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AMA 1 25cc Western Regional Supercross Series Round 4: Pacific Bell Park riders en route to his 11 th-place finish. Gosselaar, who was fourth at the time of Preston's departure, inherited third and held on to the end. "I chipped one of my teeth in the heat race, and that's how my day has been going," Gosselaar said. "I put my head down in the final and tried to ride 15 consistent laps, but 1 made a few mistakes, and Matt got by me. It's hard to go fast with people in front of you; guys are rolling the triples and cutting everybody off, so I just need to get better starts. It's hard to get up there when Stewart is winning by a minute." After being fined by AMA referee Duke Finch, Walker was ready to open up. "It's called karma. What goes around comes around. I'm sure that the last race with Preston and Sorby was B.S., but I had nothing to do with it. I got fined $ 1000 and didn't even get a warning. I probably only get like $300 for second, so I figure that I'm $700 in the hole now." eN BY DAVE DERINGER PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN SAN FRANCISCO, CA, JAN. 25 or the third week in a row, Team ~ Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's James Stewart took a commanding win in 125cc Western Regional Supercross competition, taking the lead early and eventually winning by some 23 seconds. The 17 -year old Florida native started around fifth but moved into the lead going into the second corner. From there, he was never challenged and went on to win his seventh career 125cc supercross. "I didn't feel that good today, and I wanted to get out front and deal with no one," Stewart said after the race. "I didn't know what was going on back there, and I just wanted it to be a clean race. I got a good start and tripled by a few guys in the next corner. 1 wanted to get out front and not race anybody and do another Anaheim performance." It was not a perfect night for Stewart, though, as he bobbled in the whoops during his heat race. It was suspected that he hit his groin area on the gas tank, but Stewart would not confirm. "I'd rather not talk about it," he said, "I'm all right." Behind Stewart is where the action really was, however. Pro Circuit/ Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's Eric Sorby held second place early on. Current champ Travis Preston started 10th and had his work cut out, but he passed an average of one rider per lap with no incident until he caught Matt Walker in second. Preston passed Chris Gosselaar, and then the two passed holeshot winner Sorby when he doubled the triple - which he did a few times. Walker, too, was moving forward, as he had started sixth. Stewart was already 15 seconds ahead of the pack and had no idea what was going on behind him. Preston was closing in on Walker, and he caught up to and passed the Georgian on lap nine for second. That only lasted for a straightaway, though, because Walker went inside in the next corner and directly into Preston's path. The two hit as they were approaching the finish-line jump, and Preston was sent flying into the finish-line scaffolding. (See sidebar.) With Preston now hugging the scaffolding with his bike down on the ground, Walker pulled away, and many riders got by. At first, Preston seemed not to want to go back out, but with six laps remaining, he got back on the gas and passed several ~ Pacific Bell Park San Francisco, California Results: January 25, 2003 [Round 4 of 81 125 HEAT 1: (6 laps, J·9 transfer): I.Tyler Evans (Suz): 2. Travis Preston (Hon); 3. Craig Anderson (Yam); 4. Steve Mertens (Yam); 5. Troy Adams (Yam); 6. Matt Walker (Kaw); 7. Eric Sorby (KlIw); 8. Andrew Short (Suz); 9. Christopher Gosselaar (Hon); 10. Pascal Leuret (KTM); 11. Akira Naritll (Suz); 12. Dylan Lord (Suz); 13. Ryan Dudek (Yam): 14. Shane Bess (Suz); 15. Justin Mace (Kaw); 16. Nick McBride (YlIim); 17. J. Martin Garcia (Suz); 18. Scott Davis (Yam); 19. Tim Weigand Hon); 20. Turbo Reif (Hon). Race Time: 05:04.988 M.argin of Victory: 00:03.436 125 HEAT 2: (6 laps, 1-9 transfer): I. James Stewart Jr. (Kew): 2. Josh Woods (KTM): 3. Bill Laninovich (KTM); 4. Bryan McGavran (Suz); 5. David Pingree (Suz); 6. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 7. Jeremy Chaussee (Yam): B. Logan Darien (Yam): 9. cue I e n e _ s • FEBRUARY 5, 2003 11