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/128229
; l AMAIAir Nautiques Amateur National Motocross Championships I Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch r (Above) Josh Hill won the 85cc Modified (12-13) championship. (Left) Dominic Izzi topped the 85cc Stock (12-13) event. (Right) Matt Walker gave Emig fits in the Over-30 class, but the former National Champion topped Walker this year. into tme final frame, but this time Millsaps got a good start and motored away to his second title. LichtJe was the favorite in the 125 Kawasaki Team Green's showed impressive solidity Lichtle off in the first two then cruised to an easy (12-15) 'Stock class, but this time mota three. BRIEFLy•••• The Alessi clan was under much scrutiny in Tennessee. Mike's CR85 was protested for illegal displacement by the Ryan Villopo· to camp, but tests by AMA Sports manager Steve Carnegie and head referee Doc Holliday proved the bike was legal. Alessi's 105cc Supermini was also protested for illegal fuel, and the results are pending a test by the AMA. Even stranger, Alessi's 105 was claimed for $3900 under AMA Sports' little-used claim· ing rule, where a competitor in the class can bid for the bike at a set price just over blue book value. British rider Adam Chatfield claimed, and won, Alessi's championship,winning bike, much to the dismay of Honda, who planned to put the bike on permanent display. The Alessis had the option of bidding on their own bike, but they elected not to. "If they want it. they can have it," said Michael's father, Tony. "We have nothing to hide." Chatfield had been protested by Alessi a week earlier at Ponca City. Mike Alessi's younger brother Jeff trained hard for this year's race in the hopes of winning his first AMA Amateur National Championship. But while Jeff did get his first career mota win at Loretta Lynn's, he and the rest of his 12·to·13-year-old eeers were upended by Yamaha's ..Josh Hill, who topped the 1"2-13 Modified class with a 1·1-2 score. Hill was also the fastest rider in the 12-13 stock class, but a seized engine in the first mota relegated him to 26·'-1 scores. Suzuki's Dominic Izzi rode smart to go 1·3-5 and win the class. Both Alessi brothers claim they have run their last races on mini- cycles. "I think I'll be even better on big bikes," says Mike. ''I'm really looking forward 10 riding the new Honda CRF250R four-stroke. " Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki all had their all-new 2004 250 four-stroke motocrossers on display in Tennessee. The next big minicycle rivalry could stem from Suzuki's Ben Lemay, of Alaska, and Kawasaki Team Green's Tyler Bowers, who hails from Ohio. Bowers bested Lemay in the 85cc C7 ·11 ) Modified class, but Lemay held solid 1·' scores heading into the final 85 (7-11) Stock mota. Bowers needed Lemay to finish third, so he proceeded to block and brake·check him in the hope that someone would catch up and separate them in the standings. In Matt Bani by holding motos. He second in "My trainer Ron Tichenor has been helping me so much," said Bani, who has improved rapidly in the last few months. "He told me not to choke before that final mota, so I didn't." For the second straight year, Women's racers Sarah Whitmore, of Team AGP Yamaha, and Kawasaki Team Green/Fox rider ..Jessica Patterson, the defending national champion, put on the battle of the week going for the Women's Championship. Both riders were upended by Marisa Hampshire in the muddy first moto, but they crossed the finish line in a near dead heat in moto two, with Whitmore getting the win and Patterson injuring her shoulder attempting a pass at the finish. Patterson was back to lead nearly the entire final mota, but Whitmore dug deep and made a pass just as they crossed the white flag. Whitmore won by just two seconds ... Everyone is telling me there's no crying in motocross." Whitmore said, fighting back tears of joy. "But I think motocross is a whole lot harder than baseball, so I'll cry if I want to!" The latest round of the Motorcycle Product News Celebrity Minicycle Series took place at Loretta Lynn's, this time with a special guest star. Team Chevy Truck's Kawasaki's ..James Stewart competed on his number·259 KLX11 0, and his performance, including double-jumping sections most of the top 125 and 250 riders couldn't clear, left the crowd in awe. Stewart easily topped all three of the matos, over the likes of CTi's Tom Carson, Steve "TFS" Bruhn, and Parts Unlimited/Pro Circuit's "Rocket" Rob Buydos. Along with Stewart. event sponsor Fox Racing brought nine-time AMA National Motocross Champion Ricky Carmichael back to the Ranch. RC had just finished some early testing for the '04 AMA Supercross Series, and he promises a big improvement. "My handlebars are normal now," said RC. "In fact, the people at the track were telling me I looked like Jeremy McGrath out there. " A slew of past legends who never had the chance to compete at Loretta Lynn's were on hand to take in the action . ..Jeff Ward stopped by, promoting his new sports management agency, Rick Johnson was on hand as an advisor and coach for Suzuki. and David Bailey came as a guest of Honda. "I'm blown away by this place," Bailey said. ''I'm a full-on minibike dad now. I'm going to get on my son to make sure he gets faster and qualifies here next year." Broc Glover, Bailey's old 500 National rival, was also on hand working with Dunlop. Another Dunlop employee, Miami, Florida's Eddie Ray, got his first national title by going 8·1·2 in the Four·Stroke Class. the end. Team Green manager Craig Martin instructed officials to pull Bowers off the track and disqualify his rider. "I got a little carried away out there. and I'm sorry," Bowers said. Yamaha rider Chris Whitcraft may have put in the gutsiest rides of the week when he compiled 5-5·4 scores for second overall in the 125 A Pro Sport Class. Whitcraft was riding with a badly broken left hand and was seen crying in agony at the can· elusion of all three of his motos. e n e _ Multitime champions like Johnson, Ward, Bailey and Glover weren't the only past heroes in attendance at Loretta Lynn's. A qUick scan of the entry lists showed a few past pros-turned-amateurs-again such as Vince DeVane, Dag Boyesen, Jim Neese, Travis Blackburn, Brian Carroll, the Bigelow brothers, New Englanders Steve Burdette and Pat Barton, Michigan's Matt Crown, Earl May, Anthony Pocorobba and ..Johnny Borders. s Hepler aced the first 125 A/P'r0 I Sport mota after running down Han a rider Chris Hunter, who held 00 to an impressive second. Gray, a consirftent , top-10 mota finisher in this summer's , This year's AMA/Air Nautique National Championship was the biggest ever, as nearly 19.000 entries attempted to qualify for the race through the series of Area and Regional Championships held throughout the country in the spring. The First Lady of Country Music, Loretta Lynn, came out to visit the fans of the race. "The first time I saw motorcycles racing out here, I was scared to death," she joked. "Then, when I came to watch the second time. I saw kids racing, and I was even more scared. But I really appreciate what everyone at this race does, and I thank them all for coming here over the last 20 years. " Former Yamaha factory rider Keith Bowen defended his championship successfully in the Over 35 class, holding off a strong challenge from lifelong Michigan rival John Grewe. "I won my first championship the first year they raced here in 1982," said Bowen. "This is my favorite place to race." While Kawasaki Team Green's Ryan Sipes didn't win any titles this year, his mota wins against Millsaps and Hepler have raised his stock big time. Sipes is currently racing the Canadian National Motocross Championships, and after his final mota on Friday he took off in a helicopter to the Nashville Airport, where he caught a flight to Canada for the weekend's National. Yamaha's Nicholas Evennou put together consistent rides to win the 125 B Stock class, while Kawasaki Team Green's Kyle Chisholm won the Modified class. Chisholm was also the favorite in the 250 B Modified class, but he split the first two motos with Suzuki's Shaun Skinner. The two then raced the ultimate showdown in the third mota, pushing each other hard while fighting for the win. In the end, the two Intermediate riders put in faster lap times than any of the expert riders that day, and Skinner emerged the winner. Kawasaki Team Green's Cody Gilmore, fresh out of the 80 ranks, won the 250 B Stock class. Perhaps the most dominant rider of the week was New Jersey's Pasquale Marocco, a 17-year·old who swept every mota of the 125 C Stock and Modified classes. Marocco said he's headed straight to the B class now. He can expect a few interested sponsors to be tracking his progress there. Amateur legend Kevin Foley, who now works for corporate Yamaha in California, was back to extend his Loretta Lynn's record. He did it by topping Brian Austin in an incredible threemota duel for the Senior Over 40 Championship. "This one is for the true amateurs," said Foley. "Brian and I, we both have full· time jobs and race and train for fun. I want to thank my son for giving me the motivation to go out and do this. And Brian and I will be back, same place, same time, next year." Foley's win gave him nine titles for his career, and MX Sports named a street after him . in the pits alongside Ricky Carmichael, Kevin Windham and t James Stewart.