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/128202
AMA 1 25cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series Round 1 : Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome By PAT SCHUTTE PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN M1NNEAPOUS, MN, FEB. 15 IVY7 ith the "Wild Wild West" 125cc W Region taking a scheduling time-out, the J 25cc Eastern Region portion of the THQ/AMA Supercross Series was kick-started in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Minneapolis' Metrodome. Midwest fans would see one of their own, Team SoBe Suzuki's Branden Jesseman of Fombell, Pennsylvania, barely survive a first-corner multirider pileup and put forth a masterful performance in his first race since last year's Outdoor National finale. Jesseman took the lead early and rode hard to a seemingly easy victory over Boost Mobile/Yamaha/ Troy Racing's Brock Sellards and a hard-charging Michael Byrne. Though Jesseman came out of the first-turn, Talledega-Iike pileup in good standing, it wasn't without some, as he put it, "wiggling." Unfortunately, two of the pre-race favorites who went down or were held up in the mishap were Amsoil/Chaparral Honda's Byrne and Pro-Circuit Kawasaki's Mike Brown, and though Byrne would also grab a share of the crowd's attention with his race back to third place, Sellards and Racerhouse.com's Kelly Smith rode tight with Jessernan and escaped the log jam, then engaged in the evening's best battle before finishing in second and fifth, respectively. Brown also battled back bravely to fourth place. "I didn't quite avoid everything in the first corner," Jesseman said. "I had Brock inside me and Kelly to my right. Brock came in and hit me hard up into Kelly. I struggled a bit just to stay up then wiggled through and got by Brock. 1 was then able to triple into the next corner and get by Kelly, which was key. Then I could get out and run my own race." c U a I e Right out of the gate, AMA Pro Racing Motocross Manager Duke Finch let it be known (at the riders' meeting) that he wouldn't be tolerating any dirty and potentially dangerous riding tactics that had arisen several times during the opening Western Regional rounds. Finch was looking forward to some good, clean racing at Minneapolis, and he got just that. "I think we're going to have a real good series here in the East," Finch said. "You won't see the runaway you did in the West" (referring to James Stewart Jr.'s dominance). Though Jesseman did run away with the win in Stewart-like fashion, fans could keep one eye on him and then watch some excellent battles between Sellards and Smith, Byrne and Smith, Brown and Ivan Tedesco, and, for the final podium spot behind Jesseman and Sellards, a battle between Byrne and Brown. "I'd got off to a good start and battled with Kelly Smith the whole race," Sellards said. "He was riding good, and every time I got beside him, he'd come over, and we'd run into each other," he laughed. "I don't know how many times I saved it, but I finally got by him on like lap nine (lap six according to the AMA) and pulled off into a little bit of a lead. Then I finished off the rest of the race in second all by myself."