Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

. • ..i ~ ~ ~ Craig Anderson beats fellow Aussie Michael Byrne to win first National BY JASON WEIGANDT PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN SOUTHWICK, MA, JUNE 8 ust when it seemed the 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks 125cc U.S. Motocross Championships were ·about to settle down, the entire series gets turned upside down. Or actually just down under. Because at round four of the series, in the shifting sand of Southwick, Massachusetts, two Australian riders turned the show into Australian rules motocross. At the front of the pack was Team Boost Mobile/Yamaha of Troy's Craig Anderson who overcame his earIyseason struggles in one fell swoop by taking his first ca reer AMA National victory. Anderson turned a pair of holeshots into 2-1 moto finishes and an overall win, just beating the 1-4 scores of another Australian, Team Amsoil/Chaparral/Honda's Michael Byrne. "It hasn't sunk in 100 percent yet, but it is like a dream come true," Anderson said. "It was just awesome to get a good start. Byrne rode an awesome race in the first moto. I had been getting my butt kicked all year, so I was stoked to get second. I had nothing to lose in the second race. I got another good start, and I didn't care what I got. Second was good or third was good as long as I was up there, but I ended up winning it. It J was awesome." In the first moto, Byrne muscled past Anderson early on and pulled away for the win. But he couldn't pull the trick off so easily in moto two. Instead of motoring past Anderson, Byrne also had to battle the second Yamaha of Troy YZ250F four-stroke pilot, Brock Sellards. The trio stayed glued to one another's fenders throughout the entire 3D-minute plus two-lap affair, and the ferocious three-way battle eventually caught up to Byrne. "I was just eating so much sand," Byrne said. "I was maybe getting a little impatient there, trying to get more aggressive. I thought if I could have gotten the lead, I could have pulled away and maybe gotten out of that battle, but every time I passed Craig, with the power of his bike he was able to get back ahead. It was a great race. It was fun. We were really going at it hard in the last few laps." Perhaps too hard for Byrne, because late in the race he tried a move past Anderson on the outside of a corner and crashed, losing a few spots in the process. He recovered to finish fourth and hold on for second overall. Sellards, who went 9-2, collected the final podium spot. "That was the craziest moto I've ever been in as a professional," said Sellards of his second-moto battle. "It was really intense. But I was having a blast out there." All three riders took their first three overall podiums of the season, which was made possible in part because the top four riders in the series coming into the race, Mike Brown, Ryan Hughes, Eric Sorby and Grant Langston, all had horrible days in the sand. It started when Brown and II: U II: I e Langston slammed into each other in the first turn of the first moto, locking bars so badly that it took an army of mechanics to pull the two bikes apart. Brown had his grip torn off of the left side of his bars, and he was only able to climb up to 22nd place at the finish, failing to score any points. Langston faired slightly better, carding 16th. Both riders were down again early in the second moto. Brown put in an amazing charge from outside the top 20 to third, good enough for 10th overall. Langston finished seventh in the second moto, an 11 th-place overall result. Worse yet was Sorby, the Pro Cirn e _ S • JUNE 18, 2003 11

• Cover