Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Moose Western Regional Cross Country Series Round 1: Prairie City GPM hird (Left) Brian Garrahan won his third Prairie City GP in as many years. (Right) Craig Wesner placed third in the Rancho Cordova, California, event. jump on the series' points lead. For the opening A/B race, nearly 300 riders propped their bikes up in preparation for the "run to your bike," Le Mans-style start. Defending series champion Brian Sperle picked up right where he left off last year by taking the holeshot and the early lead. Sperle was not alone up front, as many of the top racers were close to the leader, including Works Connection/Nor-Cal By CHRIS GHIONE PHOTOS BY MICHELLE LEE RANCHO CORDOVA, CA, JAN. 19 ~ rganizers of the annual Prairie ~ City GP may want to consider renaming the race the "Garrahan GP," as KTM-backed Brian Garrahan took the overall win at the event for the third straight year. The race, held at Prairie City Off-Highway Vehicle Area just outside of Sacramento, California, marked the opening round of the AMA/District 36-sanctioned Moose Western Regional Cross Country Series. Moist conditions created a mixed effect on a racecourse that is known best for its treacherously rocky sections. The wet weather created perfect conditions on one side of the course, but on the other side it made things very slick. With this being the opening round of the series, many of the top racers showed up hoping to get an early 38 FEBRUARY 19, 2003' eye Motorsports/Eurocycles-backed Rob Zimmerman and Kawasaki rider Craig Wesner. (Below) After a late-race charve, Rob Zimmennan came in a fairly close second at the opening round of the Moose Western Regional Cross Country Series. (Below right) Defending series champion Brian Sperle took the holeshot and early lead but wound up finishing fourth overall. I • n e vv s As in past years, many of the top riders used the first lap of the race to check out the course and the other racers. "We kind of worked our way through the pack, the lead four of us," recounted Wesner. "I think it was Sperle, Garrahan, Zimmerman and [Bryce] Olsen." After the first few laps, the race action began to heat up, with the treacherous course playing a major role. The course would claim many victims, including KTM-mounted Olsen, who got knocked out of the top five after crashing. A few laps in, Garrahan was pushing Sperle for the lead, and he eventually got by. Then both Team Green/Dunlop/Faultline Suspensionsponsored Wesner and Yamaha rider Zimmerman closed in on Sperle. Zimmerman picked up his pace in the second half of the race and put the pressure on the others. "I had quite a few errors. probably three or four crashes at the beginning of the race that kind of put me back," Zimmerman recalled, "and then I just stayed consistent [and] then picked it up towards the end and got back past Sperle and Craig." Wesner was also able to get past the IMS/KTM-sponsored Sperle, who was riding fast but may have had just a few too many spills. While trying to get by a lapped rider, Sperle crashed, allowing Wesner to get by. "Got a sweet holeshot, had a good start, but just made one too many mental errors," noted Sperle. After getting away from Sperle midway through the race, Garrahan rode alone out front for a couple of laps before being joined by the latecharging Zimmerman. "Later in the race, I was slacking off," Garrahan admitted, "and Zimmerman caught me, and we had a good race there, too, but he was a little squirrelly himself."

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