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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Aaron Yates (20) and Ben Carlson (27) in Saturday'S 450X race. Ben Carlson celebrates after Sunday's Open Extreme Final win. KTM Team spent the weekend fighting the woes of running a long-legged bike around a short track. "The weekend definitely had its highs and lows," reflected Mitch Hanson, HMC KTM team owner. "The Motorplex is tough for the 660, which was designed to compete on longer European tracks." The second Open Extreme race saw Russell with the holeshot, leading Smith and 'Alexander into the first corner. Diedrich and Fillmore were close on their rear fenders. By the end of the second lap, Smith had moved into the lead, while Diedrich had taken over third place. This race order continued until the end with Smith winning by a safe margin. Russell finished in second ahead of Diedrich. Alexander completed his day with another fourth, ahead of Pursley and Daniels. You had to wonder if Saturday was Smith's birthday. He scored convincing first-place finishes in the Super Pole, the 450X race and both Open Extreme races! Drew Vecchione, team manager for Mota Britalia, was pleased with the performance of their Yamaha. In one short day, Smith had gone a long way toward proving the team's belief that they have established the proper Supermoto setup. Sunday started out even more overcast than Saturday had ended. The morning practice sessions were spent doing the rain tire shuffle. The roads around this huge complex were congested with wet campers looking for warm showers, Motard racers chasing after rain tires, and bored road race spectators desperate for excitement. The Super Pole event was held in the rain, and it quickly became apparent which riders had experience racing in the wet. Many of the dirt trackers were held to slower qualifying times as they struggled to get used to rain tires. The road racers seemed the least affected, and Smith once again posted the fastest qualifying time of the day, nearly a full second faster than on Saturday. Pursley won Sunday's 450X final in true gladiator style. Racing with a busted beak, the result of a tumble he took on Saturday, Pursley spent the first half of the race following Fillmore and Alexander. Alexander had grabbed the holeshot, but Fillmore quickly took the lead and held on to it well past the halfway point. Pursley kept pushing and worked his way past Alexander into second. In the last stages of the race, Fillmore and Pursley had started to put distance on the rest of the field. Pursley finally dove inside and stuffed Fillmore to take the hard-earned win. Carlson finished in fourth behind Alexander. Alexander took the holeshot in the day's first Open Extreme Race. Taking advantage of his start and the ongoing rain, he easily ran away with the win. Daniels cruised to a secondplace finish. Steve Drew finished in third, having spent most of the race holding off Gary Trachy, whose race ended in the mud. Fillmore crossed the line in fourth. Pursley was part of the lead pack for the entire race but was unable to finish any better than fifth. When "last call" was given for the Open Extreme final, the sky had cleared, and the track was dry. The riders were used to the track layout, and the slicks were back on the bikes. Everyone was eager to take advantage of the dry asphalt. After a tough night of racing in The Dairyland Classic, the first stop on the 2003 Formula USA National Dirt Track Series, and a long morning of soggy qualifying on cut slicks instead of rain tires, Carlson was especially motivated for this race. "After a bad outing, you really want to make up for it the next time you go out," Carlson said. The Open Extreme final started with Daniels leading the tightest field of the weekend into the first corner. It was common for the lead pack to be two and three wide for the first few laps. There were 10 riders in the lead . group fighting toward the front. Diedrich was a victim of the shoving and bumping and went down early in the race. After the first lap, Carlson found himself nine bikes from the front. He wasted no time and immediately started to work his way forward. While Daniels and Alexander continued to lead the race, they were unable to separate themselves from the rest of the lead pack. At the halfway point, they were still first and second, but sound the bugles: Carlson had already moved into fifth position. Repeatedly using the same line through a linked pair of left-hand corners, he had been able to pick off riders steadily on his way to the front. Carlson was picking up a position per lap. "It was a high-low move," Carlson explaining his fast line. "I would drive in really deep on the right side, park it and get the bike exiting the corner on the inside of the guy. He has nowhere to go!" Daniels couldn't hold onto the lead much past the halfway point, and Alexander and Fillmore found themselves to be the last two riders running from the fast-charging Carlson. Daniels was able to keep the lead pack in view and finished the weekend's most exciting race in fourth place. Carlson continued to take advan- . tage of the excellent handling offered by the Demambro-tuned Suzuki DRZ. The bike flawlessly executed his preferred passing trick twice more as he worked his way into second and eventually captured the lead. Once in front, Carlson never looked back and built a commanding lead. Perhaps in his own mind, he made up for Saturday night's bad outing. No one else could even remember what had happened the night before. eN Briggs & Stratton Molorple. Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Results: June 7-8, 2003 [Round 3 and 4J Saturday 450X: I. Michael Smith; 2. Scott Diedrich; 3. Ben Carlson; 4. Richard Alexander; 5. Steve Johnson; 6. Caey Yarrow: 7. Cole Walsdorf; 8. Tom Hickman; 9. David Sadowski; 10. Mathew Pursley. OPEN EXTREME RACE ONE: 1. Michael Smith: 2. Scott Diedrich: 3. Richard Alexander; 4. Mathew Pursley; 5. Scott Fisher; 6. Steve Drew; 7. Nick Daniels; 8. Steve Johnson: 9, Gary Trachy: 10. Tom Hickman. OPEN EXTREME FINAL: I. Michael Smith; 2. Scott Russell: 3. Scott Diedrich: 4. Richard Alexander; 5. Mathew Pursley; 6. Nick Daniels: 7. Gary Trachy: 8. Tom Hickman; 9. Steve Drew; 10. Joe Tschuemperlin. Sunday 450X; 1. Mathew Pursley: 2. Christopher Fillmore; 3. Richard Alexander; 4. Ben Carlson; 5. Steve Johnson; 6. Steve Drew; 7. Joe Kopp; 8. Gary Trachy; 9. Cole Walsdorf; 10. Tom Hickman. OPEN EXTREME RACE ONE: I. R;chard Alexander; 2. Nick Daniels; 3. Steve Drew; 4. Chris Fillmore; 5. Mathew Pursley: 6-. Steve Johnson; 7. Scott Diedrich; 8. Ken Coolbeth; 9. Joe Kopp; 10. Joe Tschuemperlin OPEN EXTREME FINAL: 1. Ben Carlson; 2. Richard Alexander; 3. Chris Fillmore; 4. Nick Daniels; 5. Mathew Pursley; 6. Joe Kopp; 7. Steve Drew; 8. Steve Johnson; 9. Gary Trachy: 10. Ken Coolbeth. Chris Fillmore (3) leads KTM riders Ken Coolbeth (311 and Joe Kopp (partially hidden). cue I e n e VV 50 • JULY 9.2003 53