Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

between him and the leader, Davis, who was on cruise control, some 40 seconds ahead of the Australian with two laps to go. But that wasn't enough of a cushion when you have a healthy Watts on your tail. On the second-to-Iast lap, Watts somehow whittled 30 seconds off Davis' lead and was going for more. Pretty soon Watts was breathing down Davis' neck, and Davis knew he was done for. Instead of putting up an unnecessary fight, Davis thought about the championship and let his rival have this one, knowing that Watts has no shot at the WORCS title. "I was just getting through the sections," Davis said. "And then Watts came up, and I know how good a rider he is through this stuff, and I could just see him having a good day, because he's light, and being as good a rider as he is through that stuff, he was railing. I tried to hold him off, but eventually he reeled me in. He was just riding really good today. Today was his day, and he was just floatin' through that stuff real smooth, a lot smoother than I could go through there. "Watts isn't in the points, so I wasn't going to kill myself trying to keep up," Davis admitted. "I thought the course was pretty good. The championship is what I wanted to win last year, so that's why I'm back here. I want to pull off this champi. onship; I haven't won this series before, and that is my goal - to win it. You can't win every race, but at the end that's what I want - to win. The championship - that's what matters that's what pays, so I'm going to just keep plugging away." Watts announced to the world when he crossed the finish line in first m Scott Shaak, riding with broken ribs, still pulled down third place. ..1 ....... .IIIINtt _ riding • _ place that he is indeed back and is ready to start winning races again. Davis, on the other hand, was disappointed not to have won the battle but was content in knowing that he had taken a big step toward winning the war by placing second. "My race was good," Watts said. "I started about eighth and just worked my way up through the pack. The second lap I was around a minute behind Ty - about a half a minute behind the others. I just kept riding the way I was - nice and cruisy - not making any mistakes. I just started catching them. "I caught up to Jarrett and Sheak at the pit stop and knew I had to pass them there. I wouldn't have been able to get past Sheak out on the trail, so my pit crew came through, and I got in front of them. From there on, I just 9th The other Nathan in the top 10 said of his race: "I just got a terrible start and tried to work my way up through the pack. This is probably my second time back East riding in the tight stuff, so it's just a learning experience for me. I came out to leam and hopefully come out and do the whole series next year. I crashed a couple times, and it put me back; when you're on the ground four times, you know time gets you pretty quick, but the start I think killed me. I was second to last going into the first comer. and so it's just pickin' 'em off in the mota and, when I get in the tight stuff... like I said, I'm just leaming." Joey Lanza DNF "Today was not a good day for me," the KTM rider from California said. "I kept crashing and falling down. I got a good start; I was second behind Zip-Ty, and then Sheak and Jar· rett got by me. I tried to stay up with those guys and just kept messin' up. I nailed a tree and pinballed through the forest a little and decided to call it a day. I need to go and practice riding in the woods for sure." Josh Weisenfels 10th "I got a really bad start and was dead last," Weisenfels said. "I charged as hard as I could to catch up. I think I tried too hard at the beginning, and, at the end, I started to fade. I liked the course, especially the mota track. Some of the tight stuff was real technical and not too much fun, but all in all it was good." Tony Joiner kept rolling around and reeled Ty in on the last lap. "I knew I was going to be able to catch him, but I didn't know if I would be able to pass him," Watts said. "He just kind of let me by. I don't think he could handle the pace I was running and was nice enough to pull over and let me go. It would have been a lot different if I would've had to battle Davis to get by. "Man it's good - 20 months away from the victory circle," Watts said. "I'm stoked to be back on top of the podium. I'm still not comfortable with the way I'm riding. I'm still not confident, but every week I feel better. Hopefully, for the rest of the year, I'll keep picking it up. I still have a long 8th "I was fourth off the start and had some bike troubles and dropped back to 12th," Joiner said of his race. "I got it going again and finished seventh or eighth. I got a big blister on my hand that hurt pretty bad. I guess I just need to do some more training. Racing with these guys is really cool. It helps my confidence out a lot. I came around after the first lap and saw Watts behind me, which was cool. We got to a technical section, and I let him by. I wanted to follow him to see what he was doing, but I didn't get to do that for very long. I crashed and couldn't get my bike started, and that was the last I saw of him." my lady last night, and she told me to suck it up. I didn't drive all this way for nothing. I'm really happy to have made it to the podium. I just need to race more of these off-road races and get used to them. The wins will come; I'm sure of that." Behind Sheak finished Garrahan, who caught and passed the ailing Jarrett in the last half mile of the race. "The race today went all right," Garrahan said. "I got a bad start as usual, and there was a lot of singletrack out there, so it's really hard for me to pass. I came around the first lap a couple of minutes behind the leader, and that really hurt. I worked my way up slowly. Halfway through the race, the clouds kind of broke off, and the sun came out • it got a little hot, but I don't know after the pit. I 6th Nathan Kanney was on the gas at Millville. finishing sixth overall as the top A-class rider. "I got off to a decent start," Kanney said. "I passed a few guys in my class on the first lap and then started picking off the Pro riders. The guys in the pits were telling me to keep charging and I could probably make the top five. I ended up a second behind fifth, so I didn't quite make the top five, but sixth is still pretty good. I really liked the course. There were some cool single-track sections and some really tight technical rocky sections, as well, and then, of course, the mota track is awesome. I can't wait to race against these guys from the same row next year. It should be interesting." Nathan Woods . . . . .1HlIM"I. . . .1 beforw dropp.... to tIftII. Own Race... Nathan Kanney ... A-cI_w1nne ......... ~ on the second row but stili finished sixth overall. way to go to be back to where I used to be and happy with my riding. That is one of the most important things to me - is to be happy with my riding and have an enjoyable time out there. Once I'm at that point, the wins will come easy, no worries." Third place ended up going to a banged-up Sheak. "My race went pretty good considering I went to the hospital last night and I have basically Legos for ribs in my back," Sheak said. "I broke my ribs at the Glen Helen WORCS race, and then, yesterday, I stalled my bike in midair over the big step-up and cartwheeled. I was actually lucky to have only broken some more ribs. The doctor couldn't tell which ones were broken from yesterday and which were broken from Glen Helen. It's just a mess back there. I talked to cue I e got going again and saw Jimmy up there. I knew it was a race for the points, so I put my head down and charged hard the last couple laps. On my last lap, I made a brave pass in the rocks on the outside through the bushes and made it stick, and from there on out I just rode to the finish." That pass was a crucial one, as it got Garrahan a few more points on Jarrett in their battle for the series title. "I think Brian and I are still one and two," Jarrett said of their title battle. "He had a couple points on me, so he only gained one or two today, so it's still going be close. We have a throwaway; him and I both have good finishes so far, so I stiJJ think it's going come down to the last one." Finishing in sixth behind Jarrett was Nate Kanney, who borrowed a bike from Jarrett so he could race. Kanney's outstanding ride was even more impressive considering that he started on the second row, making him the top A-class rider. Seventh place went to Kyle Nelson, followed by Joiner, Woods and Wiesnfels. ION Spring Creek MX Plrk Millville. Minnesota Results: July 20, 2003 (Round 41 a/A, I. Shane Watts (KTM); 2. Ty Davis (Vam); 3. Scott Sheak (KlIw); 4. Brian Garrahan (KTM); 5. Jimmy Jarrett (Vom); 6. Nathan Kaney (KTM); 7. Kyle Nelson (KTM); 8. Nathan Woods (Vom); 9. Tony Joiner (KTM); 10. Josh Wiesnfels (KTM); 11. Steve Leivan (Yam); 12. Charlie Deutscher (KTM); /3. Caleb Wohlertz (Yam); 14. Mike Kann (Yam); 15. Tyler Espe (Suz): 16. Chuck Garetson (Han); 17. Dylan Debel (GG); 18. Dan Burgard (Hus); 19. John Strangfeld (GG); 20. Jeff Fredette (Kaw). WORLD OFF·ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

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