Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Chevy Trucks 125cc U.S. Motocross Championship Series Round 1 ; Glen Helen Raceway second moto, Brown pressured Langston in much the same way, just coming up short of the clean sweep after making his final bid for the win with two laps to go. "It was an awesome day: Brown said. "I got fairly good starts and worked my way to the front to win the first moto. I tried to win the second moto, but I ended up second, and that was good enough to win the overall, and that's all that's important." Of course, Brown's win also put him in the series points lead, establishing him as the man to beat for the time being. Brown said that he feels good about his chances for a second 125cc crown. '" think the main thing is to just be consistent every weekend," Brown said. "I want to get it up there on the podium every week, and I think when Bubba comes back, then maybe he can get in between people, or I'll just get as many points as I can when he gets back." Considering that Langston didn't even have plans to ride the 125cc class until about a week ago, his 3-1 scores were all the more impressive. The lack of familiarity with his bike may have showed early in the first moto, but from about the 20-minute mark through the rest of the day, the South African was tough and consistent, coming from ninth to third in the first moto and leading all 13 laps of the second moto while fending off Brown the last two laps. "I really didn't ride that good in the first race today: Langston said. "At one stage, 'I was just hanging on in eighth, but then I started to get my rhythm, and 1 got a line and started coming through. In the second moto, I got a. bit of a gap on Brown, but then I got a little tight at around 20 minutes, and I think that's when he reeled me in. But then I got a second wind, and I tried to just control it from the front. That's what I did, and' was able to dig deep and hold him off. To be honest, I wasn't entirely happy with the way the bike was set up only because we haven't been able to do any testing, and still it was pretty good. It's going to get better." Ryan Hughes charged from 14th to fourth by lap seven of the first moto 16 ne'UVs MAV21,2003' cue I e (Right) Ryan Hughes made his highly anticipated comeback in the 125cc class. His 4-3 landed him on the podium in third. (Bottom) Eric Sorby was extremely fast at Glen Helen but bad starts prevented him from running with the leaders. In the first moto, he came from 19th to finish r.tth and in the second moto, he went from 13th to fourth. and then passed a still out of sync Langston for third before relinquishing the spot back to the South African on the last lap of moto one. 1[1 moto two, he battled with both Langston and Brown for the win early before slipping off the lead pace and settling in to finish a lonely third. '" tried to be consistent," the 31year-old Hughe~ said. "It was good for being off for a year and a half and not racing a 125 for eight years. I went out there and rode my own pace today. I learned from Grant and Brownie that I have to pick up the intensity a little bit, but that'll come. We're not too far off in the points, so we'll take it a step at a time." Langston was quickest off the 40rider gate in the first moto, but Boost Mobile Yamaha/Troy Racing's Brock Sellards quickly pushed Langston back and then was in turn passed for the lead by his own Boost Mobile Yamaha/Troy Racing teammate, Craig Anderson, before the pack headed down Mount St. Helens for the first time. Team SoBe Suzuki's Casey Johnson then stuffed his RM 125 to the front before the start of lap two, with Sellards moving into second place in the Sandbox section of the track near the finish line. Brown was already up to fifth place by then. Sellards made his way past Johnson in the Canyon section between the two uphills, leaving the Suzuki rider in his wake as he began to build a lead. After suffering from a lackluster start, Hughes had already made his way into the top 10. Sorby, meanwhile, fared even worse off the start and was mired about 16th. Johnson's day then came to a grinding halt early, as he went over the bars off the tabletop just before the Sandbox section of the track and was transported to the hospital after complaining of neck pain (see Briefly... ). Brown methodically worked his way into second place and set off after the fleeing Sellards,'who had built a lead of about 8.4 seconds on his YZ250F. Brown whittled into that margin lap after lap, cutting a fast two-minute, 40.41 -second time on lap six as he continued to charge. The battle for third place also intensified at around the 20-minute mark. Red Bull KTM's' Brett Metcalfe had it, but So be Suzuki's Stephane Roncada, Hughes and Langston all wanted it, and Sorby was catching them. Hughes made his move past Roncada and then diced with Metcalfe briefly before taking over the third spot. Brown managed to reel in Sellards, and the stage appeared set for an epic clash for the lead, but then Sellards crashed in the right-hander leading into Bud's Creek, handing the lead to Brown. "You had to wheelie over a couple bumps back there, and I just highsided and tipped the bike over: Sellards said. "After that, I just tried to stay smooth and save it for the second moto." Sellards was up quickly, and he didn't lose the second spot, but Brown was effectively gone, building up a 10-second lead in the final few laps to take the moto win, with SelJards second. Meanwhile, Langston appeared to get stronger in the late stages of the moto, and he put a pass on Hughes up Mount St. Helens on the last lap to

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