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AMAIChevy Trucks 125cc U.S. Motocross Championship Round 3: High Point Raceway For most of both motos, Mike Brown (3) and Ryan Hughes (105) were about this close· or closer. Hughes won the first moto, while Brown won the second, more aggressive battle. ns wins epic duel with Hughes an aSSlC Brown By JASON WEIGANDT PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN MOUNT MORRIS, PA, MAY 25 Considering all the variables involved with racing motocross for 30 minutes plus two laps, twice all the training and preparation a rider and his team do during the week, and then all the moves they have to make on raceday - it's hard to fathom that any two riders could be completely equal in speed on raceday, especially when the riders have gone through as much as Mike Brown and Ryan Hughes. The two 30-something riders grew up battling as amateurs as long as two decades ago, but their pro careers took different paths through various injuries and issues and even time racing in Europe. Yet now they have ended up back in the United States, battling it out again. "That was one of the best races I've ever been in," said Brown, the Pro Circuit/Kawasaki/Chevy Trucks rider who went 2-1 on the day to win round three. "We both really wanted to win." Brown did so for his second win of the season, but he barely outdueled the hungry Hughes, who went 1-2 on the day to lead the points standings going into the second mota. "I feel like I won the overall," said the Red Bull KTM vet. "Even though I didn't, we tied on points for the day. That last mota, I don't think we let up. Not any lap, any corner or any jump the whole time. We pushed as hard as we could. We were out there slamming each other and ramming each other and doing everything we could." 30 JUNE 4, 2003' cue I _ The second mota was especially eXCiting, as the two bounced off of each other repeatedly near the midway point, with Hughes even taking a detour off the track at one point. But despite the hard riding, each of them emerged with nothing but respect for each other at day's end. As the only winners so far this season, Brown and Hughes are quickly establishing their dominance in a series so far left without a champion. Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki's James Stewart Jr. was absent from the race again, still healing a broken collarbone suffered at the Las Vegas Supercross. With Stewart out, the 125cc National Championship is up for grabs, and so far Brown and Hughes have made the biggest lunges for it. Brown came into High Point leading Hughes in the points standings by one, and he remains there as the series heads into a one·week break. Their closest championship competition so far has come from Brown's Pro Circuit Kawasaki Teammate Eric Sorby. The Frenchman has shown rapid improvement in his outdoor skills this season, and he backed up his strong rides in California with a 3-3 finish and third overall at High Point. But unlike last weekend at Hangtown, Sorby was unable to hang with Brown or Hughes, and his third-place finishes were preceded by a considerable gap to the lead duo. "I had good starts, and I tried to After all the beating and banging was over, Hughes and Brown congratulated each other on jobs well done. n __ :IS come back on those guys, but I didn't feel too good today," Sorby said. Fourth on the day came Red Bull KTM's Grant Langston, who also raced the pace of Brown and Hughes earlier in the season but is once again dealing with the injury bug. Langston reinjured his sore wrist in practice and was left riding in pain in Pennsylvania. "It was kind of a boring day for me - I struggled with the wrist," said Langston, who went 4-4 in his motos. "I tried to take it easy. I didn't have anything for the front two guys." When the gate dropped for the first moto, the YZ250Fs of Craig Anderson and Brock Sellards hooked up best, with Anderson reaching the summit of High Point's uphill first turn fastest and Sellards emerg- ing with the lead once the field rounded the wide, sweeping first turn. Brown quickly shoved his way into second in the next corner, while the KTMs of Brett Metcalfe and Hughes also moved into contention. Metcalfe fell halfway through the lap, though, while Brown began putting pressure on Sellards. At the beginning of lap two, Brown passed Sellards in the corner that crosses the start line, and a lap later Hughes went by the Ohio rider in the left-hander after the finish. Meanwhile, Sorby had moved past Brandes for fifth and started dueling with Langston. Langston made a few mistakes when the Frenchman applied pressure, allowing Sorby to grab the fourth-place position. Sellards continued to circulate in third, unable to hang with the torrid pace of Brown and Hughes. Then on the fifth lap Sellards dropped from the leaderboard altogether when his rear tire went flat. His team made a change, but by the time he was back in the moto, he had already fallen way out of the points-paying positions. With Sorby and Langston alone in third and fourth, the crowd fixated on the brewing battle between Brown and Hughes. Hughes gave them exactly what they were looking for when he pulled to the Tennessee rider's rear fender and started showing him a wheel. On one lap, Brown gassed his KX 125 too early in a corner and nearly spun out, taking out some banners in the process. A lap later, he was off the track again. "I made a few mistakes, and Ryan caught me," Brown said. "Then I ended up going off the track and getting some banners caught in my front wheel. I lost my front brake for a few laps." Now with the lead, Hughes attempted to head for daylight and collect his third moto win in a row. "I feel like I ride better