (Hon); 4. Steve Mertens (Yam): 5. Chris Barrit (Hon). MAIN: 1. Turbo Reif (Han): 2. Daniel Sani (Han); 3. Scott Davis (Yam): 4. Gemt Ordelman (Yam); 5. Jeff Pestana (Han): 6. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam): 7. Vincent Bleir (Yam); 8. Charlie Morrison (Yam); 9. Tony Wolfe (Yam); 10. Michael Fargher (Han); I J. Kenny Heess (Han): 12. Tommy Harrison (Suz). Sunday 50 X: 1. Jake Mohnike (Pol): 2. Brandon Orr; 3. Joseph Reynolds (KTM); 4. Travis Burrough (Cob); 5. Hayden Hilliard (KTM). 65 X: I. David Fee (Kaw); 2. Tyler Cabral (Kaw): 3. Michael Perretta (Kaw): 4. Stephen Perretta (Kaw); 5. JOlIquin Vasquez. 85 X: I. Michllel Alessi (Han); 2. Jeff Alessi (Han); 3. Nicholas Baker (Yam): 4, Brad Tanner: 5. Dylan Tolmasoff (Kaw). SPTSMN X D-l: 1. Brent Merrick (Suz); 2. Luke LeDuc (Han); 3. Cfl~Ug Rannells (Han); 4. Kyle Smith (Yam): 5. Allen Woodwllrd (Hon). SPTSMN X 0-2: 1. Greg Karmann (Yam); 2. Mitch Brasdon (Suz); 3. David Caetllno; 4. Chris Podergois (Suz): 5. Kevin Wells (Han). 125: I. Steve Mertens (Yam): 2. Turbo Reif (Han); 3. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam): 4. Daniel Sani (Hon); 5. Vincent Blair (Yam). 250: 1. Turbo Reif (Han); 2. Gerrit Ordelman (Yam); 3. Scott Davis (Yam); 4. Rusty Holland (Kaw); 5. Kenny Heess (Hon). MAIN: I. Turbo Reif (Han); 2, Jeff Pestana (Hon); 3. Steve Mertens (Yam): 4. Kenny Heess (Han): 5. Scott Davis (Yllm); 6, Gerrit Ordelman (Yam); 7. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam); 8. Rusty Holland (Kaw): 9. Daniel Sani (Han); 10, Vincent Blair (Yam); 11. Charlie Morrison (Yem); J2. Tony Wolfe event. (Right) The stadium's big·screen monitor ran live video throughout the weekend. (Yom). cue' e n .. _ S • .JANUARY 15. 2003 41