Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128225
SITARS/Moto Connection Super IT Round 3: EI Cajon Speedway Metzger got by to lead laps 10 and Neuer, Nelson, Drew 11, but Nelson came back on the one that counted to take the victory. Metzger was a close second, while KTM's Scott Burnworth quietly sat in third. Cernicky charged from last to -=,V finish fourth. For 15 laps, the Open main thrilled the crowd. Yoshimura's Cernicky shot to the front, as he so often does. He was followed by White Brothers' legend Mike Steve Drew, on the Maxxis Honda. Metzger, Voicom/ Joe Rockets' Mark Cern icky, motocross hero Ma rty Moates, and, making his Super TT debut, former World Champion Danny LaPorte. At the drop of the flag, Nelson put his Dunlop-shod Yamaha 450 up front, hounded by new factory Honda star Metzger. (Though many in the racing community Steve Drew (73) won the Open haven't taken Metzger main event at round three of the STTARS/Moto Connection Super seriously, he is dedicated TT in EI Cajon, California. and takes his racing very seriously. As an example, at Fontana he declared he wasn't going to put his foot down in the corners anymore, rather opting to knee-drag, road-racer style. Lap after lap, he never put a foot down. This takes disThe Sportsman class was the first cipline, folks.) of the 12-lap main events. Super IT Of the 17 Middleweight riders, Cerveteran from Pin It Motorsports Corey nicky made the biggest gain. CerNeuer, out of Camarillo, took point nicky had led his heat race and on his Honda 450. Giving chase were appeared to have secured the victory Mission Motorsports' Matt Foster and when he crashed in the dirt section, Temecula's Mark McCain, both on which gave him a last-place, secondsmaller-displacement machines of row start in the main. the 250cc variety. As a total of eight Back at the front, Nelson and riders went at it, it became clear the Metzger put on a show, with Nelson 450cc Honda was the hot ticket, leading every lap through lap nine. regardless of the class. However, it is For six laps, Drew was glued to Cernicky. Axo-backed Nelson and Maxima's Burnworth sat back and waited freestyle STORY AND PHOTOS BY JAMEY BLUNT EL CAJON, CA, JUNE 28 ASCAR and Super TT motorcycles? A strange combination, you say? Well, the powers that be at N EI Cajon Speedway think it's a great combination, and thus far they've been proved right. Don Canet likes this track; the riders like the track; the track owners like the motorcycles; and, most importantly, the fans that pay the bills love the motorcycles. The way it works is this: Canet and crew arrive early on race day and set up their course, utilizing most of the banked oval, with seven paved infield turns and a dirt section complete with a jump. Here's a quick look at their schedule: At 1:30 p.m., signup is over, and two practice sessions are run; at 2: 15 p.m., the eightlap heat races are run; at 2:45 p.m., three of the four 12-lap main events are ready for take off - all of this is over before the flood gates are opened and more than 5000 race fans rush through them to find their favorite seats. At 6:45 p.m., the first of two Open-class heats are run, as the big guns jockey for starting position in the Open main, which is set to go off at 8:30 p.m. How can one be so sure of the times, you ask? Have you ever attended a NASCAR event? 'Nuff said. 54 JULY 30, 2003' eye • e noteworthy that the second, third and fourth spots all went to smaller and lighter 250cc machines, as 250cc pilots Foster, McCain and Jeremy Fry took those positions. Neuer, of course, continued on at the front to prevail. The Middleweight class is usually contested by most of the Open-class riders or Pros, though it is not run for purse money. However, the action and excitement generated is none the less. This day's Middleweight main was a war. Some big names getting in some track time to gear up for Laguna Sec a included Two Brothers Racing's Dustin Nelson, n e vv s for something to happen. And happen it did: On the sixth go-around, Drew, pressuring Cernicky hard, put a wheel under him in the dirt section, pushing Cernicky wide. In an instant, Cern icky went from first to fourth. Drew, now out front, put his head down and took off. By lap 13, Nelson, who was running third, finally got past Burnworth for second, and Metzger, after a hard run-in with Cernicky on the entrance to the infield with two laps remaining, was up to fourth. The third time is the charm: Drew cruised to the victory for his third time here at EI Cajon. Another performance of note was Cycle News' own Scott Rousseau, making his first-ever appearance at a Super TT, aboard the Team Cycle News Honda CRF450R project bike. He finished a respectable sixth out of a field of 21 riders. eN £1 c.j.a Speadway £1 c.j.a, C.lifamia Results: June 28, 20D3 (Round 31 SPTSMN: 1. Corey Neuer; 2. Matt Foster; 3. Matt McCain. M./W: l. Dustin Nelson; 2. Mike'Metzger: 3. Scott Burnworth. NOV: I. Chuck McCart)'; 2. Clay Cullen; 3. David Alan. OPEN: 1. Steve Drew: 2. Dustin Nelson: 3. Scott Burnworth.