Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Chris Florin rode well in Washington, going 4·6 over the weekend. because of a seven-foot rock wall at the entrance. On lap two, Aaron used his tall frame to unload up the wall and exit with a three. After the ride, some of the others started to build a launching pad from rocks just beyond the entrance gates to help boost them up the wall. This is certainly legal (since it was done outside the gates); however Aaron took offense to this, since he didn't have the benefit of the "helper," and threw the rocks out of the line before anyone could use them. No one dared to replace them. In the end, only Aaron and Craig saw the end gates all day; Craig once and Aaron twice. Finishing up lap two, Aaron added the only clean of the day taken on section 13, a very hard "Champ-only" section, to further extend his lead. Bell's best here was a three. Ultimately, Bell logged five 5s in a row to end lap two with 27 points. Craig moved into second place with a 25-point lap. Florin dramatically elevated his game, shaving ] 6 points from his first-lap score to post a 23 and take command of fourth place. Chaves followed with a 37. Despite having to haul butt in the sections, Aaron saved his best loop for last, turning in an 18-point finallap card for the win. His 60-point total demonstrated the severity of the Gold Bar sections. Late-penalty points cost Craig a second-place finish, which he lost by a half a point to Bell, 73.5 to 74. Just a minute faster at the finish would have added three additional championship points to his series standings. Florin cruised in well ahead of Chaves for the fourth place position with 88.5 points compared to Chaves' 134.5. During round four, held on Memorial Day, it was Bell's turn to make a stand. The former Canadian champ turned in consistent rides, bettering each loop to take the win. Consistency is Bell's game, and when he is smooth and not pressed for time, it is deadly for the competition. This was the key to his round-four win. On lap one, Bell logged two 3s and two 2s in the 15 sections to take the lead with 10. Aaron started well and was clean up to section 10, but back-to-back 5s on sections 10 and 11 would be an omen of things to come. The two 5s plus a two gave him a 12-point total for second place after loop one. In (Above) Wilson Craig was a contender all weekend. He took third on Sunday and finished ahead of Aaron for second on Monday. eye I e third was Wilson Craig with 16, followed by Chris Florin with 24 and Ray Peters, making his debut on a Beta, in fifth with 27. On lap two, Bell showed his form in section 10, becoming the first to clean the very nasty, undercut rock. He bettered his first lap score by three points and then posted six single dabs on the final lap to claim the win by 11 points over a jubilant Craig, who posted the best lap of anyone with a five-point final circuit. Aaron, who in his own words, "just had too many fives" came home in third with 38 points followed by David Chaves with 61 and Peters with 62. With the win, Bell moved back into contention for the National title, but the 25-year-old is not putting any pressure on himself. "I've tried to learn a lot from last season, and this year I basically just want to enjoy myself and do the best that I can with no unnecessary pressure on myself," Bell said. "j've learned that doesn't work very well for me. It's great if it can be a seesaw championship that goes back and forth. If somebody just runs away with it, then it's not very exciting, and you kind of lose your interest." eN Casc.1ld. Mountains &old Bar, Washington Results: May 25-26, 2003 [Rounds 3-4 of 131 Sunday (Round 3) C'SHIP: l. Geoff Aaron (60): 2. Ryon Bell (73.5); 3. Wilson Craig (74); 4. Chris Florin (88.S); 5. David Chaves (134.5); 6. Ray Peters (143.5); 7. Travis Fox (144.5); 8. Andy Johnson (149); 9. Keith Wineland (159): 10. Will Duggan (160). EX: l. Sean B;rd (79): 2. Cody Webb (79): 3. Josef Topor·Madry (89); 4. Brad Villand (89): 5. Chuck Sutton (94). EX/SPRTSMN: I. Don Petrick (62); 2. Michael C8sper (72); 3. David Cole (76); 4. Angus Dougan (79): 5. Brad Drawhom (85). SPRTSMN: L Kevin Mor~1n (59); 2. Ken Melody (68.5): 3. Donald Ramer (75): 4. Chris Hogan (78): 5. Ryan Bottesi (82). HS: l. Max Malsbary (28): 2. Dan O'Ne;!1 (33); 3. Stevie Darrow (52); 4. Reid Davis (63); 5. Miles Morgan (65). WMN: I. Christy Williams (57); 2. Kerry Williams (58); 3. Nicole Bradford (94.5); 4. Pam deBruin (100): 5. Andrea Dav;s (107.5). SR 35: I. Ron Lee (52): 2. Mike Welch (63): 3. Nick Jones (65); 4. Alex Innes (92); 5. T.R. Sackett (97). SR 40: ]. Ken Pederson (50); 2. Bob Caswell (53): 3. Bruce Davis (64); 4. Gordon Porter (76): 5. Ron deBruin (102). SR 45: 1. Larry Drawhorn (32); 2. Wayne Galvin (36): 3. Howacd Galbreath (43.5): 4. Ray Reser (50); 5. John IshenNood (56). SR 50: 1. Gary Lawver (39); 2. Keith Adams (48): 3. Garry Hoover (72.5): 4 Marvin Edgington (86): 5. Bruce Bolander (89). SR 55: I. Bob Bell (60): 2. Dale Malasek (61.5): 3. Curtis Mann (86); 4. Jim Watson (121). SR GO: I. Bill de Garis (47). SR 70: 1. Jack Heminway ( 146) Monday (Round 4) C'SHIP: I. Ryon Bell (23); 2. W;lson Cra;g (34): 3. Geoff Aaron (38): 4 David Chaves (61): 5. Ray Peters (62); 6. Chris Florin (66): 7. Travis Fox (97): 8. Andy Johnson (102): 9. W,II Duggan (122): 10. Keith Wineland (124). EX: I. Josef Topor·Madry (27); 2. Cody Webb (31): 3. Sean Bird (52); 4. Nick Mantzoros (53); 5. Jason Carpenter (62). EX·SPRTSMN: I. Dan Petrick (28); 2. David Cole (32): 3. Michael Casper (36); 4. Brad Drawhom (40): 5. Chris Duggan (45). SPRTSMN: 1. Chris Hogan (39); 2. Kevin Moran (50): 3. Ryan Bottes; (67): 4. Ken Meldoy (69); 5. Don Ramer (82). HS: I. Max Malsbary (25): 2. Dan O'Ne;1I (38): 3. Stevie Darrow (41); 4. Miles Morgan (53): 5. Max Nelson (57). WMN: 1. Christy Williams (39); 2. Kerry Williams (50); 3. Nicole Bradford (75); 4. lllurl! Bussing (80): 5. Pam deBruin (81). SR 35: I. Ron Lee (50): 2. N;ck Jones (59): 3. Mike Welch (62); 4. Alex Innes (72); 5. T.R. Sackett (86). SR 40: I. Ken Pederson (42): 2. Bruce Davis (45): 3. Bob Caswell (57): 4. Gordon Porter (60): 5. Tony Herald (78). SR 45: I. Ray Reser (23); 2. Howard Galbreath (26); 3. John Isherwood (26): 4. Larry Drawhorn (27); 5. Dale Higginbotham (30). SR 50: 1. Keith Adams (29): 2. Gary Lawver (35): 3. Ganry Hoover (40): 4. Bruce Bolander (53): 5. James Fox (63). SR 55: 1. Dale Malasek (48): 2. Bob Bell (76); 3. Curtis Mann (78); 4. Jim Watson (129). SR 60: I. Bill de Garis (38). SR 65: I. B;]I Thompson (76). SR 70: 1. Jack Heminway (140). n e _ S • JUNE 1 1 ,2003 53