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/128206
Bowyer and Young once again went at it. Bowyer got by Rodriguez for the lead, but then Rodriquez got him back on the last lap. "He [Rodriguez] was behind me the whole race, but once again it was hard for me to hold on that last lap," offered Bowyer. "He passed me in the tower sweeper, but that was okay as I could take the win with a second. Then Young started to pressure me. All three of us were side by side going into the final rhythm section. Rodriguez blew his line, and then I blew my line. Young had the best momentum, though, and as he went by me, I clipped his back tire and went down." Rodriguez took the win and the overall via a 3- 1 count to Young's 2-2 for second and Bowyer's 1-4 for third. Torrance and Florida's Earl May rounded out the top five. passed for the lead, though, there was no stopping him, and he went on to take the checkered flag and the championship. "Josh Lichtle went down twice in our division race," Millsaps said. "Daniel Sani led the first lap, and then I passed him, but I could hear him behind me." There was a gap back to Chisholm in third. Chisholm had suffered a lessthan-stellar start but came on strong late. Millsaps won the 125cc B Stock class in front of Suzuki teammate Matt Goerke of Florida. '" feel like my best ride of the week was in the 125cc B Modified class," Millsaps said. "In my first B Mod qualifier, , went down on the horseshoe but charged hard from dead last to finish first. In the final moto, I started in about 20th place and charged really hard during the whole race. I was in eighth at the start of the rhythm section just before the'S' turns to the checkered flag. I passed seven guys and came within two Davi Millsaps (118) and Kyle Partridge (44) did Suzukl_d,as well, with Millsaps winning both the 125ccYouth Stock and Modified classes and the 125cc B Stock class and Partridge taking the 125cc B Modified and 250cc B Stock events. "The best race I ever had in 20 years of racing," Young told Bowyer after the race. Pennsylvania's Broc Hepler was strong in the 125cc A final, going into it sharing a division win with Nevada's Derek Costella. Hepler got the holeshot, with Team Green's Bryan Johnson of Georgia giving him heat. For two grueling laps Hepler held off constant attacks from Johnson until Johnson got by Hepler in the tower sweeper. Hepler took the lead back, but they continued to swap positions until Johnson went down in the creek section. Team Green's Richie Owens replaced Johnson in the number two spot, but Hepler had a good lead and went on to take the win and the championship. Rookie Pro Teddy Maier filled in the number-three spot overall, while Suzuki's Cole Siebler and Jacob Saylor rounded out the top five spots. Hepler collected a second championship in 125cc A Pro/Sport, but it would also end his weekend of racing. "I got the second gate pick in the final moto for winning my division and went to the outside off the start because that's where we'd been getting the holeshots in the morning," offered Hepler. "They decided to disk it, so I got caught in the middle of the soft dirt and got about 15th off the start. Up on top, I cut in front of Richie Owens, and he landed on my hand. It broke the middle finger bone, and I ended up with 11 stitches. J just thought maybe a couple of fingers were broken." Saylor went on to take the win, but with a sixth going into the final moto, he only garnered a fourth overall. Siebler used a 3-2 for second, while Sipes, having won his division, finished third with a 1-4. Guy Cooper was the oldest rider on the gate, but the 41-year-old finished with a 4-5 for fifth overall. The 125cc Stock and Modified (12-15) Youth classes had former minibike riders from across the nation racing in top form on the bigger bikes. Millsaps returned to racing after almost four months on hiatus, having had reconstructive knee surgery after the Winter Olympics last November. Millsaps struggled with the holeshot in the final moto of the 125cc Modified (12- 15) Youth class with a 10th-place start, but by the end of the first lap he was out front and in control. Devin Sullivan got the holeshot on his KTM, with California's Daniel Sani in second on his Honda of Houston mount. Once Millsaps Z8ch 0 L 111M IIIIIde . . 10M 811 ax debut • valuable - . wlnnlllg . . 8Scc (12-131 MldIfted . . . and ......... HOOIId In''lIeock~ cue I e n e _ S • MARCH 26. 2003 49